mofogasm

i wouldn't say that having to take the car in 7 times was them working diligently. If they were working diligently they would have never returned the car to you if it wasn't fixed. That is BS for a 40k car IMO

I<3MyIS350

The problem that I have is that my steering needs to be tilted about 5 degrees to the left to drive straight, the guy said its normal with all Japanese cars, is that true?

berg7445

If it was normal, wouldn't you think they would have realigned the steering wheel that five degrees in the first place? Definitely not normal and whoever told you that is probably blowing smoke.

backghost

Just got my IS250AWD back from the dealer ... It had the same issue .. it was out of alignment ..

First visit ... bad tires .... took two weeks to get tires The tires did not fix the issue ( of course )
Complained on dealer service survey ... got a phone call back with in 1 hour and was scheduled in for service on the next day.

2nd visit --- Had the car for 2 days / according to service manager the TECH was on the phone with Lexus for hours / in the end ... bad alignment settings in the alignment systems computer
New alignment with new setting = much better tracking.

Got the car back ... it is better , a whole lot better but it still drifts ever so slightly. Of course that may be just me being extra critical.

umpalumpa

i had them check it and they said the tire pressure was low on one side. the car tracks straight like you say, but i swear that the wheel is STILL a couple of degrees to the left. i think they just dont want to fix it. i'll get them at 5k miles though. ALSO, when i brake, sometimes the car pulls to one side, kinda hard at times. anyone have that problem, or an explantion?

BimmerFL

don't feel to bad I have a 2005 BMW 330i and My steering wheel is off to the left about 3 or 2 degrees to the left. I have had it checked and have been told the same thing that its normal due to most of these cars being very sensitive to road crowns, which means that most roads here in orlando FL when driving down the road the lanes are higher from the left to the right even though it is not very noticable. now when i switch to some other lanes that the crown is the opposite with the crown being higher from the right to the left the steering seems of center to the right about 2 to 3 degrees also. but this is not the case very often since most crowns go down from the left to the right. does my car track straight with the wheel being off center? YES. the new IS models are designed to be close to what BMW has designed on the E46 model 3 series. now if your steering were 10 degrees of to any side and or if it pulls then it is an alignment issue. but for a few degrees of centered don't worry to much about it, performance cars have this a lot espically with lower profile tires.

shaolin

iTrader: (2)

if you only have this for few days or few miles, take it back to them they should fix it. i had bimmer before and the day i drove the car home the steering wheel was tilted. i brought it back and they fix it.

but if you wait and they won't do it.

alignment is not factory defect. it's adjustable. if you hit something your alignment will go off.

i full day of race at race track your alignment will go off.

hope this help

BimmerFL

ya but 2 to 3 degrees is not a big deal esp if it doesn't pull.

BimmerFL

Ok I have a Buddy of mine that works at an alignment shop that I was talking to about the few degrees off on the steering wheel to go straight. he said that is BS. he put my car up on the alignment rack and had me sit in my own car. as soon as he raised up the car and unbolted the front end tierods he told me to center the wheel where i wanted the car to go straight. my steering wheel used to be towards the left a few degrees to go straight. so i centered my steering wheel to the right a few degrees. as soon as i told him i centered it he bolted everything back down. as soon as i drove my car away from the shop Guess what, My car now steers down every road with my steering of to the right a few degrees exactly like i set it. Now it is confirmed that it does not matter about road angles and crowns. as long as the car is going straight they should be able to center the steering wheel perfectly centered or of to the left or right where you want it to be when driving down a straight road. PS try to find a alignment shop that will align your cars with you sitting in the drivers set , that way the car will be aligned with your exact weigh as if you were driving it and make sure you have a full tank of gas. I hope this helps everyone.

swixo

My NEW IS 250 had this alignment problem. The dealership would not return it to me until it was fixed, although only partially. Here are the details.

It tracks to the right. On the freeway, let go of steering and it starts to exit. Steering wheel is also not centered when straight ahead. (BTW fixing the steering wheel is a trivial adjustment for any car).

The dealership after looking at the issue confirmed it and found a service bulletin explaining that this problem can usually be resolved with new tires - and in some cases a part needs to be replaced -- but that this part is not available for the IS yet. The part adds adjustment to the alignment where it is not adjustable now.

The new tires worked, and my dealership (Lexus Stevens Creek) is ordering the adjustment part and will have it for me if I need it. They corrected the steering wheel off center problem too. The car performs very well now. All of this under warranty of course.

s

Morrissey

Strange, I wonder if this "pulling to the right" issue is common among the 350? I took my 350 into the dealership today for the EXACT same problem. They had it for a few hours and said that the left rear wheel as well as both my front wheels had the toe setting off. They've set it correctly and supposedly it's fixed. I couldn't really tell because it started snowing here on the way back to the dealership. Once the snow melts I'm going to see if it made a difference.

From what I've read here, it might be the summer tires that come with the 350 that could be the issue. If so, I'm not that worried because I was planning to get all-seasons in the next few weeks anyway.

I really hope this alignment isn't a big issue. The main reason I gave up my Nissan 350Z was because of chronic alignment problems

IS350PSK

I had the same problem with the car pulling to the right. So I took it into Pohanka Lexus in VA this afternoon. They told me that I will be needing new tires and an alignment. Im hoping that this fixs the problem. Also it is covered by Lexus, so I guess I will have to just wait and see till tomorrow.

Got a ES 330 as a loaner, was hoping for a GS.

Morrissey

I tried it today now that the snow has melted off the roads. Unfortunately the pull is still kinda there. It's not nearly as bad as it was before, but I still notice it.

I'm going to wait a few more weeks and if gets worse or still bugs me, I'm going to take it into the dealership. I'm just puzzled as to why Kuni Lexus in Littleton never mentioned getting new tires for me, because it seems like that's been the solution for most of everyone else's problem.

xravexboix

I should have just looked it up earlier... but:

ST004-01 - Vehicle pulling to one side
Updated 10/5/05 to include ALL 2003-2006 MY vehicles.
Covered 12 Months/20,000 miles from date of first use.
*Warranty application is limited to correction of problem based on a customer's specific complaint*

Basically, if you complain about it, they will check it out. If the problem is duplicated, they will cross rotate tires/align/possible replace tires if they are causing the pull. Not ALL vehicles are affected, but it is a possibility.

No other SSC/TSBs are found at this time (besides internal/PDI stuff).