Is 250 Awd Tire Wear (07)

[greentingray]

I have an 07 is 250 18,753 miles I notices a bubble in the front tire (Dunlop 5000). I took it to the local Lexus dealer they told me the can't help me I hit a pot hole. I dont think there is a road in the NY, NJ area that doesnt have a pot hole. While they they had the car up on the lift they bring me over and tell me that the inside of each tire is wore out. I replyed that this car is has a ball joint issue or needs an aligment. They said no this a performance car that is how Lexus sets up their cars from the factory.

Well first this not a performace car I have owned several corvettes, and porches and I never had a problem with the inside of the tires wear out, and if it did that would be a problem with car. Has anyone out there come across the same problem, I can belive they would say something like this.

Does anyone out there have the aligment specs for the 07 awd is 250, I would like to have this car checked by an idependent aligment shop.

Thank You

[Sidney07]

Man, that does seem kind of crappy on the dealers part, but they aren't responsible for road hazard stuff.

As for the inside of the tires being worn out...might be kind of late for this. The explanation they gave you is totally lame, " it's a performance car and this is how they set up their cars" ...so the tires wear prematurely on the inside? I don't buy it. I am certain an independent alignment shop will have the correct specs, but make sure they are reputable. Are they so worn that they need replacing already?

FWIW, our 07 has about 11K on it, and the tires are wearing very evenly. We also have the Dunlops. I will say, though, that I have rotated them twice already, at 5K and 10K. One advantage of AWD...all the tires are the same size.

Good luck, and let us know what happens.

[bartkat]

Not sure about the AWD cars but projected tire life for the RWD cars is 15,000 to 20,000 miles.

IS 300's had an inside tire wear problem, but they could be aligned so as to minimize that.

[greentingray]

Man, that does seem kind of crappy on the dealers part, but they aren't responsible for road hazard stuff.

As for the inside of the tires being worn out...might be kind of late for this. The explanation they gave you is totally lame, " it's a performance car and this is how they set up their cars" ...so the tires wear prematurely on the inside? I don't buy it. I am certain an independent alignment shop will have the correct specs, but make sure they are reputable. Are they so worn that they need replacing already?

FWIW, our 07 has about 11K on it, and the tires are wearing very evenly. We also have the Dunlops. I will say, though, that I have rotated them twice already, at 5K and 10K. One advantage of AWD...all the tires are the same size.

Good luck, and let us know what happens.

I have had the tires rotated at every oil change 5,000, 10,000 and 15,000. I thought this would give even tire wear, but I guess I was wrong. Anyway my wife uses this car so I just ordered tires for her. Like I said before this not any were a performance car it just a four 4 sporty looking car. The factory should have put better tires on the car, any you are right I will bring this car in to shop to find out whats going on

[greentingray]

Not sure about the AWD cars but projected tire life for the RWD cars is 15,000 to 20,000 miles.

IS 300's had an inside tire wear problem, but they could be aligned so as to minimize that.

Thank you for the information. Do you know if there was a lexus fix released on this problem?

[bartkat]

Not sure about the AWD cars but projected tire life for the RWD cars is 15,000 to 20,000 miles.

IS 300's had an inside tire wear problem, but they could be aligned so as to minimize that.

Thank you for the information. Do you know if there was a lexus fix released on this problem?

I don't know of any Lexus TSB on this but a good alignment man can set it the way you want it, for more even wear.

[Sidney07]

I have had the tires rotated at every oil change 5,000, 10,000 and 15,000

And at 18K uneven tire wear is first reported to you? Then either something serious just happened to your car or the mechanic rotating your tires doesn't give a crap about what is going on with your car. THAT is the time to look at them to see what's happening, when they are off your car and you can look at them closely. Preventative action. Sorry to rant, but if you kept an eye on things you wouldn't be where you are now.

I say move away from NJ. Find someplace where the roads are maintained.

In any case, let us know what happens. And I'll be keeping an eye on the dang Dunlops on our IS for sure!

[lambobaby1218]

And where might that be, Jay? SoCal sure isn't the place!!!

My husband had a problem, only with his "perfomance" car, which at the time was a Mercedez-Benz E63. All of the tires had the same issue, and MB didn't want to fix it either. After much haggling and my husband not picking up the car, they reluctantly replaced them. I know they're much more expensive tires, as well.

I've an '07, and haven't had but one issue, and that was a nail in the tire, so not the same problem.

[Sidney07]

Well here in Washington ALL the roads are perfect! NOT! I imagine they are bad everywhere, which only means you have to really care for your investment.

It is true that "performance" cars have soft compound tires that have better grip, thus, they don't last as long. I don't believe the Dunlops that come stock on the IS250AWD fit that bill.

[tex2670]

Like Bartkat noted, the IS brochure states that the 17" tires may wear by 20,000 mi, 18" even sooner. BUT, isnt that because they are lower profile tires? I didn't think that meant that they should wear unevenly. If you have been routinely servicing at that dealer, Id at least raise a bit of a stink that they didn't point out ealier that there was uneven wear--it seems odd that all the uneven wear would happen after your 15K service, no?

[bartkat]

It's pretty easy to check front tires for uneven wear. Just turn the wheels all the way one side or the other and you can see the whole tread. A tire shop will have a tread depth gauge and can measure the tread at several locations across the tire and get an early indication of uneven wear. The worse the roads the more you need to watch and get alignments more often.

Another easy test is to run your fingers across the tread and see if you feel ridges or "sharp" edges in one direction. That's also an indicator of uneven wear. You gotta take care of your tires and check the pressures and wear, just like you check your oil and get it changed. Just keep an eye on the main things that keep your car going and in good shape. Better to rely on yourself than to expect the service department to always do what you think they ought to do.

[CrunchySkippy]

While they they had the car up on the lift they bring me over and tell me that the inside of each tire is wore out. I replyed that this car is has a ball joint issue or needs an aligment. They said no this a performance car that is how Lexus sets up their cars from the factory.

Well first this not a performace car I have owned several corvettes, and porches and I never had a problem with the inside of the tires wear out, and if it did that would be a problem with car.

Although it is strange that the uneven wear did not become evident at the 15,000 mile interval - inside wear is not unusual. It can be caused by wheels needing alignment (as you stated) or it could be from a negative camber setup (as the tech stated), among other causes. I am surprised you have never come across negative camber effects on any of your Corvettes or Porsches, but I've never owned any of those vehicles (wish I had).

Many sports cars are setup with negative camber to help negate the effects of body roll. Thus giving a larger tire contact patch while in a hard corner/turn. And since the wheels are tilted in towards the chassis (think of an "A" when looking from behind the car), it is natural that the insides wear faster. Unfortunately I haven't seen the specs of the 250AWD to confirm if this car is set up with negative camber.

What is the ball join issue mentioned above?

[greentingray]

While they they had the car up on the lift they bring me over and tell me that the inside of each tire is wore out. I replyed that this car is has a ball joint issue or needs an aligment. They said no this a performance car that is how Lexus sets up their cars from the factory.

Well first this not a performace car I have owned several corvettes, and porches and I never had a problem with the inside of the tires wear out, and if it did that would be a problem with car.

Although it is strange that the uneven wear did not become evident at the 15,000 mile interval - inside wear is not unusual. It can be caused by wheels needing alignment (as you stated) or it could be from a negative camber setup (as the tech stated), among other causes. I am surprised you have never come across negative camber effects on any of your Corvettes or Porsches, but I've never owned any of those vehicles (wish I had).

Many sports cars are setup with negative camber to help negate the effects of body roll. Thus giving a larger tire contact patch while in a hard corner/turn. And since the wheels are tilted in towards the chassis (think of an "A" when looking from behind the car), it is natural that the insides wear faster. Unfortunately I haven't seen the specs of the 250AWD to confirm if this car is set up with negative camber.

What is the ball join issue mentioned above?

Pick up any Corvette or Porsche owners or shop manual you will see a section on tire wear. They have a picture which shows inside tire wear, its not normal for tires to wear on the inside it points to a problem with aliment or ball joints. These car are designed to be performance cars. I think Lexus is using negative camber to try and enhance to the handling of the car, but its ridiculous to do this on street cars. Why have your customers change tires @ 18,000 what does that say about the kind of car they are building. Why not build a car that has good handling rather align the car in such a way that causes the customer to pay for a set of tires at such a short period of time?

[greentingray]

I have had the tires rotated at every oil change 5,000, 10,000 and 15,000

And at 18K uneven tire wear is first reported to you? Then either something serious just happened to your car or the mechanic rotating your tires doesn't give a crap about what is going on with your car. THAT is the time to look at them to see what's happening, when they are off your car and you can look at them closely. Preventative action. Sorry to rant, but if you kept an eye on things you wouldn't be where you are now.

I say move away from NJ. Find someplace where the roads are maintained.

In any case, let us know what happens. And I'll be keeping an eye on the dang Dunlops on our IS for sure!

You have to joking, very funny. I owned many cars but brother this one has to be the biggest bom. BTW is was a Lexus dealer doing the oil changes.