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Just wondering if any listers have had similar issues. I purchased a 2005 SC430 off the lot in Sarasota in 2006. It was the dealership owner's car and had Chrome Lexus rims. After a few years we had tire pressure issues, and the dealer fixed them, but stated that the salt in the air was degrading the chrome and causing bead leaks (we live 150 miles from the ocean so I do not understand how there is salt in the air). I complained to Lexus of North America as the wheels were OEM, and i was told once they are chromed they are no longer considered OEM. 2 years ago the dealership said the wheels were unfixable. I b!t*hed, and to their credit they sold me four updated OEM wheels at dealer cost (350.00 each). The dealership is 75 miles away. While driving home at high speeds the low tire pressure light came on and I traced it to the right rear passenger tire. I notified Lexus but I did not want to drive so far to the dealership. I took the tire to a local tire store and they did a full inspection and said everything was fine. 18 mos has gone by. I had to bring the car in for the airbag issue and I once again asked the dealership to fix my tire. It is a constant annoyance as I have to stop about every 50 miles when I drive at highway speeds to add air. While I picked the car up at closing time yesterday, guess what ?!?!?!? driving at 120 miles an hour on a country road heading home, my light came on. I called dealership and no one answered-closed til Monday. I stopped at the nearest gas station, my pressure was 18, and added air. This got me home, but the light was on again when I got home. I inspected all the wheels, and found that the nut at the base of the valve stem was loose on both rear tires. After a search on google, I used my bicycle torque wrench to tighten the nuts to 4NM. I will take the car out for a long trip at high speeds next week. Do you guys think this will work??? Complaining to Lexus seems to be a waste of time-I can never get thru to my service agent, and why do I need to give them advice on how to fix my car-of course I have not purchased a new Lexus since 2007, so I am probably a persona non grata!
Do know where the leak is? Are you sure it's the rim? Sorry if the answer is in the post but it's kind of a long post and My eyes glaze over as I read things these days. The dealer and Lexus are not out to screw you but you can't really expect lifetime parts support.
It sounds like to figured out the problem.
If the nut on valve stems (TPMS sensors) is loose, a leak can certainly happen!
Good job! I would let my dealer know, because you may be helping another Lexus owner!
The only way I've been able to find leaks like that other than submerging the entire wheel in water (not real practical) is to remove the wheel, fill a spray bottle with kid's "bubble stuff" cut with water, or a few drops of dish washing detergent in water, fill the tire up to maximum, spray down the wheel, and look for leaks - with the detergent in it you should be able to see bubbles if there are slow leaks. Do the same for both sides, one at a time, focusing on the wheel-tire junction, or in your case, around the nut on the air filler. When you find bubbles, mark them with a grease pencil and keep looking (there may be more than one) If you don't see bubbles, your leak could be in the tread - just do that next. Once you've found and marked where the leaks are, your service guy should have a lot less trouble fixing it for you.
Chrome wheels are a PIA as they get older because the chrome flakes off and gets between the tire & wheel - every time you replace the tires, the flakes get between the tire & rim, and cause slow leaks. I've used this procedure countless times on motorcycle wheels and it's always worked.
The TPS valves have been a problem in the past and have shown up in higher speed driving, IIRC. Every time you replace your tires, you need to have the company also replace the valve stem kits (basically replacing the O-rings). Valve stems not being tightened down properly is another problem that has shown up. Eliminate those two issues before getting worked up about the rims.
Finding the leak that only seems to show up in high speed driving is not always easy since you have to be stopped when you check them. Try the soapy water trick first to try to identify leaks but if nothing shows up, the next thing I'd attack are the valve stems and its seals.
If it were me I would buy new wheels and tires that are not run flat and don't weigh 60 lbs each! And then sell your old wheels and tires on Craigslist. And as for the tpm just forget about em, un-plug or remove the tpm computer. Newer cars with this technology will actually tell you the tire pressure of each wheel, why fight to keep a system that just gives you a red light?
07-12-15, 06:20 AM
SC430 tire/wheel issue
great suggestion....run flats are the pits!
