I am the first hand owner of this 2006 Lexus RX400h 4-door utility vehicle. I took my 400h to the dealer for the 90k service and 4 wheel alignment, the same place where it gets serviced every time. My vehicle always has problems here and there when I first got it. The technician at the dealer told me that the vehicle has a tire pull and the problem is within the tires. The technician test drove the vehicle with the tires in place as it is, and then test drove with the tires cross rotated and then drove again with the tires rotated from front to back. The technician concluded that there are bad tires on vehicle.
Also, for new tires there are a lot of wheel weights on each tire. Note: I have replaced all 4 new tires in 12/02/2009. The technician told me to go back to the tire store to get another set of new tires. I went back to the tire store to show them what the Lexus technician have said. Then the tire store manager test drove my vehicle with me for 30 minutes. This is the comment from the tire store manager: "Customer is having pull and vibe issues with the vehicle. I adjusted all four tires air and checked the balance. I also rotate the tires from front to back and road forced tires. Both front tires had a road force of less than .018 ppt. I also test drove the vehicle and noticed two potential problems. During a normal course, there is a visible vibration in the steering wheel and the vehicle pulls to the right. During acceleration, the vehicle then pulls to the left. However, the vibrations are still there. However, if you put the car in neutral, the vibes go away. This is not something that a tire would do. If a tire has a push or a pull, it would only vibrate at certain speeds not all the time. Please call Jose ** (store manager) with any further concern. Also, would like to note that we did put a new set of tires on and the problem is the same. If you know tires you know that the likely hood that you have two brand new sets of tires on and nothing changes is unlikely."
I went back to the dealer and show the technician the report from the tire store. Then the technician wrote this comment: "That he is still getting a shake in steering wheel at any speed. Vehicle veers is either direction upon acceleration. He went and bought new tires. Discount tire states there is another issue and not tires. Vehicle has a tire pull. Problem is within the tires. We put tires from another RX on this vehicle and there is no further problem. Put his tires back on and vehicle pulls again. Technician recommends OEM tires." The Lexus tech told me that all Good Year are bad tires and recommend use Michelin tires only. I went back to the tire store and the manager said that he went the dealer to put the new OEM tires on the vehicle and see if the problem will resolve and if so they will refund all the money back to me and have me to pay the dealer for the new tires.
I again went back to the dealer and have the tech change to 4 new Michelin OEM tires and they also put a lot of wheel weights on each tire just like what the tire shop does and why he have concern before and now he does the same. We then went for a test drive to see if the problem has resolved. But we have found that the problem is still there and the explanation was because the vehicle needs to do the alignment again doing to the new set of tires having been put on. So I go back home and wait. The next day they call me and say the vehicle is ready for pickup. When I test drove the vehicle, the shake was less but the pull was still there I told the tech about the problem.
The tech said that went test drove the vehicle there was no problem and if I said there is still a problem, they can't help me anymore. I asked if he could have a 3rd person from the dealer to test drive with me and see if that was my problem or the vehicle is still having problems. He agrees to do that. After we test drove the vehicle, that person felt the same way as I feel. We both told them that the vehicle is still having problem. However, this is what they told me: "Dismounted all tires. Customer still felt pull to right after new tires. Vehicle is within spec. needs to go to body shop; might have bent frame." And the tech told me that he doesn't know how to service me anymore, so he dismounted all the tires and put back the tires from the tire store and he sent me home. I have never gotten into a car accident before and I have only hit a few potholes in the past, so I don't know how this vehicle can have a bent frame from a pothole. Does this mean that Lexus use low quality equipment to make their vehicles or Lexus service technicians don't have the knowledge to service their own vehicle and they have to send their customers to other places to fix their problems? I drive my infant son every day and afraid that the vehicle is unsafe to drive.
