Lexus RX 400h Tire/Wheel Questions

babs12

I put bridgestone alera s on my car when the micelins gave out . I have 54, 000 miles on them and am still going. That being said. I have been unhappy with increased road noise since I changed. Also, on cold mornings there is a thump as if the tires are square! until they warm up.
weird I know...feminine perspective.

ckratch

finally discovered this forum. totally agree that lexus is failing our loyalty. I will buy one more set of tires then dump this problem. Too bad for future owner. My fault, I should have done my homework. Not normally a person to sue to solve my problems howerer, I will happily join a class action if initiated.
charlie

dannie890

I bought my 2008 RX400h "pre-owned certified" in 2011 with 25K and new Michelin MKV4 S8 all season tires. At the time I did have the thought: "it needed new tires at 25K miles!?", but unfortunately didn't research the issue. Now I just picked up my SUV from the dealer after 45K service and was told that the tires were down to 5/32" or "yellow". So I reviewed my service records, and it looks like the first 5K miles took off 2/32", and each subsequent 5K miles "uses" up 1/32'. The tires are inflated by the dealer to 34 psi and were rotated at each 5K miles or a bit less. The wear seems to be fairly uniform and consistent on 3 of the tires: each tire has one groove at 6/32" (either inside or out, no pattern assuming the dealer rotated each time as specified) and the rest at 5/32". One tire is at 6/32" with only one groove at 5/32". I did notice recently (before this last tire rotation) a "wind sound" in the cabin, which has me checking the windows, doors and sunroof for tiny openings. Would a decrease in the tire thread generate that sound?

I am now heading to the snow country (Colorado mountains) for the winter, and I am getting a bit nervous about the tire wear. The last thing I need is slippery tires in snow and wet conditions, but I hate to throw out tires that still have 5/32". Am I overly cautious?

Bottom line: Had I known that a 50K-mi-rated tire will last me 25K miles, I would have bought a different SUV, I think.

PF_Flyer

roman7 said:

I can confirm : original tires from the factory run around 30K in average!
The tires from the stores are better for some reason and last longer!

Yep, OEM tires seem like they're on there so they can tell you that the car comes WITH the "tire feature"