AZKS

If this where I enter my reply, then I want to tell you that I am presently negotiating with the dealer to have him take back my brand new 2005 ES330 17-in wheels and swap them for 16-in wheels. Please e-mail me at albertsanders@earthlink.net.

The latest on the tire problem on my brand-new ES330: the Lexus salesman phoned yesterday to ask how everything was. I told him about Lexus's incredible disclaimer that with the 17" wheel option, I should expect tire life of substantially less than 20,000 miles. He didn't seem to know anything about it. I told him I wanted them to substitute 16" wheels and tires. He said he'd have to check with the "managers". I haven't told him yet that I found a website called The Tire Rack that lists reviews of many tires by hundreds of users. My Bridgestone Turanza EL42 is listed under "Standard Touring All-Season". It is number 30 out of 32 (almost the worst). Out of a possible 10, only 2.4 said they would buy it again. A sampling of reviews shows mostly terrible comments (though there were a few people who were satisfied). Interestingly, number 1 was BF Goodrich Traction T/A T. 8.8 would buy it again. Any thoughts on how I should proceed with the dealer or with Lexus?

Amazing. That sounds like something's wrong. I'm a very aggressive driver (at least according to my wife and I'd probably have to agree). Rapid starts (but not burning rubber), aggressive lane changes, fast braking. Yet I'm guessing that I'll end up close to 35 K before changing. Of course, that ignores the effect of tire type. I think mine are slightly harsh and noisy (Bridgestone Turanza ER30--stock tires on my ES330). When I replace them, I'll replace them with something softer and quieter, so I guess I can expect my mileage to drop then. ←

To: SW03ES Many thanks for your kind help on my problem with Lexus announcing I shouldn't expect over 10,000 or 20,000 miles from my new tires (on my new ES330). (Thanks to the other discussants too.) I looked at my new tires. They are Bridgestone Turanza EL42. I gather this is bad news. (I had engaged in a few minutes of sparring with the salesman wherein I asked for 17-in Michelins and he said it couldn't be done, all the tires Lexus supplies are as good as Michelins, etc, etc. I see now I should have been more aggressive but the price was good, I foolishly believed him...) I have been driving since 1938 and I thought I knew something about tires. Back then, 30,000 miles was decent mileage out of a tire. I noticed the life getting longer every time I changed tires, with the greatest gain after I started using Michelin X radial tires which were a big leap forward not only in durability but in reliability. 70,000 or more miles eventually became common. I keep cars a long time. I still have a 1986 Audi 5000 in use as a second car on only its second set of Michelins. And a 1995 Infiniti I30 on its second set of Michelins. Both near or beyond 100,000 miles. Buying tires has always been a no-brainer; I just ask for the best Michelins. And they always last 70,000 or so. I had been under the impression Lexus was competing with Infiniti on reliability, so I am thunder-struck that they would put lousy tires on their cars. It just doesn't fit in with both their philosophies of carefree driving: free road service, few defects, reliability, etc. Maybe I need a course on tires. (Anyone have ten seconds to spare?) Does a Lexus somehow require a special high-speed tire that is very quiet and offers a soft ride? Or is such a special tire what they think the kind of person who buys a Lexus demands? (Why would Lexus customers be different from, say, Infiniti customers?) My Infiniti, with its quiet engine and heavily-gasketed doors and windows, is the quietist car I have ever owned. And the ride is surely soft enough. Basically, all I want is a car that is reliable and trouble free, like my Infiniti is--to this day. Fragile tires that will go flat somewhere is the exact opposite of what I was looking for. Despite all my research, there seems to have been a failure of communications. I put about 10,000 miles a year on my main car. Almost all of it results from almost-weekly 200-mile (100 miles each way) trips between homes. Most of it is by expressway at 60 to 75 mph. The Infiniti annd Michelins have been perfect for this service. I still don't understand what more the "high-speed" Lexus-type tires are supposed to do for me to make me put up with the short life. Despite your suggestion, I don't see myself getting involved with ebay to sell and ship tires and wheels. Not at this point in my life. More likely, I will wait until these 17-in Bridgestones have gone 20,000 miles then try to trade the 17-in fancy Lexus wheels for 16-in plain Lexus wheels and mount the most suitable Michelins I can buy. Any suggestions as to what those might be? Any downside to my plan?

I picked up my new 2005 ES330 Lexus at the dealer yesterday. Drove it home 100 miles. No problems except controls are hard to learn. Now that the die is cast, I decided to weed out my voluminous file of literature, Consumer Reports, etc. Discovered to my amazement the following incredible small print in the back of a huge glossy official Lexus ES330 brochure I had gotten weeks ago from another dealer but hadn't studied carefully: "Disclaimers 1. Tires fitted with 17-in wheels are expected to experience greater tire wear than conventional tires. Tire life may be substantially less than 20,000 miles, depending on driving conditions." Now, I hadn't wanted the fancy 17-in wheel option in the first place but took it only because the salesman said every car shipped to the US came in that way and that if I wanted the standard 16-in wheels I would have to wait four to six months for a car to be specially built and shipped from Japan. The above disclaimer seems to mean that, in addition to practially ramming an unwanted option down its customers' throats, Lexus puts them into a situation where tires won't last usual maybe 60,000 or 70,000 miles (my experience--I'm a cautious driver). Instead Lexus ES330 owners can look forward to expensively replacing all the tires maybe every 10,000 miles (what else do they mean when they say "...life may be SUBSTANTIALLY less than 20,000 miles..."?!!! Any suggestions about what to do about this apparently insane situation?