kimseongjae62

Hi, Can anyone tell me if they were successful changing the HID front headlight bulb by removing the Front fender well cover? I've heard this method is much easier and cheaper than removing the front end.

Sorry. you can see my past posts for more info.

I've not tried to change the suspension parts. However, I was able to change the alignment to have more toe in ( all 4 wheels) from what was recommended by the Lexus with some success of preventing extreme inside tire wear. After 2 yrs. and about 35K miles driven with no tire rotation, the inside wear was much less. What's more important, the car drove the same. After rotating the tire at 35K, I believe I can drive another 30K or so before replacing the tire. 60-65K on a set of tire is not bad from other posts on this site. On my next set, I will try to push the toe in more and see what happen to the drivability and wear. If you the alignment setting, try to look for my post on another tire related forum on this site. Good Luck!

Kumho Ecsta Platinum LX for $100 less.

As with any car and dealers- Especially high end cars, you have to be smart in terms of what you take to the dealers. For the most part, dealers will be approx. 60% more for parts and services. Also, dealers don't always trouble shoot problems 100%. For example, I've always had problems with rotor warpage as long as I've had my car. I've always had a really extreme inside tire wear. The dealers had no answer. I've just installed new front drilled/slotted rotors, front upgraded pads, rear upgraded pad and a new pad sensor. For example, the dealer wanted $140 for the rear pad sensor. I was able to get the same part from rockauto.com online for $17 out the door. Also saved $300 on a brake job by taking it to a outside mechanic. I am hoping that I don't have to deal with rotor vibration again with upgraded rotors. I take my M1 oil and filter to my mechanic. He charges me $20 for labor. Overall cost, $75. The dealer's cost, $180. My 2007 Ls460 has 105,000 mi. Still going strong. I'm not saying the car does not have any glitches. Like: Cabin wind noise by faulty side mirror design; Fixed Neg. camber/ sagging rear suspension adding to premature inside tire wear; Valve stem recall; chronic rotor vibration. However, I' been resolving my car issues and at the same time saving money mostly through on-line research sites such as - lexusownersclub.com. and taking my car to a outside mechanic. I would recommend people to pick their battles with their dealers. Meaning not everything has to be seen by a dealer. Electric issue- dealer. Engine- dealer. Suspension- not necessary. Regular maintenance- not necessary. Brakes- not necessary..... Also, not all dealers and on-line retailers charge same price. It varies. So, shop around.

Update on the extreme tire wear from my previous post. Since the problem, I've put on a new set of Kumho tires with a new alignment. I've deviated from the factory specs. Front L: before, -0.1/after, 0.01 Front R: before, -0.3/after, -0.01 Camber, 0.0 Rear L: before, -1.5/ after, 0.02 Rear R: before, -1.4/after, 0.03 Camber, 0.04 After 2 years of driving w/o rotating the wheel and approx. 30-35K miles driven, The inside tire wear is much less however, it's still there. The car seems to drive, corner and holds the road as same. Then again, I'am talking about a lux. sedan as opposed to better cornering IS series. I am taking it in for a additional alignment to push the toe in a little more to see if the problem goes away. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for the reply smooth1. I though the camber was a suspect too at first and your explanation of feather wear symptom is a logical one. Another reason that I found to have similar wear patterns were bad shocks/struts. However, I would think that bad shocks would produce more irregular balding patterns. As the car is in sitting position, the rear wheel visibly looks to be sagging- bottom of the wheels being wider. However, I was told that the rear wheel camber is not adjustable. Is this true with LS models? Also, was told that when the car is in motion, the camber sagging position is corrected to a more upright position. I really don't know what to do. when you say sagging suspension, which suspension part is suspect? -shock/struts?- I believe fronts are strut and rear is a coil over shocks. Aside from better handling from a HD/Sports suspension, would a beefier suspension raise the car elevation and thus reversing the sagging camber position/problem? -suspension bushings? Provided that it is not a suspension problem, the alignment scale has a min. and a max. allowable factory setting range. Would setting the toe and the camber settings to a factory minimum help?

I have a 07, LS460 and experiencing the same extreme inside tire wear problem on all 4 tires. The rear tires are worse. maybe due to it being a RWD. Symptom: Extreme tire wear on the inside- just 1" from the inside tread only- consistent 1" extreme wear all the way around the wheel. No wear on the outside of the wheel what so ever. Almost brand new. It's not a gradual wear from the inside. It's a extreme difference in abnormal inside wear to the point the insides are exposed. I have to replace all 4 tires prematurely for safety. The first OEM ( Dunlop) set of tire were not perfectly worn but not this extreme. This second set was replaced at 33K miles with Kumho Ecsta Platinum LX. AFTER THE NEW TIRES WERE INSTALLED, I took it to a dealer for proper alignment in order to maximize wear. At that time, I was told the car was already in alignment to proper factory specs. At first I thought the irregular wear was caused by low air pressure and was told it was not the cause. The replacement tire had the same size spec to -.1" dia. from the OEM tire. I went to the dealer today prior to getting the tire replaced to get some answers. The dealer looked at it and told me I needed 4 new tires as if i didn't know. So, I said what is the problem??? The dealer recommended me to replace the tires and get an alignment- then they could look into it more. I told them that I spend $180 for an alignment when I got the tires last time. To make the long story short, dealer could not guaranty their work even if I was willing to spend the money to get to the bottom of the problem. They had no answer. After some research, I am finding that it may be a toe out alignment spec. on these cars from the factory in order to gain better handling. This information was confirmed by the service advisor who was familiar with this problem (but did not admit to it) more so with IS series than than the LS due to higher demand for handling. Is this true? I've thought it was the camber setting. However, the camber setting cannot be changed on the rear wheels on the LS. Prior to this, I had the same issue with my 05 Toyota Prius. I am beginning to think this may be a Toyota problem in general. So, is it the toe out setting that's causing this problem? Is this a gradual progression of alignment problem causing the tire to wear more irregular as time passes? The car not able to hold alignment setting over a period? I don't think it's attributed to a warn out suspension parts since the dealer inspected the car today on the rack. Any help to resolve this problem would be greatly appreciated.

Just out of curiosity, for what reason do you want to change it. Especially on rear drive wheel. Is it due to tire wear on the inside?

My LS OEM tire was Dunlop. Currently, I am running on Kumho, Ecsta Platinum LX after extensive research about 35K miles ago in terms of customer review, survey, but more importantly how it was compared to oem tire specifications. I Highly recommended tire at $100 per tire less. Firmer yet same smooth ride 60K warranty good handling on dry and wet with good cornering. Had it installed for $165/ea. +tax ( incl. disposal, mount and balance) Can't beat it when the OEMs were going for $280 +tax w/o mount and balance at Tirerack and even higher at the dealer. Even at the same price, I would chose Kumho due to better wear. Considering he Dunlops were replaced at 30K with little tread left, I still have about 1/2 the tread left on the tires. I believe the tire had 80K Warr. when it came out new about 3 years ago. Now, they have adjusted it to 60K. However, depending on where you live, road and riving condition, one can expect to get over 60K easily.

My LS OEM tire was Dunlop. Currently, I am running on Kumho, Ecsta Platinum LX after extensive research about 35K miles ago in terms of customer review, survey, but more importantly how it was compared to oem tire specifications. I Highly recommended tire at $100 per tire less. Firmer yet same smooth ride 60K warranty good handling on dry and wet with good cornering. Had it installed for $165/ea. +tax ( incl. disposal, mount and balance) Can't beat it when the OEMs were going for $280 +tax w/o mount and balance at Tirerack and even higher at the dealer. Even at the same price, I would chose Kumho due to better wear. Considering he Dunlops were replaced at 30K with little tread left, I still have about 1/2 the tread left on the tires. I believe the tire had 80K Warr. when it came out new about 3 years ago. Now, they have adjusted it to 60K. However, depending on where you live, road and riving condition, one can expect to get over 60K easily.

My LS OEM tire was Dunlop. Currently, I am running on Kumho, Ecsta Platinum LX after extensive research about 35K miles ago in terms of customer review, survey, but more importantly how it was compared to oem tire specifications. I Highly recommended tire at $100 per tire less. Firmer yet same smooth ride 60K warranty good handling on dry and wet with good cornering. Had it installed for $165/ea. +tax ( incl. disposal, mount and balance) Can't beat it when the OEMs were going for $280 +tax w/o mount and balance at Tirerack and even higher at the dealer. Even at the same price, I would chose Kumho due to better wear. Considering he Dunlops were replaced at 30K with little tread left, I still have about 1/2 the tread left on the tires. I believe the tire had 80K Warr. when it came out new about 3 years ago. Now, they have adjusted it to 60K. However, depending on where you live, road and riving condition, one can expect to get over 60K easily.

I am in L.A. with concrete pavements that eat up tires. However, I am a easy on tires and breaks for some reason. I replaced OEM Dunlop tires on my 2007 LS at about 30K. Currently, I have Kumho Excsta LX Platinum. I highly recommend this tire. Better tire than Bridgestone and Dunlop at about $100 less per tire. Quiet, nice ride with very good handling in wet or dry. Go see the survey and reviews for this tire at tirerack.com. Kumho lowered the warr. to 60K. when I checked the Kumho site. I am forced to replace all tires due to what my guess is a toe out alignment issue causing a premature wear on the inside of my tires. Had it not been for this problem I believe I would have easily reached 60-70K on this tire with very good tread left in undamaged area. I am at 75K now. I replaced the OEM at 30K. So, I am currently on 35K with this tire. I believe this tire has a little harder silica compound for longer lasting rubber without sacrificing the ride and it certainly corners better than Dunlop. At the dealership when I bought the car, I had a choice between Bridgestone and Dunlop. I thought Dunlop was a better tire due to softer rubber compound. Tires and break issues are relative to where you live, road conditions and your driving style. Overall, you can expect on the average of 25K for OEM tires.