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Registered
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: So. Cal.
Posts: 11,239
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Car/Dealer Question - Am I Being Taken For a Ride
So to speak...
Bought new tires at 30K miles for my 08 GS350 - Michelin Pilot Sports. OEM size. Car now pulls hard to the right. Car was in for service and I went ahead and had them align it. Still pulled hard to the right so I went back. They agreed, and at the end of the day said I had a bad tire. They determined this by switching the left front with the right and the car tracked straight. The tire dealer gave me a new tire. Put the tires on the correct sides and the car again pulled to the right. Went back to the dealer and he put new oem tires from another GS on my car and it tracked straight. They are blaming the "aggressive, chevron" tread pattern on the new tires. Got back from a long road trip this weekend and I took it back to the dealer for service and asked them to look at the pulling problem again. They switched both fronts and backs across the car and it then it pulled to the left. The dealer is done with this and says I have to live with it or get new tires. I only have 5K miles on the new, $1100 tires. If the dealer is right, how would you ever know what tires to buy, knowing that tires are often discontinued and I keep my cars for 200K milesplus. Any advice?
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David 1972 911T/S MFI Survivor |
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10-22-2009, 01:39 PM
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Snark and Soda
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: SF east bay
Posts: 24,653
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Did this same dealer sell you the tires? How did 5,000 miles go by until now?
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10-22-2009, 01:53 PM
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Banned
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: South of Heaven
Posts: 21,159
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If you're switching them and it changes the pull direction it seems to me you have a tire with a shifted belt inside of it.
That can and does happen, and will cause the exact same problem you're having. |
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10-22-2009, 01:53 PM
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Now in 993 land ...
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Where did you get the tires? If you bought them at a quality place, they will replace them. I.e. Costco would replace these at a prorated cost (probably no cost after that mileage).
George |
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10-22-2009, 01:56 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: So. Cal.
Posts: 11,239
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Sorry - car dealer and tire dealer area separate entities.
Steve - the last 5000 miles sucked - esp long freeway driving. I've just been dealing with it. Snipe - the Lexus dealer is saying that there's nothing wrong with the tires per se - just wrong for the car.
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David 1972 911T/S MFI Survivor |
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10-22-2009, 01:57 PM
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N-Gruppe doesn't exist
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: *%@#ing GPS, where am I? Oh wait I see the Space Needle.
Posts: 4,394
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Quote:
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Ted '70 911T 3.0L "SKIPPY" R-Gruppe #477 '73 914 2.0L SOLD bye bye "lil SMOKEY"  "Silence is Golden, but duct tape is SILVER.” other flat fours:'77 VWBus 2.0L & 2002 ImprezaTS 2.5L |
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10-22-2009, 02:20 PM
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Band.
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 13,317
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+1 go to your tire guy. If they won't give you new ones, then have the front tires swapped on the front wheels. Then you can isolate the problem to a tire or a wheel.
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1983 SC Coupe 1963 BMW R60/2 1972 Triumph Tiger 1995 Triumph Daytona SuperIII |
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10-22-2009, 02:39 PM
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Now in 993 land ...
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I think the dealer did a good job diagnosing. I doubt they are making this up. Nothing gained for them if they find your car okay.
Now you'll have the tire store do their testing and you should be able to get a replacement, even if you did not have road hazard warranty. George |
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10-22-2009, 02:41 PM
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Banned
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: South of Heaven
Posts: 21,159
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If the tires were 'just wrong for the car' they would always pull in the same direction, regardless of what tire is mounted where. That is not the case.
It sounds to me like one of them has a shifted belt. |
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10-22-2009, 02:47 PM
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Did you get the memo?
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Wichita, KS
Posts: 32,317
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Agree with M21, a past Sumitomo of mine had the same issue. Of course, those were cheap tires. Take it to the tire store, this isn't the dealer's problem.
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‘07 Mazda RX8-8 Past: 911T, 911SC, Carrera, 951s, 955, 996s, 987s, 986s, 997s, BMW 5x, C36, C63, XJR, S8, Maserati Coupe, GT500, etc |
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10-22-2009, 07:14 PM
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Registered
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Jim '18, Ford F-150; '07, Lexus IS350; '01, R1100S; '80, R65; '76, Honda CB750 Four; '73, Ducati 750 GT; '70, VW Beetle; '65, BMW R60/2; '64, Triumph Bonneville; '64, MV Agusta 125 GTL; '60, BSA Gold Star; '55, R25/3 |
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10-22-2009, 07:23 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: So. Cal.
Posts: 11,239
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RESOLUTION. Michelin comped me a set of 4 Pilot MXM4's. Car now goes straight down the road, and it seems like the ride is even less harsh. They are about $50 more per tire, but Michelin didn't charge me - good tire company.
What I cannot understand is why the tires did what they did! In reading the Lexus forums, this tire just pulls to the right = how can that be? I think Michelin must know they have a problem with the Pilot Sport AVS's...
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David 1972 911T/S MFI Survivor |
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11-12-2009, 02:26 PM
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Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 8,673
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Quote:
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11-12-2009, 03:59 PM
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canna change law physics
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How much do you weigh?
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James The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the engineer adjusts the sails.- William Arthur Ward (1921-1994) Red-beard for President, 2020 |
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11-12-2009, 05:14 PM
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Driver
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Quote:
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1987 Venetian Blue (looks like grey) 930 Coupe 1990 Black 964 C2 Targa |
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11-12-2009, 06:21 PM
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Back in the saddle again
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Central TX west of Houston
Posts: 55,873
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Yeah, ok, so, you put new tires on and a car that didn't previously pull, now pulls. So, that points to a tire problem.
Troubleshooting steps, swap tires, does the pull move to the opposite side. If yes, then swap 1 of the fronts to the back. Did the pull change or go away? If yes, then that front tire that you just put on the back is bad. If no, then try the same test with the other front tire. If there is then a change then that tire is bad. It sounds to me like the dealer did an good, but maybe not great job of troubleshooting (otherwise it'd be fixed by now). When you get an alignment, ALWAYS get a print out of the before AND after settings. Are the settings radically different side to side? If they are, yuck! Most tire/alignment places will pull the whole "it's to compensate for the crown of the road" bit. That's a load of crap. The real reason they do it is that there's usually a pretty big range of "acceptible" settings for alignment. If one side is at one extreme of acceptible, and the other side is at the opposite extreme then you're going to have a car with crap handling/steering and crap tire wear. I always shoot for as close to equal side to side as possible. Still, it sounds like it's got to be a tire problem.
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Steve '08 Boxster RS60 Spyder #0099/1960 - never named a car before, but this is Charlotte. '88 targa SOLD 2004 - gone but not forgotten
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11-12-2009, 06:33 PM
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1970/1982 Porsche 914-6/911SC 2.7 RS
Ducati
1987 Porsche 930 3.3T
