I have a 2007 Lexus ES350 with 50k miles on it.
I just got some new Primacy MXV4s.
Do I need to do an alignment?
Was there any evidence of uneven tire wear? Does the car pull one way or the other? While it’s not a bad idea, honestly, I don’t do it if no problems are apparent…
My philosophy on this is the same as Texas’.
You’ll get varying opinions on this. One thing I should add is that I monitor the condition of my vehicles including the tires. If you do not, and don’t know how yours were wearing, perhaps an alignment would be prudent.
Why not protect your new investment and at least have it checked.
If there is no odd tire wear then MAYBE you don’t need to BUT…
It is definitely in your best interest to have your vehicle aligned everytime you get new tires. As Willey said, protect your investment. Some places like Firestone (I’m not telling anyone to go there, just an example) will offer lifetime alignments, this is your choice. I get an alignment with every tire purchase.
My vote is to do it. The last two times I had my tires replaced, the alignment was off a bit, even though the tires seemed to be wearing evenly.
In 50,000 miles, you’ve probably hit a fair number of potholes and other big bumps.
If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. If you’re old tires wore evenly, and there was no indication of a pull or being out of alignment, skip it. I’m not convinced the alignment guy would do more good than harm. Do I trust a HS kid to work on my $30,000 car? No. Not if it’s something I can do myself or especially if there is nothing apparently wrong with it. If after several months and 10,000 miles you see your tires wearing unevenly, then go get an alignment. It’s not the end of the world if your tires have slightly uneven wear pattern. But that’s just me, and that’s what’s nice about our country and this forum, we can all freely express our opinions.
Probably not. Alignments are “almost” like changing the headlight fluid, just cash in the repair shop’s pocket. If you have no symptoms, pulling, unevenly worn tires, etc. Skip it and save the $$$.
If there is a HS kid operating a alignment machine then that shop needs to be avoided.
Todays vehicles are more complicated than ever including alignments. Todays alignment techs have to be well trained to be able to properly align a vehicle today.
With stability systems and electric steering systems being mandated for vehicles there are sensors that can be affected by improper alignments. If fact there is a steering wheel sensor that has to be reset after an alignment and if it isn’t reset it will turn on the check engine light.
I stand by what I said before… why not protect your investment, have it checked.
Looks like its time for you to flip a coin. I have my alignment checked whenever I buy new tires - on the “protect your investment” principle. Good tires are pretty expensive - alignments are pretty cheap. An added bonus is that all of your important front end parts get checked out. This is a good reason, though, to stay away from corporate chains that tend to find problems where there aren’t any. A good, local, reputable alignment shop is the way to go.
Great tire shops like my local independent charge $35 for a check and more if it needs it. However if you skip the service they have you come in for the first rotation 5-6k miles latter to check that tires are wearing correctly and can pick up on a bad alignment without too much damage inflicted.
I bought 4 new tires for my 1998 Regal recently. The old tires had about 50,000 miles on them and were worn evenly. I mentioned this to the service rep at the tire store and he agreed that alignment was not needed.
If this is the first replacement set of tires, I’d say the odds are that you should not get it re-aligned. If however you do decide to get one done, select the technician and the shop out just as carefully as you did your tires. Willey made some good points in his second post, especially paragraph 2, but unfortunately, not all alignment techs are not up to the standards he sets and not all alignment machines are properly calibrated. I tend to avoid alignments unless absolutely needed.
BTW, I got over 100k miles on my last two sets of tires and I drive hard. But your Primacy MXV4’s will be good if they make 50,000. They wear out a little faster than the Bridgestone Turanza LST’s I like, but are no longer available.