Wheel Alignment

[JBPRX400h]

Just had 40k service carried out by Lexus Milton Keynes. Mentioned that front nearside tyre was showing signs of wear on the outside edge.

Had a phone call during the day to say that the tyre wear was because the wheels needed aligning (all 4 wheel alignment) and that it would cost £99 + VAT as this was not a warranty item. Agreed for them to carry out the alignment and change the worn tyre for the spare as that was unused.

When I picked up the car I was given a printout detailing all the steering/suspension angles both before and after the alignment.

I must say that driving home I noticed that the steering felt much more positive than it had before but I haven't had a chance to really try it out properly yet and of course it remains to be seen if this has cured the tyre wear.

Anyone else had any experience of this?

JBP

[koala]

Just had 40k service carried out by Lexus Milton Keynes. Mentioned that front nearside tyre was showing signs of wear on the outside edge.

Had a phone call during the day to say that the tyre wear was because the wheels needed aligning (all 4 wheel alignment) and that it would cost £99 + VAT as this was not a warranty item. Agreed for them to carry out the alignment and change the worn tyre for the spare as that was unused.

When I picked up the car I was given a printout detailing all the steering/suspension angles both before and after the alignment.

I must say that driving home I noticed that the steering felt much more positive than it had before but I haven't had a chance to really try it out properly yet and of course it remains to be seen if this has cured the tyre wear.

Anyone else had any experience of this?

JBP

I have an RX300, bought at 45,000 miles. I noticed the edges of the front tyres more worn than the middle. Wasn't particularly happy with the smoothness of

ride at speed, particularly after 60mph. Friend with RX300 suggest wheel alignment. Had it done and made a huge improvement. I'm told the alignment can drift due to the weight of the car and worth checking at least every 10,000 miles.

[ihpj]

£99 is a very good price for a Dealer wheel alignment. Although I'm sure there is a suggestion running on these boards that not all default Lexus factory alignment settings are appropriate - they need tweaking.

I think you should perhaps PM the good Doctor and see what he has to say on the figures your car is now running ;)

When I had my RX (MK II) - I had the alignment checked once,after I bought it and never had any cause to do so again. Perfect even wear all round, despite me living in MK and the roundabouts ...

[stringbender]

My experiences of the RX300 and tyres are as follows:

The first set were down to the carcass on the fronts at 22,800 miles on either the inside or outside edges (can't remember which). I had the tracking/geometry done at Watford - a long way to go from Bristol - and I was very pleased. Or so I thought. The two new fronts lasted just 13,500 miles and were in a really dangerous condition. I let Lexus Bristol do a full geometry set up on a full set of brand new tyres at 36,300 miles and so far I've done 13,000 miles on these and still have quite a bit of tread left and what looks like very even wear across both fronts. The cost of this was £102 + vat so it will have been worth it if I can get better mileage.

Sadly I've had to change one today as I picked up a nasty piece of metal (rear) so was delighted to be on the main A38 with the car up on the jack last night!! What fun.

Alan

[NickS]

I have had similar experiences to stringbender. I even have uneven wear to n/s rear tyre, which though noted by Lexus Plymouth, they didn't mention that the rear can't be adjusted (unless I've got that wrong). Just seems to be a weakness that tyre wear can be excessive, even when well treated. I don't buy the "it's a big 4x4" excuse.