Regarding Tires And Wheel Alignment

[howdy]

Hello to all! I'm new to this board but so far have seen alot of good information. Many thanks!

Now, I have a '99 RX AWD and recently has some issues with really bad wobbling and vibration from the tires. I have GY Integrities. I made a huge mistake in that I bought the Integrities after the first set wore out. But nevertheless, this set is around a year old and when I took the RX to Discount Tire they replaced a pair (pro-rated) saying they were pretty worn already. They suggested I rotate the tires every six months. With this new set on, the RX drives dramatically better. No real noticeable wobbling or shimmy. Nearly smooth again.

Okay, now to my question. I don't ever recall having a wheel alignment done (I bought the RX with ~45k miles on it) and the steering wheel has always seemed to be a little off but when I let go of the wheel, the RX tracks fairly straight. Do you believe I should get an alignment done? I can't believe the tires wore out in less than a year but I can't imagine what else would wear them out besides balance and alignment issues. What do you all think?

[RX in NC]

Potholes, curbs, rough roads, and sometimes just looking at your tires the wrong way can and do cause all vehicles to lose proper alignment. If you've never put an alignment on this vehicle before, chances are better than 90% that it is out-of-spec. Find an alignment coupon from a respectible establishment in your local newspaper and go get yourself an alignment. Be sure to ask for the printout of before and after specs so you can see just how bad your alignment problem is.

Anytime you put new tires on the vehicle, you should get an alignment done at the same time and often for a discount.

[howdy]

Potholes, curbs, rough roads, and sometimes just looking at your tires the wrong way can and do cause all vehicles to lose proper alignment. If you've never put an alignment on this vehicle before, chances are better than 90% that it is out-of-spec. Find an alignment coupon from a respectible establishment in your local newspaper and go get yourself an alignment. Be sure to ask for the printout of before and after specs so you can see just how bad your alignment problem is.

Anytime you put new tires on the vehicle, you should get an alignment done at the same time and often for a discount.

The shop that replaced the tires unfortunately doesn't do alignments... Should I be looking at 4-wheel alignment? Is there anything to consider due to the AWD?

Thanks again.

[RX in NC]

The RX series typically calls for a 4-wheel alignment regardless of whether it is front-wheel-drive or all-wheel drive. What I've found with our 2000 RX300 AWD over the years is that the front wheels tend to need aligning on occasion while the rear wheels tend to stay within the alignment specs. But that may simply be a characteristic of our particular vehicle, the way my wife happens to drive it, or a roll of the dice.

As I said before, find yourself an alignment coupon in the local newspaper or Value-Pac coupon package that comes in the mail and go get yourself one. Since you've never had an alignment done to this particular vehicle before, chances are overwhelming that at least your front wheels are out-of-spec....

[MTOM01]

If you paln to keep this SUV for a while, I would recommed getting a Life time Wheel alignment Plan , Firestone Service sells it for about $119.00 on sale, so does Vespia's not sure how much they charge for life time.

I have always used this lifetime alignment and was really worth it for the life of the vehicle. (Two alignment checks and you get your money back)

some issues with really bad wobbling and vibration from the tires----- you need to get the tires balanced, or it might be as simple as some wheel lug nuts loose. First check if the lug nuts are tight enough, if all are ok, get the wheel balanced and alignment - you are really going to see a big difference. Then stay away from pot holes - or you be standing in line for your next alignment.

My 2000 RX pulls to on coming traffic if I let go the wheel, and my front tires seems to have lost much more thread compared to the rear, time to take it in.

:P :P

[howdy]

If you paln to keep this SUV for a while, I would recommed getting a Life time Wheel alignment Plan , Firestone Service sells it for about $119.00 on sale, so does Vespia's not sure how much they charge for life time.

I have always used this lifetime alignment and was really worth it for the life of the vehicle. (Two alignment checks and you get your money back)

some issues with really bad wobbling and vibration from the tires----- you need to get the tires balanced, or it might be as simple as some wheel lug nuts loose. First check if the lug nuts are tight enough, if all are ok, get the wheel balanced and alignment - you are really going to see a big difference. Then stay away from pot holes - or you be standing in line for your next alignment.

My 2000 RX pulls to on coming traffic if I let go the wheel, and my front tires seems to have lost much more thread compared to the rear, time to take it in.

:P :P

$119 is not bad... yeah, I'm at a crossroads right now of whether or not I should keep the RX. I weighing all the costs to restore the RX versus just selling it and getting something newer. But honestly, nothing newer seems to give me anything more than what I already have in the RX.

I'll check if the local Firestones have this deal around here. Thanks.

[SeaDuck79]

If you paln to keep this SUV for a while, I would recommed getting a Life time Wheel alignment Plan , Firestone Service sells it for about $119.00 on sale, so does Vespia's not sure how much they charge for life time.

I have always used this lifetime alignment and was really worth it for the life of the vehicle. (Two alignment checks and you get your money back)

some issues with really bad wobbling and vibration from the tires----- you need to get the tires balanced, or it might be as simple as some wheel lug nuts loose. First check if the lug nuts are tight enough, if all are ok, get the wheel balanced and alignment - you are really going to see a big difference. Then stay away from pot holes - or you be standing in line for your next alignment.

My 2000 RX pulls to on coming traffic if I let go the wheel, and my front tires seems to have lost much more thread compared to the rear, time to take it in.

:P :P

I did just that when I bought new tires for my 330. I agree - it will be a good investment. If it saves the cost of one tire over the next 8 years, it's paid for itself. Plus, with the lifetime plan, I just have them check it every time the tires get rotated, at no extra cost, and stop little problems before they become big ones.