Tire Pressure - 2010 Es 350; Oem 215/55R17

[wmkim]

Curious about the "correct" tire pressure on a 2010 ES 350 with the Michelin 215/55R17 tires.

The specs in the manual says they should be inflated to 30 psi; however when I had my 1,000 "check up" service, the dealer had found 2 tires out of balance. They rebalanced all 4 tires again, but I saw that they inflated the tires to 34 psi. The car doesn't seem to handle any better/worse; but will the tires wear more quickly/oddly because of this?

Should I adjust the air in the tires back to 30? Or is there a reason the dealer would set it to 34? Thanks for any info on this...

[berliner]

Curious, I took delivery of my 2011 ES350, with the tire pressure at 36 psi (the dealership would have done a pre-delivery inspection and be aware of this ).

I e-mailed about this, the Lexus concierge said a technician suggested better gas mileage and tire wear with this pressure. Since I like the way the car rides, I'll probably settle for 34 psi.

[rjt65]

2008 eS 250 just moved over from turanza's to Michelin primacy's M's --- and used STS

They set the pressure to 37 PSI riding fine...

Curious, I took delivery of my 2011 ES350, with the tire pressure at 36 psi (the dealership would have done a pre-delivery inspection and be aware of this ).

I e-mailed about this, the Lexus concierge said a technician suggested better gas mileage and tire wear with this pressure. Since I like the way the car rides, I'll probably settle for 34 psi.

[wmkim]

Interesting that the various dealerships/technicians are using slightly differing psi readings. As you all have mentioned, the ride is fine so it's not that big of a concern; hopefully the tire life isn't affected too adversely...but I guess the differences are too extreme...especially since they all seem to be within the psi limits from the tire manufacturer...

[samchughes]

my wife's 2009 ES 350 =

I went to Lexus dealer today "Tire Presuure Light " would not turm off. I set all tires at 30 psi as manual said but light would not go out. Service tech for Lexus said my tires had to be at 36 psi not 30 psi. They inflated my tires and the light went out. So what's up with this? I always ran my cars and tires at 30-32 psi. And why does the Owners manual say 30 psi and not 36 psi?

SAM C HUGHES

[SW03ES]

Dealers and mechanics always over-inflate the tires. Lexus has stamped 30PSI on the doorjamb, and that is the tire pressure recommended by the manufacturer, regardless of what any dealer or mechanic may say to you. You can custom set the TPMS to any pressure you want using the reset button under the dash. Lexus wrote the manual and the sticker on the doorjamb, if a dealer service tech tells you the tires "have to be at 36 PSI as per Lexus" he is wrong.

I run mine at 30, because I want the smoothest ride possible even at the expense of treadlife. Higher PSIs will get you better treadwear probably, but with a firmer ride.

[1990LS400]

Dealers and mechanics always over-inflate the tires.

And there are good reasons they do that. They don't necessarily know how much a customer car has been driven before it got to them to work on and if the tire pressures are artificially high due to heat caused by driving. It's safer for them (legal wise) and for you to have your tires inflated 5 or 6 psi too high than 5 or 6 psi too low - particular since some people check their tire pressures ... like ... never.

And tire pressures go up or down about 1 psi per 10 degrees of air temperature change. With air temperatures fluctuating 40 to 50 degrees in a 24 hour period at this time of year - at least where I live - it's better to set the pressures to be at least the minimum at the coldest part of the day.

I run mine at 30, because I want the smoothest ride possible even at the expense of treadlife. Higher PSIs will get you better treadwear probably, but with a firmer ride.

Me too - at least when ambient temperatures are relatively stable, I keep pressures right at the 29 psi shown on the door jam of my LS. I can feel a couple pounds tire pressure difference in the seat of my pants and my main goal is a smooth ride. I also find that keeping tire pressures near the minimum provide more predictable handling and a less abrupt "breakaway" when taking curves (too) fast -- I really should stop doing that now that that I'm an "official" (> 60) geezer.

I keep an electric tire pump in the trunk and sometimes adjust tire pressures during multi-day trips -- particularly when driving a few hundred miles north in winter where it can be waaay colder than at home.

[SW03ES]

And there are good reasons they do that. They don't necessarily know how much a customer car has been driven before it got to them to work on and if the tire pressures are artificially high due to heat caused by driving. It's safer for them (legal wise) and for you to have your tires inflated 5 or 6 psi too high than 5 or 6 psi too low - particular since some people check their tire pressures ... like ... never.

That can be part of it, but in my experience a lot of it is what the poster's above are experiencing, the dealers and mechanics just plain not knowing what Lexus recommends...