Uneven Tire Wear

[lambition]

Does anyone have uneven wear problem in front tires.

Inner tread of both front tires are wearing much faster than rest of tire.

It happened to original tire car came with. It was so bad, it was showing threads inside tire, while outside still had good amount of tread. Attached picture shows how old tire was like.

Tought something was wrong with allignment and changed tires and did wheel alignment. I was told it was not off by much.

It has been about 10000 miles now, and I began to see inner side of both front tires are wearing faster again.

Is this common problem with IS250?

Is something broken?

The shop I did alignment didn't do it right? (They did not give me alignment print out saying their printer is broken. )

[twitte]

Uneven tire wear has been a problem since I bought my 2006 IS 350 (not a new problem). When I bought my car I purchased something the dealer was offering "Tires for Life" for $1,800. I quickly calculated the cost of replacing all my tires and concluded this was a good deal as long as I planned on keeping my car for a few years. I still own the car and get my tires replaced free when they wear out. The only requirement is that I need to get my tires aligned each year. There are a lot of Lexus IS cars with this problem of uneven tire wear. My dealer at first tried to tell me it was my fault but I showed that I had my tires aligned yearly and that other cars were having the same problem. They eventually gave up and replaced the tires. Do a little searching and you should find out more about this problem in case your dealer is fighting you on this. I'm going to give you some links on this:

http://www.clublexus...p-normal-2.html

http://us.lexusowner...d-tire-wear-07/

http://my.is/forums/...re-wear-272748/

[lambition]

Uneven tire wear has been a problem since I bought my 2006 IS 350 (not a new problem). When I bought my car I purchased something the dealer was offering "Tires for Life" for $1,800. I quickly calculated the cost of replacing all my tires and concluded this was a good deal as long as I planned on keeping my car for a few years. I still own the car and get my tires replaced free when they wear out. The only requirement is that I need to get my tires aligned each year. There are a lot of Lexus IS cars with this problem of uneven tire wear. My dealer at first tried to tell me it was my fault but I showed that I had my tires aligned yearly and that other cars were having the same problem. They eventually gave up and replaced the tires. Do a little searching and you should find out more about this problem in case your dealer is fighting you on this. I'm going to give you some links on this:

http://www.clublexus...p-normal-2.html

http://us.lexusowner...d-tire-wear-07/

http://my.is/forums/...re-wear-272748/

Everyone have this problem?

Reading your link, it does not appear everyone has problem.

It seems like factory setup of IS has significant negative camber and therefore, tires do not last long?

Will there be any problem if camber is adjusted to be more straight (which probably will be out of spec) on everyday driving?

[twitte]

"Everyone have this problem?

Reading your link, it does not appear everyone has problem.

It seems like factory setup of IS has significant negative camber and therefore, tires do not last long?

Will there be any problem if camber is adjusted to be more straight (which probably will be out of spec) on everyday driving?"

------------------------------------------------

I didn't say everyone was having the problem. The dealer was aligning my tires and I still had the problem. There were a lot of other people with a similar problem. Google it.

[lambition]

I didn't say everyone was having the problem. The dealer was aligning my tires and I still had the problem. There were a lot of other people with a similar problem. Google it.

That is the part puzzles me. If not everyone is having problem, what is the cause?

It seems everyone with this problem is refering to factory alignment problem. But if that is true, everyone should have problem.

I wish I had a shop I can trust, but I don't. Reason why I do most repairs/maintanance my self.

[twitte]

I didn't say everyone was having the problem. The dealer was aligning my tires and I still had the problem. There were a lot of other people with a similar problem. Google it.

That is the part puzzles me. If not everyone is having problem, what is the cause?

It seems everyone with this problem is refering to factory alignment problem. But if that is true, everyone should have problem.

I wish I had a shop I can trust, but I don't. Reason why I do most repairs/maintanance my self.

I have no clue what is going on. I monitor my tire pressure all the time and have it aligned at least once a year. I'm still having the problem and they can't seem to get rid of it for some reason. At least I don't have to pay for the tires.

[tex2670]

It's definitely a common problem. I have 51,000 miles, and I'm on my 3rd set of tires.

[AveryPark]

I've replaced my front 2 tires at about 21 or 22K. Only one (I believe drivers side) was worn on the outside edge. I asked the shop do an alignment, which they came back and said it was within spec and didnt charge me for it. Seems fishy to me, I'm keeping an eye on the new tires.

[lambition]

Being within spec with only one side of tire wearing?

That does not sound right.. Are you making lots of left turns? That is only thing I can think of if it really is within spec.

[Regio26]

Hi,

I went to the mechanic yesterday, I have a 2008 Is 250. The issues they say the car has is the front camber, apparently is damaged and this is what is causing the issue of uneven wear on the tires. there might be other things affecting as well but this is what they recommended I should do first ( I went to have my car aligned but they said it was already aligned they even showed me the results the computer gave them)

[LEX-SV]

Welcome to LOC Roberto.

What's the repair that needs to be done on your IS250?

[Regio26]

thank you Steve,

I went to do the alignment on my car and the mechanicn told me the car was already aligned. The issues are my tires and the car pulls a little to the left. When they tested the car this is what came up

Left front Right front
0.18 camber -1.15 camber

0.08 toe 0.04 toe

They told me I have to buy a new FR Camber kit, but before I do that I would like to know if this can be adjusted instead of getting a new kit? Any help will be appreciated.

thank you

[VBdenny]

From the picture I'd say that is excessive tire wear. Never heard of these IS tire problems before but I'd suspect the promary cause of premature tire wear on the fronts is because of the stagger used. The rear tires are 255//35-18 while the fronts are 225/40-18 I'll count that as 30mm narrower than the rear. What would happen if the front and rear were matched?

[LEX-SV]

Roberto - This front tire (inner) wear issue is not uncommon on the ISx50's, although it's more likely on the cars that have been lowered. The stock alignment specs and low profile 18" summer tires are biased towards good handling (versus long wear). I'm not aware of a camber kit for this car.

Try using a more experienced tire/wheel shop for the alignment (typically a custom tire/wheel shop that has worked on a lot of Lexus IS's). I think they will deviate slightly from the Lexus alignment spec and increase toe-in slightly to reduce the tire wear problem from what I've read.

[Regio26]

Ok thank you all for your help. I will try a different shoo and see what happens. This is the kit they told me to buy...

[LEX-SV]

Yes, but a bit cheaper to try the slight increase to toe-in settings which has helped a lot of IS owners.

[Regio26]

ok, I will try that on Friday and I'll let you know how it went, thanks a lot

[VBdenny]

The top wishbones have been an issue before. On the first LS cars these went bad after about 100,000 miles depending on use and terrain. For example, if your driveway is very steep, and you turn as you make the transition to the street, there is an additional strain put of certain parts and this is one of them. I would think that for those who live and drive on mostly smooth, flat roads, that the wishbones can last longer. Obviously those who "use" the suspension increase the wear. Guess that will have to worry me in the future.

Those red bones look sweet. High tech looking.

+ You would have to have a major misalignment for the toe to cause that kind of wear on a tire. I can't see how the car could drive with the toe-out that far out. Would make me think a "curb" strike or something possibly by another driver of the car.

[LEX-SV]

Roberto - Any success finding a shop with experience to deal with alignment?

[Regio26]

Yes, I went to 2. They both said the same, that I have to get a new front camber kit. They said that it can not be adjusted and that needs to be replaced :(

[LEX-SV]

Roberto - I assume you are not in Miami area, in Miami plenty of lowered ISx50's with this problem and the high end tire/wheel shops deal with it on regular basis. Yes, camber can not be adjusted. And Lexus warns about tire life on these cars running high performance tires (life not expected to exceed 20K miles). Have any of the 2 shops that you are talking to installed these camber kits before? What kind of tire life (miles) are you dealing with?

I put 24K on my last set of 19" summer tires (IS350 lowered 1" and alignment done by my local shop that specializes in this stuff), rears were worn more than fronts at time of replacement.

[LEX-SV]

Regio26/Roberto - Did you find another shop?

[Oscarin]

On 2/17/2013 at 5:27 PM, lambition said:

Does anyone have uneven wear problem in front tires.

Inner tread of both front tires are wearing much faster than rest of tire.

It happened to original tire car came with. It was so bad, it was showing threads inside tire, while outside still had good amount of tread. Attached picture shows how old tire was like.

Tought something was wrong with allignment and changed tires and did wheel alignment. I was told it was not off by much.

It has been about 10000 miles now, and I began to see inner side of both front tires are wearing faster again.

Is this common problem with IS250?

Is something broken?

The shop I did alignment didn't do it right? (They did not give me alignment print out saying their printer is broken. )

 

[RX400h]

I think that alignment shop should be avoided. It looks like you have excessive negative camber. I suggest you take your car to a well-regarded alignment shop, quickly.