Inside front tire wear on '02 IS300

I've had the same problem with my 98 GS400. I had the dealer and a front end place check the aligment. Dealer said it was in spec, the ft end place dialed out some toe on the rear and some camber all around. It appears that it is designed to have a lot of camber so the car handles better. I've had the tires turned around on the wheels to even out the wear. I'm loosing much more than a few thousand miles, more like 10 or 15 thousand. I know I won't be buying another Lexus, I've never had a car with the above problem. It's a real shame to have the inside rapidly wearing and the center and outside like new.

Thanks for the feedback Randy. And you are right. It IS a real shame to have the inside wearing like yours and mine both have worn when compared to the center and outside surfaces of the front tires. A co-worker of mine said that his 2003 BMW 325 went through front tires every 10,000 miles max--and his were only worn out on the inside as well. After I get my new tires mounted I'm going to go have a little 'friendly chat' with my local Lexus dealership's service manager. He seems to be a fairly reasonable guy, but there's one Service Consultant there that has a lot of foreskin in his collar. I'll make sure not to deal with him or NOTHING will ever get done regarding this camber/toe adjustment issue.

I'll let you know how this thing turns out by posting here in this forum.

Regards,

Ron M.

I too have an '02 IS300 and noticed the same thing but caught it early and had the dealer readjust the alignment. The insides of the left tires still wore out first but I reached over 37,000 miles on the OEM Bridgestone 040s before that happened. I finally just had them replaced Friday (Michelin Exalto PE2s) and had the alignment checked again. There was too much toe out and too much negative camber on the left wheels. That's all been corrected now. I notice that the Michelins ride nicer but don't steer as sharply as the 040 'stones. Plenty of grip though.

Hi Jeff,

This morning I had a new set of Pirelli PZero Nero M&S Ultra High Performance All-Season tires put on my '02 IS300. I am really surprised at how much smoother and quieter the Pirellis are compared to my OEM Bridgestones back when they were new too. Like your Michelins, I can tell that my Pirellis "don't steer as sharply". However, the performance loss seems to be minimal. Sat. morning I am going to have a

4-wheel alignment performed on the vehicle so that the inside wear problem isn't repeated with this set of tires. I feel as though I could have gotten a lot more miles out of my OEM Bridgestones if the inside surfaces hadn't of worn so badly. The center and outside surfaces of the tires were still in good shape. Especially the ones that had been put on the rear of the car at the final tire rotation. Thanks for the heads up on the toe out and camber settings. The guy at the Toyota dealership should be able to correct my car's alignment Sat. morning. People say he's a really good alignment guy.

Ron M.

In talking to the tire guy at

(Brandon from Tire Rack), he indicated that I could try increasing the pressure slightly (3-5 PSI) from the specified 33 PSI. The tire has a maximum inflation pressure of 50 PSI so there's room to experiment. I pumped the Michelins up to 36 PSI and wow, what an improvement! Almost as sharp as the 040s and I still have a nice smooth quiet ride. I'm a happy camper!

Hi Jeff,

The owner of the tire shop that ordered those Pirellis for me suggested that I keep them inflated to 38 p.s.i. Obviously this makes for a slightly harsher ride, but it should make the tires last longer and perform better as you have already noticed with yours set to

36 p.s.i.

Check out this short article that appeared in the Sept. 21st edition of AutoBeat Daily if you'd like.

Ron M.

'U.S. Drivers Paying More Attention To Tire Pressure'

About half of American drivers claim they check their tire pressure monthly, up from about 15% two years ago, according to a poll by Uniroyal Tire.

The company points out that underinflated tires wear out faster, impair vehicle handling and, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reduce fuel economy by 1% for every 3.3 psi of underinflation.

The survey finds 50% of motorists (twice as many of them men as women) wrongly believe that a tire's correct air pressure is indicated on its sidewall. Actually, Uniroyal notes, that figure indicates the tire's maximum allowable pressure and is typically about twice what OEMs recommend. Correct tire pressures are listed in the owner's manual and on a label usually located on the driver's door jam.