Is250 Doesn't Drive Straight

[cnsxxx09]

Hi,

My Lexus dealer put my winter tyres on my IS 250 in November last year and afterwards I noticed that the car was veering to the right.

I have been too busy/lazy (delete as applicable) to get around to checking it out until 2007 ... the car is still driveable.

It is more noticeable at +120kph and if I lift my hands of the wheel then the car drives straight for a little while and suddenly, a few seconds seconds later, starts veering and within 5 seconds the whole car has changed lane.

I have not had an accident or hit a kerb or anything ... the problem seems (I think) to co-incide with the changing of the tyres. The car is new, the tyres are new .. there is no visable damage on them that could cause the problem.

The Lexus dealer told me that this is common problem with winter tyres and switching the 2 front tyres usually solves it (indeed, I experienced the same problem/solution before with my old car).

So, they switched the tyres and ... it didn't solve it.

The next option was to put the summer tyres back on, because it was fine when I last had them on and (so the dealer said) in rare cases this problem can be caused by bad tyres.

So, we put the summer tyres back on and ... the problem is still there.

So I left the car with the dealer to test-drive and they couldn't reproduce the problem. I had to go and take the on a test-drive myself to show the problem and, sure enough, they can now see what I am talking about.

But the computer system they have reports that all the alignments are okay and so, at the moment, they are loathe to change anything until getting an answer back from Lexus directly to see if they have seen this problem before.

In the meantime I guess this problem is slowly degrading my tyres.

Does anyone have a clue what could cause such a thing? My dealer doesn't :-(

Thanks

Chris

-=-=-=

[fusion7]

i have the same problem except it veers to the left (but i'm right hand drive) again lexus couldn't find a fault!!

[Tango]

i have the same problem except it veers to the left (but i'm right hand drive) again lexus couldn't find a fault!!

Suggest you drop Tony Bones (WIM) a pm as he mentioned tyre marking from the manufacturer that indicates the correct orientation of the tyre so marked to stop this happening. Not common knowledge apparently and doesn't apply to all tyres...just those that can cause such problems.. If you think I don't know what I'm talking about you'd be right , but Tony certainly does so pm him.

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

Both our cars do it. Slightly. I put it down to the Camber in the road, especially with Low Prof's and wide tyres and uni-directional tyres, I believe this can be a common problem.

It also seems to fit that LHD cars veer to the right and RHD to the left as the camber normally goes to the nearside.

Might be wrong, and it could be the alignment, but too many in times in the past I've been "had" by rogue alignment/tyre places. WIM are great from what I hear, so there's no allegation that Tony or WIM would do you in, but some might so be wary and if you can, get it in to WIM/Tony to check it out.

[cnsxxx09]

Thanks for all the replies ...

I finally left my car with the local Lexus garage for 2 days and took an IS 220d in return to tide me over.

I didn't have much confidence in getting a good solution because as soon as I hit the motorway I found that the temporary car had the same problem .. in fact I would say that it was worse!!!!

Well the garage said that they had changed something in the suspension and alignment that had made a little change. But they really think I am largely imagining it.

When I mentioned that the RX they gave me last time was fine then they said that the suspension on the IS range is unique and designed for a smoother ride and so there will be a difference.

They also wanted to charge me for the changes they made as such things aren't covered under warranty but I convinced them that the problem wasn't there before they put my winter tyres on and they reluctantly agreed to swallow the cost.

Unfortunately, the problem is still there .. not quite as bad as before, but the car does feel a bit unstable. And if I drive 180-200kph then it feels strange .. the movement in the car is as if I am being buffeted by wind.

I can only conclude that either I am psychosomatic about my car (though I have never been before) .... or the Lexus dealer has no idea how to set up the tyres/wheels on an IS and that the IS is difficult to setup correct.

Chris

Both our cars do it. Slightly. I put it down to the Camber in the road, especially with Low Prof's and wide tyres and uni-directional tyres, I believe this can be a common problem.

It also seems to fit that LHD cars veer to the right and RHD to the left as the camber normally goes to the nearside.

Might be wrong, and it could be the alignment, but too many in times in the past I've been "had" by rogue alignment/tyre places. WIM are great from what I hear, so there's no allegation that Tony or WIM would do you in, but some might so be wary and if you can, get it in to WIM/Tony to check it out.

[Tango]

Thanks for all the replies ...

I finally left my car with the local Lexus garage for 2 days and took an IS 220d in return to tide me over.

I didn't have much confidence in getting a good solution because as soon as I hit the motorway I found that the temporary car had the same problem .. in fact I would say that it was worse!!!!

Well the garage said that they had changed something in the suspension and alignment that had made a little change. But they really think I am largely imagining it.

When I mentioned that the RX they gave me last time was fine then they said that the suspension on the IS range is unique and designed for a smoother ride and so there will be a difference.

They also wanted to charge me for the changes they made as such things aren't covered under warranty but I convinced them that the problem wasn't there before they put my winter tyres on and they reluctantly agreed to swallow the cost.

Unfortunately, the problem is still there .. not quite as bad as before, but the car does feel a bit unstable. And if I drive 180-200kph then it feels strange .. the movement in the car is as if I am being buffeted by wind.

I can only conclude that either I am psychosomatic about my car (though I have never been before) .... or the Lexus dealer has no idea how to set up the tyres/wheels on an IS and that the IS is difficult to setup correct.

Chris

Both our cars do it. Slightly. I put it down to the Camber in the road, especially with Low Prof's and wide tyres and uni-directional tyres, I believe this can be a common problem.

It also seems to fit that LHD cars veer to the right and RHD to the left as the camber normally goes to the nearside.

Might be wrong, and it could be the alignment, but too many in times in the past I've been "had" by rogue alignment/tyre places. WIM are great from what I hear, so there's no allegation that Tony or WIM would do you in, but some might so be wary and if you can, get it in to WIM/Tony to check it out.

Mine drove exactly like that until Tony Bones at WIM checked it and made some very minor toe adjustment. A second IS250 was in WIM last week for exactly the same problem and solution. Get it down to WIM at Watford, the Stealerships haven't a clue. When mine had its first service I told Lexus Bristol not to even think about checking the wheel alignments,

[diddykong157]

some dealers only check and adjust the front toe even tho they have 4wheel alignment equipment. ensure the rear wheel alignment is correct as this can also cause the car to pull to one side.

[cnsxxx09]

Hi,

I've given up on my dealer ... they think I'm imagining it and, despite leaving the car with them a few times , they are incapable of reproducing the problem (or unwilling to recognise it maybe ... because it happens 100% of the time and is impossible not to reproduce).

Also the replacement car they gave me had the same problem.

I've made a video showing the veering (which is here: IS 250 veering video ) ... I'm heading in a straight direction on the autobahn at close to 180 kph (the problem is noticeable even at +100 kph).

The recording starts at the moment I lift my hands (slightly!) away from the wheel ... about 8 seconds later and the car has crossed 2 lanes.

(I did put my hands back on the wheel as I got near the other car ... and, no, I wasn't the one making the recording!)

Am I going mad? Surely this amount of movement cannot be classed as normal?! I've certainly not experienced this before (though generally I don't usually take my hands off the wheel!!! ... I only tried it on my Lexus as I felt the car would occasionally feel quite stiff when trying to straighten the car back to the left).

I tried the Contact option on the Lexus Europe web-site but got no reply.

I don't want to take it to Toyota/Lexus dealer, instead I want someone specifically knowledgeable about *this* model (rather than having vague knowledge on a fleet of models). Unfortunately, I'm not based in UK and if I do come back it'll only be in the north - so, as much as I'd like to, I don't think WIM is an option.

Chris

PS - if I take the car up to 240 kph then I really do feel unsafe with the direction the car is trying to go ...

[winnie]

PM Tony at WIM and he will give you the settings for your car then go back to the dealers and ask it to be set on the new settings.

[tdiplc]

If you are close to Altenburg, we have a dealer there who should be able to help you. I can hook you if needed.

[cnsxxx09]

If you are close to Altenburg, we have a dealer there who should be able to help you. I can hook you if needed.

Thanks all for the replies, I'll drop Tony a PM and see if he can help.

Otherwise visiting WIM would take a day out of my short return trip ... and I don't think I could face a 3.5 hr drive down the M6/M1 staying under 70mph ... sigh ... (the pain would get to me. And that is assuming that the traffic will be moving!).

For Altenburg I tried Googling it and there are many in Austria (which is too far for a day-trip) and there is one in the east of Germany - but that's already a 4 hr drive.

Unless anyone knows anywhere near Hessen, or between Hessen and Europoort/Rotterdam???

[john55]

Most modern cars are camber sensitive

Here is something you can do to check:

Get yourself onto a flat road with as little camber as possible (e.g. large car park), set your steering straight, accellerate hard, vehicle should accellerate in a straight line without holding it in a straight line.

If all is well, try braking, again keeping the steering wheel straight, gently hold both sides of the steering wheel. Car should break in a dead straight line. If not on either of these, there may be a problem (possibly associated with the brakes).

Hope this helps.

[john55]

Had another thought on this one:

Over-inflated tires will exagerrate pull to one side. Check your tire inflation is correct.