ptmIS350

Hello everyone,

I'm in the need for advice on my 2006 IS350. Ever since I got the car 8 months ago I had veering issues on roads that are less than perfect, but lately they have become progressively worse.

My description of veering is that when driving on a road that is crowned or has the two indentations in a single lane, the car follows that crown and violently pulls over 2-3 lanes (left or right) in a matter of seconds. The other night I nearly got killed as my IS pulled into the slow lane unexpectedly...nearly into a 18 wheeler! Several times it pulled into the shoulder. Here in dirty jersey we have really bad roads and the car seems to exaggerate the condition unlike any car I have ever had. Many times I'm actually wrestling the wheel!

That was the last straw for me so I looked here on these boards and noticed that many people have my problem here and it is linked to the Dunlop Sport Maxx tires.

With this information I went to the dealer (Ray Catena Lexus Ocean, NJ) and explained the issue. They checked it out and naturally said "oh it's fine completely normal behavior". Upset, but composed I told them I would like to go out with a tech and see what he felt. The tech was very nice and we went for a ride and some of the roads by the dealership are not that bad so he couldn't get the 2-3 lane change effect, just a lane or so but admitted it had a veering issue.

They said they may be able to replace the tires through Lexus (the cheap *** dealer won't do it) but I was told that when they called Lexus they said it was normal behavior for the car and they would not replace the tires.

I called Lexus corp and complained and they were cooperative and setup an appt with the corporate tech guy.

So Monday I am having a test drive with the tech from Lexus Corp and I guess he will determine what to do, but personally I think it's BS I have to go through this.

Did all of you here that had this veering problem have to go through ALL this to get your car to drive straight?

What advice could you all give me on how to handle this? I was thinking that if they claim it's normal maybe I threaten them to sign a waiver of complete responsibility in case of accident...if they're that confident.

Thanks For All Your Help

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Some people had this problem, but it really comes down to how well your dealer takes care of you.

Unfortunately, you are dealing with a dealer that did not want to take any responsibility of finding out what is truly wrong with your car. This compromises your safety as well as your enjoyment of a new car.

You are going in the right direction with talking to Lexus Corp. Hopefully, a neutral serviceman will address your concerns.

As far as waivers, I can tell you that it'll never happen. There are a thousand reasons why you can get into an accident. The dealer signing a waiver is like him saying "I'll be responsible for any of the thousand reasons that can cause an accident, even though your only concern is the alignment." Just sever your ties from the dealer and find a better serviceman.

Good luck and keep us informed!

Kepeli

I don't have any advice that you are looking for but I have the "veering" problem just not as aggressive as you do. I travel on RT35 in the Hazlet/Holmdel, NJ area and hit a few spots where the road is crowned causing the car to pull. I noticed it wants to pull more when braking.

Sarorn

I have the same problem with my IS250 AWD. I brought my car to the dealership and the first thing they checked was the alignment. They told me that it was a little bit out, so I drove it for a few days just to see if the veering would come back...and low and behold, it did. So I brought it back to the dealership, except this time, I had a print out of the forum below:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...hlight=veering

The service manager read most of it, and I pointed out to him what other dealerships have been doing to resolve this issue with their customers, which is to replace all 4 tires with a different brand. I did not have to go to the corporate level.

I am getting new Bridgestone tires replaced next week.

Good luck.
-Ron

Dj_AmtraX

iTrader: (2)

Guys, your safety is more important then money. Change the tires to Bridgestones at a dealer. Paid for them and then deal with Lexus. They will not screw you. You have the power of the pen.

I got them to honnor the $750.00 Taste of Lexus Gift Cert. three weeks after I brought the car. The power of the pen!

trio

This is probably your issue:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=47

Get off the stock Bridgestone's RE050's as I tramlined all the time with them. I'm running on my winters now and do not have the same problem.

IS350MD

The veering happens to me as well- always in the same spots on my commute. The first time it happened to me it scared the Cr*p out of me, was only a couple feet but still...

Am I missing something, these are wide performance tires, isn't this type of behavior normal? I find the car extremely responsive and am not surprised when the car reacts to the road.

confused at the issue... as I thought this was the car not the tires.

al503

Y'all have to differentiate between a constant pull (either left or right) and tramlining. An alignment to the correct specs is only going to help with a constant pull. It's not going to help with tramlining, which depends on how deep the ruts are in the roads you are driving.

However, as long as you have a good grip on your steering wheel, you'll notice a pull or tug when the car wants to tramline but it should be perfectly manageable.

The tires on the IS are low profile. If you want more resistance to tramlining, do some research. There are performance tires that tend to tramline much less than their competitors.

Bichon

I've not had this problem with my Dunlop SportMaxx tires. I live in central NJ and drive on the same roads as ptmIS350 and Kepeli.

The problem you guys are having sounds like tramlining. Odd that you are recommending Bridgestones, as the worst tramlining I've ever experienced was with the Bridgestone S03 pole positions on my Audi.

I find it odd that people concerned about accidents due to tires are still driving on summer rubber in December (in NJ). We've been lucky to be enjoying unseasonably warm weather so far this year, but when the temperature drops and the flakes start to fly, those summer tires have no place on the road.

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

Initially I was confusing pulling with tramlining as well. What made the light bulb go off in my head was when some months ago I noticed that the pull wasn't constant. Sometimes it would pull to the left, others to the right. Then I noticed the ruts in the road - I changed my line of travel on the road (out of the rut) and then there was no pull whatsover. Now whenever I notice some tramlining, I shift my line a bit within my lane and the car drives as straight as an arrow. The factory service manual also makes mention that tires with directional tread are more prone to tramlining than tires with non-directional tread.

Javier

ES3

Keep me posted on which exact tires you end up with. I was in the same boat with the pulling, finally got RE050A-Pole Positions, (the stock tires were Dunlop SP Sports) The Pole positions are better, but there still is pulling. I'me dealing with corporate who will set me up with a factory rep in the Spring. I know MANY '06IS350 owners who can take their hands off the wheel from 100mph-60mph and coast without ANY pull in the middle of a 3 lane hwy.

mofogasm

that sounds kind of fishy to me, were your hands on the steering wheel when the car made you change over 3 lanes?

ptmIS350

Thanks guys!

At the moment I'm scared to even drive my family in the car for fear if I lose focus and get into a crummy road condition the car may veer into whatever. Its pretty scary because I'm not that attentive 100% of the time.

I'm very disappointed that Ray Catena Lexus in Ocean did not step up and take responsibility for a condition which so many other dealers actually cured.

I'm going to print that thread and bring it in with me and maybe that will help my cause.

I have the appt on Monday at 11:30 am so I'll keep you all posted!

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

This is really funny to me. The worst tires for tramlining I have ever driven were the OEM Michelin MXX3 Pilots on my Supra. They would try to break my wrists while stopping on rutted pavement. I never complained about them because their grip on good pavement was phenomenal. I figured it was a trade off.

Then I got Bridgestone S-02s. They didn't tramline. They gave 98% grip in the wet. They even worked in snow and ice if you were patient and didn't expect to drive at dry pavement speeds. They were the best all around unbelieveably grippy tires I've ever driven. The S-02PPs were of the same cloth.

Then BS brought out the S-03. Not even in the same league. Good dry performance, but wet performance was on 70% of dry, not 98%. And they tramlined. Not as bad as the MXX3, but nowhere near as good as the S-02 they replaced.

From what I understand, circumferential grooves promote tramlining. The old S-02 had no circumferential grooves. The MXX3 and S-03 definitely do. And they are not very impressive on rutted pavement.

The RE050 has circumferential grooves. They tramline. They don't try to break your wrists the way MXX3s did, but they do try to follow ruts more than other Bridgestones. They're still not BAD tires. Try RE92s. They're BAD tires. Slide at 40% in the wet. Wheel hop under small amounts of power. Poor wet braking. Poor tread wear.

Worst of all, I keep seeing people posting they have RE050A tires. Sorry, the 050A does not come from the factory on the IS. There is a difference, and the IS comes with RE050, NOT the RE050A. Check your sidewall carefully, they're different tires and they most assuredly have different prices from the Tire Rack. If you got 050As, it was because you got them from a dealer as a replacement. They didn't come directly from the factory.

CoasterG

iTrader: (1)

So which tires for the IS350 would tramline less?

I had the experience last night in heavy rain with some serious tramline and hydroplaning (I know they are different) issues when driving back from Orlando. Also had some strange noises from the underbody as well - probably the water interacting with the underbody but it was fairly loud.

So now I'm seriously considering taking it to the dealer to have those issues taken a look at - in Florida having a car that deals with wet weather well is a necessity.