TLW

http://www.mastercare-usa.com/master...ering_main.jsp


MasterCareŽ Premium Alignment
In addition to the MasterCareŽ Plus Alignment service, we:
Provide a Lifetime Warranty on the alignment
This entitles you to the necessary adjustments to set alignment angles to manufacturer's specifications at no charge every 5,000 miles or whenever needed. This Lifetime Warranty only applies to you the original purchaser and the original vehicle identified on the customer invoice for as long as you own the vehicle.
Provide a Lifetime Warranty on the wheel balance
This entitles you to wheel balance service at no charge every 5,000 miles or whenever needed. This Lifetime Warranty only applies to you the original purchaser and the original tires identified on the customer invoice for as long as you own the tires.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

If you know the shop is good, their alignment table is calibrated correctly and the technician is compent, it is well worth it. I've not found a shop I'm willing to drop $250 for that contract.

pkchin

Yup, is the lifetime balance on any set of tires? or original only? ANy ways it is a pretty decent deal if you can trust the shop.

ntran18

iTrader: (27)

The balance is most likely on the tires from them. The alignment is definitely worth it if they are competent, especially if you plan on keeping the car for a long time.

saber

I learned along time ago to avoid tire and muffler shops like the plague because they usually end up doing more harm than good to a Toyota - such as overtightening lug nuts which ruins the brake rotors.

I also learned there is no such thing as an alignment that is so perfect that tires will wear perfectly. There is always going to besome irregular wear and the solution is frequent (5,000 mile) tire rotations.

Toyota's do not generally get out of alignment unless the car driven wildly (although quite a few Lexus owners do drive like a bat out of hell) I'm a calm driver so I don't even think about alignment for 200,000 - 300,000 miles at a stretch and I consistently get 50,000 -75,000 miles of life from the tires due to frequent rotations.

bob2200

Are you rotating just front to back? Isn't this equivalent to getting half that milage if you didn't rotate. I've got a 2002 RX300 and half the original tires are starting to wear at 20K-mi. I've rotated, but maybe not at totally consistent milage. Any suggestions?

HarrierAWD

I also have a 2002 RX300 with Goodyear Integrity. After 36K miles, my tires are down to 6/32". I believe the new tires had 10/32". So I suppose I could put about 72K miles before reaching the legal 2/32" limit.

Driving style, alignment, road texture, and tire pressure can all contribute to different tire wear from one owner to another. I put 32 psi front and 30 psi rear. I drive conservatively in most cases. I rotate every 10K miles.

I retorque the wheels with my torque wrench to 76 ft/lbs after every rotation. Shops use impact wrench with a universal setting for all cars. Techs rarely bother to change the setting.