19psi

it's your tires causing the problem. having driven hundreds of rx's in my time as a lexus mechanic, i can say that the 330's don't do that normally. worn tires will cause so many problems it's ridiculous; and most people never believe it either until i finally get to put new tires on and they say, wow, it's great!
how much air pressure do you run?

grouch

It could be. My only argument is that they are the same tires Lexus installs on the RX. Wear pattern is good and I had them rotated today to see if there was any difference. No difference.
Between the weather and the Holidays, I haven't been able to check much. I'll be making an appointment with my (ind.) Lexus mechanic for an alignment re-check next week.

salimshah

toe-in adjustment, if off can make the vehicle little squirrelly, but the way you explained the problem the problem seems to be with the tires. ... If only any one can give you a full set to try out.

Salim

lucasb7

could it be this?

19psi

i'm interested to see what finally solves your problem. be sure to post when you do.

grouch

I Will.

Part of me wants it to be tires, but the other part does not want to replace good and expensive tires if I don't need to.

I don't know about the TSB. That was the dealers call and he saw nothing worng.

salimshah

Just a thought ... try consulting with a tire shop like Discount tires ... Share your delima and isee if they bite.

Salim

19psi

i thought you said they were half worn. imo, that's a good reason to get some new rubber on there anyway.

grouch

The down side of Montana is the limited businesses here. The up side is that the local Les Schwab tire store rotates and balance tires for free, but they don't carry a large selection of brands that I would consider.


Is the glass half full or half empty.

Lil4X

Get a good 4-wheel alignment and check your handling again. Often if caster is off (unusual, but possible), you can also get this effect too. Usually it is caused by using too wide a tire, or wheels with an improper offset - a typical situation for people who mod their car for appearance without considering function. "Tramlining" used to be common when people installed wide tires on an otherwise standard car, going for that "muscle car" look. Steering seemed to have a mind of its own. Your OEM's shouldn't be doing this (Thank you, Captain Obvious!).

"OEM" tires are no guarantee of quality. These are usually selected by the manufacturer based on price. I don't know about today's tires, but back when we were both a good deal younger and a good quality tire was about $50, our domestic manufacturers were paying Goodyear or Firestone about $8 each. That couldn't be much of a tire - that, or I'm in the wrong business . . .

grouch

A believe a tire or tires that toe out may also cause this. But, any alignment issue should show up in tire wear patterns.

I agree on the OEM tire thing. I remember when the City of L. A. use to buy tires for $8 to $10 each and in the 50's/60's you got 10K miles on a set.

I have 3 other vehicles in my garage and none of them are as "steering" sensitive as the Lexus.