Purchased a CPO RX 350. I was fool to believe the certification checklist that said tread depth is 7/32 . What I found now ( within 2 days of delivery) is it has 4/32 in the center tread groove and 6/32 or 7/32 on the side. Is the certification criteria 5/32 Anywhere Or 5/32 in all the grooves ?

 

What you are worrying about is 7/32 -5/32 = 2/32 = 1/16

1/16 is number which is very hard to exactly measure .. inflation can cause the treads to separate a bit more and your 1/16 goes bye bye. Even pressing down to measure depth at different force will give you that much margin of error.

I would say worry about major things and do not let yourself be carried away by trivial stuff.

Salim

 

New car starts at 10/32 and requires to replace tire every 50 K miles . Considering we need to replace tire when it is 2/32, 8/32 wears out in 50K miles. Mathematically , it is 2/32 every 12K miles .. not insignificant IMHO

 

Honestly don't think you can generalize tire wear like this.

There are many differences in tire compounds, driving style, driving conditions, etc, where you can't just say 2/32 every 12k miles.

I've had performance tires that much need replacement in 10-15k miles on my Corvette, while my old Miata has all weather tires that usually last over 80k.

We replaced the tires on my 450h and the GF's GLK 350 with the same tires, at the same time, a year and a half ago, and I they are at about the same level of wear even though I drive at least triple the amount of miles and have a much heavier SUV (probably because she drives like Speed Racer.)

Getting back to the original question, I honestly don't know if there is an official standard for measuring tread depth. The only way I could see getting an honest answer is to go to a different dealership, pretend to be a customer, and ask them how they rate the tires when inspecting.

 

IMO, it does sound like the dealer is trying to avoid from having to put on a new set of tires for you. Lexus CPO should be replacing tires with less than 50% life remaining. The center is where the tire is worn, it should be 5/16 or better. I wouldn't call this a trivial item, you did pay for CPO and therefore should receive it. I would get ask the dealership to give you a new set of tires. Especially if you have the 19-inch, they're a bit of money to replace.