The manual for my 2011 IS250C states that the tires should be rotated at 5,000 "if appropriate."
My dealer refused to rotate them because the front tires are a different size from the rear tires. I explained that all they have to do is switch the tires on the left to the right side, and vice versa. Again, they refused. Any thoughts on this kind of treatment from the dealer you purchased a $49,000 car from?

Naturally, I would not accept their answer, and wrote a complaint letter. Eventually, the called me back and did the rotation. Am I correct in insisting the tires be rotated in this pattern (left to right, and right to left)? Maybe I'm missing something?

 

If the tires are directional then you just forced them to screw up your tires.

If they're non-directional then yeah, left/right on the same axle is fine to rotate.

(I've no idea what tires are shipping OEM on an '11 250C so can't say if they're directional or not)

 

Technically you can rotate directional tires from side to side if you are willing to dismount them from the rims and flip them around, but in the real world I don't know anyone who does so.

 

The tires I'm referring to (2011 IS250C) in my post are non-directional. There's no need to dismount them, so I really wonder if the dealer was just trying to save time and/or money. And possibly, hope my tires wear out a/s/a/p so they can sell me a new set.

 

if not directional yeah you can ask to swap it left to right/right to left both front and rear since it staggered,i don't know why they refusing to do it at first.

 

how can you tell if there directional or not?

 

whats the point on swapping from left to right?

 

uneven wear of tire due to bad alignment....

 

I was at the dealer not too long ago, noticed that the new ISx50 were running 225 in the front and 255 in the rears? I assumed they would be running 255 all around, I'm not sure what year Lexus decided to this. No rotations to front and back and directional. Headscratcher...

 

I rotate my tires from left to right to get even tire wear and prevent tire cupping which causes noise. Tire manufacturers are making more non directional tires nowadays. Directional tires have markings on them left or right on the sidewall.

 

People tend to take left hand turns faster than right hand turns. Right side tires are subject to more pot holes and road hazards. Right side tires tend to lock up sooner due to less weight and more grit on the road side.

 

This was my first impression, too.

 

The early IS-F's have four different rims.

 

aren't some IS's equipped with wheels that need to be placed a certain way too?

 

Far as I know RWD models have always been that way on 18" wheels. (17s are also staggered but use 225 front and 245 rear instead of 225/255)

It's only AWD models that don't come with staggered wheels.