Magnumpi

I have had the lifetime alignment since 2009 (for my FJ Cruiser). They don't care what brand tires or where you bought them. They don't have a service requirement, meaning if you don't come every 6 months your contact is not void. As I said previously I take my FJ Cruiser in after hunting trips and most off road camping trips that are more technical than a dirt road. Some times more often than the "once every 6 months limit" they have in the disclosure and they never said anything. Remember these shops want you in there often so they can look for something to recommend that you fix so they can generate new business. Personally I found the local Firestone folks are not as competent. I have had to take my truck back multiple times because I drive away and notice the steering wheel is crooked. They are also terrible at balancing. I do have an all terrain tire and after driving on bumpy dirt roads, those sticky wheel weights tend to fall off, required a re-balance. I usually have to take it back to my local Firestone shop multiple times. I prefer to take it to Wheel Works who is owned by Bridgestone which also owns Fiirestone. The wheel works shop I go to tend to be more reliable and they usually get the balancing and alignment done the first time. They have even performed the road force balance for me. That's just my opinion. They worked out well for the FJ Cruiser. I just need to verify if the GX 460 requires a calibration with the Alignment. If so, it may not make sense to do anywhere other than Lexus.

BradTank

I've had really bad luck over the years with alignment shops to the point I just take it to a Lexus dealer now and will gladly pay an extra $20 to have it done right. I've had to take a vehicle back because you had to hold the wheel at about 2 O'Clock to just get it to go straight down the road.

I've never specifically had Firestone do it, but I would guess it has a similar type employee to a place like Midas or Jiffy Lube.

My advice on alignments leans heavily towards "don't fix it if it's not broken". I think you're FAR more likely to mess something up getting alignments done as just regular maintenance than just taking your chances. I've gone like 100k miles without ever needing an alignment (but I rarely take it over any rough terrain) I almost only get them if I notice an issue like it not going straight down the road, tire wear, or I have replaced something on the suspension like tie rods.

Getting an alignment every 10k miles seems like a huge waste to me, almost like changing your oil every 3,000 miles.

Zayn

Hello, Good morning I bought a 2018 Lexus Gx460 Premium back in February 2018 and at 5000 Miles I noticed that the steering wheel was not straight so I went to the dealership to get the issue addressed. I was told alignment was out of spec by a small margin. This has been a repeat issue and the dealership has not been able to make it perfect but they would make it better. I'm now at 25,000 miles and got tired of alignment issue and went to Christan brother to get alignment fixed. I have now been they're 3 times within a couple weeks due to alignment going right back out if spec within a couple of hours of it aligned. Has anyone else been faced with this same issue or is there something broken. Thanks

garylbarr

You need to do a search on this issue. Most GX460 will pull to the right slightly if the alignment is perfect. A degree or 2 more positive caster on the right side will correct this.

robert1408

Is the problem only the steering wheel not being straight? If you take your hands off the wheel, does your GX drift right or left? One common scenario is that the alignment is correct by the numbers but the road crown causes a slight right hand drift which causes the driver to hold the steering wheel off center to the left to compensate.

17gx460

I have a simiar issue. My 2008 GX with 130K miles has no issues but I keep aligning the 2017. Its chewing through tires quickly and I do alignments and rotations on a regular basis. The truck is heavy so that does not help. Only 20K miles on the 2017 and I will need new tires around 30K.

Zayn

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, My GX is pulling to the right also the steering wheel is dead center on flat pavement. When I left the alignment shop it was flawless after I had that done I went straight to the dealer for 25K service. Lexus rotated the tires. Immediately after service, the car pulls to right very bad. This is all done on the same day alignment at Christian brothers and service at the dealer. I have read the issue with alignment but I believe mine does not have that issue due to the fact it appeared to not acting up until the tires were rotated and alignment looks out of spec. Yes, I agree This issue chews threw tires. I had plenty of tread left on the OE tires at 20K Miles due to alignment out of spec by the time it was 25K miles I was at 2/32. I got all 4 tires replaced with Bridgestone duelers H/L alenza plus last week at a very discounted price due to warranty adjustment on OE H/T 840 tires. I even drove the GX loaner to compare and this issue was not present. I did all testing on the same roads and made sure the crown on the road was minimum to 0. As well as previous OE tires showed major tread signs of an alignment issue. Another note is that every time I have taken the GX back on alignment rack the numbers are out of spec again within a couple of weeks from in spec numbers.

hadokenuh

My new 2019 pulled to the right. The fix was to adjust the passenger caster as one of the posters mentioned. Seems to be very common on the GX and I don't know if it's a fix or a band-aid.

Your issue might be the same. But usually if the alignment is perfect but a car still pulls, one (or some) of the tires may have radial pull.

I would bring the GX back to the dealership for a alignment again since you've got a new set of tires. Start fresh. Tell the advisor to put it in writing that it seems to go out of spec every time it's checked.

Does your commute have a lot of pot holes?

Zayn

Yes, I think you are correct. I will let the alignment shop know to put the degree or 2 + for the caster to fix the issue. No, my city has actually pretty good roads compared to other cities I've been to. I live in Oklahoma city and roads are in decent condition. I think this will just be a band-aid for alignment but for a brand new Lexus I feel disappointed and this ruins the experience driving the car around town. I actually stopped driving the GX and started daily driving my BMW because my head just hurts looking at a crooked steering wheel that's why I'm only at 25K miles otherwise I would have been at 35K by now.

ASE

From a design standpoint, the squared off horn pad is a bad design choice ... only accentuates the steering wheel being off-center if it's not dead-nuts on center ... better for the horn pad to be slightly curved on top like the GX470

garylbarr

Remember the extra positive caster ONLY goes on the passenger side NOT the driver side.

Zayn

Thanks, Note taken. Also since passenger caster will be off spec from OEM Numbers by a degree or 2 will my tire have any alignment damage by it or.....

garylbarr

You may have a problem finding a alignment shop that is willing to do this as it does seem strange. Also 1 degree more caster on the passenger side than driver side fixed my GX pull problem.

Zayn

I'm at the shop now. They are saying everything is within spec and they said caster is not adjustable. So I'm not sure who's right and wrong. Because I don't know how alignment works on Lexus gx460 2018

garylbarr

You need to get out of that shop because they are wrong, The caster is indeed adjustable. About 5 degrees is the most positive caster a real alignment shop will be able to dial in.