Should I Do Alignment?

[mikek753]

Hello all,

On my ES330 at 40k ml I see that all 4 tires OE Turanza ER30 wearing more at outside, I may say about 1 mm difference tred left in inner vs outer.

Does it mean alignment issue? I rotate 5 tires every 5k ml. no directional tires.

The car out of warranty, I'm not sure alignment even part of warranty.

Should I check and fix alignment issue? Now or when I put new (Primacy) tires on? I expect to get another 5k - 15k on OE.

rear driver

rear passenger

front passenger

front driver

[Lexusfreak]

I always get a 4 wheel alignment when I put new tires on the car......why not bite the bullet & replace those Bridgestones a little early with the Michelins and get it done all at once? Just my .02

Are you getting any type of shimmy at highway speeds through the steering wheel?

Alignments are generally not a warranty issue (there are exceptions however, but not in your case).....it's part of maintenance.

[mikek753]

Are you getting any type of shimmy at highway speeds through the steering wheel?

No, I don't feel any.

It was a time 3 years ago initially when car was pulled to one side and Lexus "fixed" they did alignments, but said it was Ok.

In August Costco will run another $60 off for Michelin, so may be I'll go there for new tires. Or American / Discount tires? Not sure yet where to go for new tires.

thanks.

[Lexusfreak]

Are you getting any type of shimmy at highway speeds through the steering wheel?

No, I don't feel any.

It was a time 3 years ago initially when car was pulled to one side and Lexus "fixed" they did alignments, but said it was Ok.

In August Costco will run another $60 off for Michelin, so may be I'll go there for new tires. Or American / Discount tires? Not sure yet where to go for new tires.

thanks.

If you get a good deal at Costco....go for it......get the tires installed & balanced there.....then take it to the Lexus dealer for the 4 wheel alignment. B)

[Randy&Bonnie]

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[JENunnez]

Randy&Bonnie I feel the same way, unless there is a problem that is obvious I never get an alignment. My last car had 55K on it and the tire wear was allways even. Unless you hit a pothole or you feel somethings wrong with the steering and of course bad tire wear, I never recomend it.

[SW03ES]

I would ALWAYS get an alignment done when I have tires replaced. For one, I've never had a car come back from an alignment that did not need to be aligned. Why spend $700 on new tires and "see where the wear happens" before doing an alignment? Drop the $120 bucks more and get the alignment done IMHO.

The secret is to have the alignment done by the right people...which is not always where the tires are being installed. Morons can really screw up an alignment.

Looking at those photos...those tires are done buddy. Unsafe for the road in my book, make the appointment right away. Thats not an alignment issue...they're just worn out. Tires actually are unsafe well before the wear bars pop out. When the wear bars pop out they're illegal on the road...not "almost" done.

[Randy&Bonnie]

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[mikek753]

thank you all for the reply.

in the past 4 years Lexus service did alignment twice for my ES330 as I complained about poll to the right.

I'm 110% agree about the "right" place for alignment job and that's what I'm looking right now in S. SF Bay Area.

For sure I'll not go to Lexus.

I did tire rotation all 5 tires by myself every 5k ml and I can't explain why one tire wearied on inner edge more then other - I think it have to be all dou to rotation - isn't it?

[SW03ES]

You should get a printout after the alignment that shows the specs, where the car was before the alignment, and where it was after. I've never had one come back after having new rubber installed (bear in mind, we're talking about 30-35k miles) that was not out of alignment...

If I'm at a certain point of misalignment at 35k miles that may not be causing abnormal wear, where will I be at 55k miles halfway through the life of my new tires if I don't do an alignment at 35k? I might just be to the point where poor alignment has shortened the life of my new tires.

Tires are getting more expensive...alignments aren't.

[Lexusfreak]

+1 for the before & after alignment printout. B)