mikegbuff

Has anyone had their metal bracket/hinge inside the trunk break? It holds the two metal rods that span across the top of the trunk. Mine broke on the right side - basically the metal piece that holds the rods just broke in half when closing the trunk as I do daily. Maybe it is just metal fatigue as I don't see anything obviously bent or bound up. This is what allows the trunk to stay open when raised and holds the weight when you closing it so that it doesn't slam down. So now the trunk opens and closes fine, it just won't stay up when open. I was wondering about the possibility of welding the metal piece back together versus finding replacement parts. It's really hard to tell what all parts need to be replaced because it looks like some of the pieces are riveted together, not a nut/bolt or screw apart option. It is really hard to hold open with one hand while trying to load the trunk, ha ha. Thanks.

Read through the other posts and didn't see a good answer to my specific question. I just bought an 04 IS300 with 23k miles. This is my first car with this type of tire/rim, so I came here looking for some tips after finding this through google. Two of the OEM tires were replaced with the same exact tire a few thousand miles ago (Bridgestone Potenza RE040). It's time to do the other two. I want something that looks similar and provides a fairly quiet ride. I drive 60 miles roundtrip to work, so I'm looking for a balance of something that looks nice (prefer not to be able to see the difference in the front and rear tires) but gives me some mileage for my $. I have a Discount Tire in my town and will probably go there unless there is a better place to go. Would you guys recommend going with the same tires? I would like to go with something cheaper if I do not compromise looks, smooth ride, or noise. I see plenty of tires on their site for about half the cost of the OEM tire. Please give any opinions and the tire model # so I can lookup prices and details. Thanks for any help you can give.