Hey Scotty,
I have a 2014 Lexus LS460 with the 8 speed automatic and 30,000 miles on it.
it’s been steering to the right at highway speeds. Did a wheel alignment and tyres rebalancing, took it to the Lexus dealer and they did the whole front end suspension for about $4000 but it still steers to the right and they say it runs fine and can’t find anything wrong with it.
This is what they charged me for labor
This is the parts list
Was this vehicle ever involved in a wreck, previously? Do you mind sharing the parts invoice from the dealer, along with the alignment report? Blank out all your personal info please.
Hi thanks for your response,
We bought the car new in December 2013 and it hasn’t been in an accident at all.
I have a picture of the parts invoice but I’m not sure how to upload it here. I don’t have the alignment report though.
Wow, for a 30,000 mile Lexus, they’ve taken you to the cleaners (on parts & labour) and obviously clueless how to fix your alignment issue.
How old are your tyres and what brand are they?
Do you have access to another honest independent mechanic, or reputed front end shop, in your area?
This is a true "Stealership."
Yeah I realized that after the issue wasn’t fixed, unfortunately they’re the only dealer in the country and pretty much everyone else is clueless or they’ll rip you off since it’s a tiny market.
My tires are Dunlops from March 2019
There is one alignment guy I trust, I can take the car there in the next couple of days
Well since I trust Dunlop to make decent tyres, and they’re new, I’ll say start simple. Verify your cold tyre pressures and make sure they’re set to the pressures mentioned in the door jamb. Do you hear any clunking over bumps? Any vibrations when driving? Are the tyres wearing evenly?
The tire pressures were about 1-2psi off and i aired them up, i haven't really paid attention to clunking over bumps, but no vibrations over bumps and from my amateur eyes the tyres seem to be wearing evenly, i can take photos if you'd like
A difference of 2psi shouldn’t cause significant pulling to either side. There’s no need for photos, just use a coin and check if the tread depth is equal across the face of all 4 tyres. If the coin sticks out differently across the face of 1 tyre, then I’d start suspecting worn suspension parts. But it should be easy to eyeball it if it’s that’s bad. Let us know the diagnosis of the independent alignment shop.
all cars veer slightly to the right on crowned roads
The effect is more noticeable at highway speed.
Thanks for your response, yeah that slight right exists but in my Lexus it only started a few months ago and it’s noticeable at about 60mph to the point where if I let go of the wheel it’ll go to the next lane in about 2 seconds and I have to actively hold the wheel straight with force or it’ll switch lanes for me.
Find a good alligment shop. I hate to say but they ripped you off. I would demand my money back from the dealer, they made you pay $4000 wihtout finxing the issue. Never ever go to that dealership again and call up the Lexus HQ to complain about them.
Yeah unfortunately since Toyota and Lexus have such a strong brand reputation and they’re the only dealership here (and consequently make money for Toyota/lexus) lots of people have complained in the past but everyone’s just maintaining the status quo
I like their reliability so I’ll keep buying em I just have to find somewhere else (that’s honest) to do repairs
Where are you located? You may find some good shops using the following link:
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/mechanics/
I’m in the Middle East unfortunately