Flat tire at 500 miles! My thoughts on changing it
07-04-24, 12:37 PM
#1
Driver
Thread Starter
Flat tire at 500 miles! My thoughts on changing it
Must be a record of some sort. Had the car 7 days. Drove to Nashville yesterday and noticed the right rear was only 31 psi. This morning the alert went off - 21 psi.
This gave me a change to replace the locking lug bolts on all 4 tires and to see how much fun changing the tire would be. My thoughts :
I've said this before and will say it often. Any engineer that designs something for the buyer to do must be forced to use it first. I am NOT a fan of the new lug bolts.
It's obvious the design engineer never tried to actually change a tire - especially on the shoulder of the road. They were a real pain in my garage. On the side of the road at night - new cuss words will be invented. First - don't even try the lug wrench. Get a folding lug wrench at harbor freight or Lowes. 100 ft lbs is not trivial and a real lug wrench makes it much easier. Second - Get the steel alignment tool from Amazon. Pretty sure the plastic one will break at worst moment. I had bought the steel one it like it. I would also strongly suggest getting a 17mm, 6 point socket and an extension. I had this in my garage and will have it in the trunk. Screwing those lug bolts through the tire is a real pain. I honestly don't think it can be done by hand and I doubt the L shaped lug wrench will help. You have to be able to spin them and lining up the bolt is an exercise in pain. I loosened them and tried to rethread them without taking off the tire. It still took multiple tries to get them back in. Tomorrow when I get the repaired tire back - it will interesting to try to thread them in. Lug nuts worked for years and would really make this easier. I am doing it in my garage not on the side of the road. I used my floor jack so I can't comment on the standard jack. On all my cars I have a 2 inch block of wood in the trunk to give height.
Finally - where do you put jack stands on this car? If I rotate the tires I need to support the car with jack stands.
This gave me a change to replace the locking lug bolts on all 4 tires and to see how much fun changing the tire would be. My thoughts :
I've said this before and will say it often. Any engineer that designs something for the buyer to do must be forced to use it first. I am NOT a fan of the new lug bolts.
It's obvious the design engineer never tried to actually change a tire - especially on the shoulder of the road. They were a real pain in my garage. On the side of the road at night - new cuss words will be invented. First - don't even try the lug wrench. Get a folding lug wrench at harbor freight or Lowes. 100 ft lbs is not trivial and a real lug wrench makes it much easier. Second - Get the steel alignment tool from Amazon. Pretty sure the plastic one will break at worst moment. I had bought the steel one it like it. I would also strongly suggest getting a 17mm, 6 point socket and an extension. I had this in my garage and will have it in the trunk. Screwing those lug bolts through the tire is a real pain. I honestly don't think it can be done by hand and I doubt the L shaped lug wrench will help. You have to be able to spin them and lining up the bolt is an exercise in pain. I loosened them and tried to rethread them without taking off the tire. It still took multiple tries to get them back in. Tomorrow when I get the repaired tire back - it will interesting to try to thread them in. Lug nuts worked for years and would really make this easier. I am doing it in my garage not on the side of the road. I used my floor jack so I can't comment on the standard jack. On all my cars I have a 2 inch block of wood in the trunk to give height.
Finally - where do you put jack stands on this car? If I rotate the tires I need to support the car with jack stands.
07-04-24, 04:59 PM
#2
Intermediate
Must be a record of some sort. Had the car 7 days. Drove to Nashville yesterday and noticed the right rear was only 31 psi. This morning the alert went off - 21 psi.
This gave me a change to replace the locking lug bolts on all 4 tires and to see how much fun changing the tire would be. My thoughts :
I've said this before and will say it often. Any engineer that designs something for the buyer to do must be forced to use it first. I am NOT a fan of the new lug bolts.
It's obvious the design engineer never tried to actually change a tire - especially on the shoulder of the road. They were a real pain in my garage. On the side of the road at night - new cuss words will be invented. First - don't even try the lug wrench. Get a folding lug wrench at harbor freight or Lowes. 100 ft lbs is not trivial and a real lug wrench makes it much easier. Second - Get the steel alignment tool from Amazon. Pretty sure the plastic one will break at worst moment. I had bought the steel one it like it. I would also strongly suggest getting a 17mm, 6 point socket and an extension. I had this in my garage and will have it in the trunk. Screwing those lug bolts through the tire is a real pain. I honestly don't think it can be done by hand and I doubt the L shaped lug wrench will help. You have to be able to spin them and lining up the bolt is an exercise in pain. I loosened them and tried to rethread them without taking off the tire. It still took multiple tries to get them back in. Tomorrow when I get the repaired tire back - it will interesting to try to thread them in. Lug nuts worked for years and would really make this easier. I am doing it in my garage not on the side of the road. I used my floor jack so I can't comment on the standard jack. On all my cars I have a 2 inch block of wood in the trunk to give height.
Finally - where do you put jack stands on this car? If I rotate the tires I need to support the car with jack stands.
This gave me a change to replace the locking lug bolts on all 4 tires and to see how much fun changing the tire would be. My thoughts :
I've said this before and will say it often. Any engineer that designs something for the buyer to do must be forced to use it first. I am NOT a fan of the new lug bolts.
It's obvious the design engineer never tried to actually change a tire - especially on the shoulder of the road. They were a real pain in my garage. On the side of the road at night - new cuss words will be invented. First - don't even try the lug wrench. Get a folding lug wrench at harbor freight or Lowes. 100 ft lbs is not trivial and a real lug wrench makes it much easier. Second - Get the steel alignment tool from Amazon. Pretty sure the plastic one will break at worst moment. I had bought the steel one it like it. I would also strongly suggest getting a 17mm, 6 point socket and an extension. I had this in my garage and will have it in the trunk. Screwing those lug bolts through the tire is a real pain. I honestly don't think it can be done by hand and I doubt the L shaped lug wrench will help. You have to be able to spin them and lining up the bolt is an exercise in pain. I loosened them and tried to rethread them without taking off the tire. It still took multiple tries to get them back in. Tomorrow when I get the repaired tire back - it will interesting to try to thread them in. Lug nuts worked for years and would really make this easier. I am doing it in my garage not on the side of the road. I used my floor jack so I can't comment on the standard jack. On all my cars I have a 2 inch block of wood in the trunk to give height.
Finally - where do you put jack stands on this car? If I rotate the tires I need to support the car with jack stands.
Lexus almost guarantees with their design that you have to call for roadside assistance with a flatbed truck if you have trouble - which may almost be impossible if you are in trouble in a remote location without cell-service.
07-04-24, 06:06 PM
#3
Which model of the 5th Gen RX do you have ? This painful exercise gets even worse depending on the model that has 21-inch wheels. There is no spare tire/wheel for some of us with 21-inch wheels. Neither are there any supplied jack or wrench.
Lexus almost guarantees with their design that you have to call for roadside assistance with a flatbed truck if you have trouble - which may almost be impossible if you are in trouble in a remote location without cell-service.
Lexus almost guarantees with their design that you have to call for roadside assistance with a flatbed truck if you have trouble - which may almost be impossible if you are in trouble in a remote location without cell-service.
07-04-24, 07:50 PM
#4
Intermediate
True from a mathematical standpoint, until you realize that its also based on decisions by Lexus that could have traded off weight by other means, such as by not having a panoramic sunroof, or at least providing to option the car instead that way. In favor of having a spare.
The Rav4 Prime, for example, is better designed that way - while lacking other measurable gains such as lower noise in cabin, as good ADAS, etc, that Lexus has.
The trade-off decisions could have been managed better by letting owners build/configure the car, like the Germans do. In other words, customizable trade-offs are achievable - just that Lexus chooses not to allow that.
The Rav4 Prime, for example, is better designed that way - while lacking other measurable gains such as lower noise in cabin, as good ADAS, etc, that Lexus has.
The trade-off decisions could have been managed better by letting owners build/configure the car, like the Germans do. In other words, customizable trade-offs are achievable - just that Lexus chooses not to allow that.
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Urlik (07-04-24)
07-05-24, 02:45 AM
#5
Driver
Thread Starter
Which model of the 5th Gen RX do you have ? This painful exercise gets even worse depending on the model that has 21-inch wheels. There is no spare tire/wheel for some of us with 21-inch wheels. Neither are there any supplied jack or wrench.
Lexus almost guarantees with their design that you have to call for roadside assistance with a flatbed truck if you have trouble - which may almost be impossible if you are in trouble in a remote location without cell-service.
Lexus almost guarantees with their design that you have to call for roadside assistance with a flatbed truck if you have trouble - which may almost be impossible if you are in trouble in a remote location without cell-service.
07-05-24, 05:42 AM
#7
Driver
Thread Starter
In this case AAA would not have added anything. it's repairable nail in tire. I took it off and dropped it off at Pep Boys. Unless AAA can repair the tire then all they could do is what I did - switch to the spare. Probably going to have Pep Boys put it back on however. We are expecting a lot of rain and my desire to replace a wet tire is very low.
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07-05-24, 08:08 AM
#8
Reading this reminded me to throw a law and leaf bag in with the spare for a tire change and I don’t get the interior dirty.
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Carbuff2 (07-06-24)
07-05-24, 10:13 AM
#9
Lexus Test Driver
Which model of the 5th Gen RX do you have ? This painful exercise gets even worse depending on the model that has 21-inch wheels. There is no spare tire/wheel for some of us with 21-inch wheels. Neither are there any supplied jack or wrench.
Lexus almost guarantees with their design that you have to call for roadside assistance with a flatbed truck if you have trouble - which may almost be impossible if you are in trouble in a remote location without cell-service.
Lexus almost guarantees with their design that you have to call for roadside assistance with a flatbed truck if you have trouble - which may almost be impossible if you are in trouble in a remote location without cell-service.
07-05-24, 10:16 AM
#10
Lexus Test Driver
I've only had two flats last many years that I can remember - ten or more. It a rare occurrence these days.
07-05-24, 12:24 PM
#11
I could be wrong, but believe this is the right size for the Gen 5 RX:
(M14 x 1.5 wheel alignment pin)
One or two of these can help get the replacement tire in place before attaching the tire going on.
IIRC there may be a plastic one included with the car, but an honest steel one would likely work better.
(M14 x 1.5 wheel alignment pin)
One or two of these can help get the replacement tire in place before attaching the tire going on.
IIRC there may be a plastic one included with the car, but an honest steel one would likely work better.
07-05-24, 12:59 PM
#12
Driver
Thread Starter
Yep - that looks like the one I bought. I put the repaired tire on this afternoon. Not as bad as I expected but I had some advantages. Flat garage floor, lights, a real jack and the other stuff I mentioned. The steel alignment worked fine. previously I suggested a 17mm socket on an extension to thread the bolts. That is almost a requirement. I have no idea how you would do this with the standard lug wrench and you can't do it by hand. It's very similar to threading a spark plug`in. You need to be able to rotate the bolt multiple turns to get it started. The factory wrench might work on a bolt around 1:00 position but it will probably hit the ground on the 6:00 position. And in my case it was the rear so the parking brake stops you from rotating the tire.
The other issue showed up via the TPMS. I mentioned surprise that the pony spare had a monitor. This morning nothing registered. After putting the original tire back - still nothing. I gave up and registered it again. Still took about ten minutes of driving for the pressures to appear.
The other issue showed up via the TPMS. I mentioned surprise that the pony spare had a monitor. This morning nothing registered. After putting the original tire back - still nothing. I gave up and registered it again. Still took about ten minutes of driving for the pressures to appear.
07-05-24, 01:57 PM
#13
Intermediate
In this case AAA would not have added anything. it's repairable nail in tire. I took it off and dropped it off at Pep Boys. Unless AAA can repair the tire then all they could do is what I did - switch to the spare. Probably going to have Pep Boys put it back on however. We are expecting a lot of rain and my desire to replace a wet tire is very low.
07-05-24, 03:32 PM
#14
Intermediate
This stuff happening in urban areas areas is one thing - what happens if this happens inside a National Park ?
What is the best road-side assistance to have - is the Lexus Road-side not up to snuff (so one has to specifically pay for AAA membership) ? I read here from others that Lexus themselves subcontracts to AAA.
In any case, what is the most robust (i.e. dependable, customer-focused in terms of reasonable time-of-arrival) roadside to be armed with, given its likely to need such roadside "pros" to be back in driveable condition ?
What is the best road-side assistance to have - is the Lexus Road-side not up to snuff (so one has to specifically pay for AAA membership) ? I read here from others that Lexus themselves subcontracts to AAA.
In any case, what is the most robust (i.e. dependable, customer-focused in terms of reasonable time-of-arrival) roadside to be armed with, given its likely to need such roadside "pros" to be back in driveable condition ?
