One thing you should not do is listen to any service advice from a car salesman.
Almost every salesman on earth has automotive knowledge that is strictly limited to what’s in the brochures on the display rack.
Do not worry about expensive repairs at this point. Have an alignment done and post the specs back here for discussion. If there’s a problem in the suspension that is bad enough to cause a pull then the specs should reflect it.
Mr. ok4450 is asking you to request alignment specs before and after performing alignment adjustments. Insist on these numbers including caster, camber and toe. If you get fast talk and excuses, then persist to know why you can’t have these and with no extra cost as knowing these is is no problem with adequate equipment.
If you are asked to take your business elsewhere, then take that as all you need to know about the people you are dealing with.
Insisting on these numbers will make it clear that you are not to be taken lightly and have backup people here on CarTalk.
Camille,
Based on your responses:
If I were the mechanic, I’d want to take it for a drive. The symptoms you describe could be quite a few things.
One of the things it could be the road itself.
Do as has been suggested. Take it to an independent alignment shop. Post the before and after computer printiouts.
What do you mean “crooked driving”?
Having someone drive your car while you follow in another or having someone follow you, free
Four wheel alignment $120 or so.
I can’t vouch for the mileage increase, but I’d be more concerned that the vehicle wasn’t fixed to your satisfaction. Does your dealer have the alignment rack with the cameras? Has it been calibrated accurately and recently? How many miles on your run-flats? Are these tires the originals? I worked for Lexus; these cars are notoriously hard on tires; the steering angles create a “toe-out” condition that wears out the “inside” edges of the tires. I do agree that because of the flat rate pay structure, I don’t believe that the techs were “joyriding” in your car.
It does sound as if your Service Manager isn’t the most competent, either. Since you brought your car into the shop within the warranty period, you’re still eligible for repairs under warranty as the problem hasn’t been corrected. Is there another Lexus dealer close by? If not, you may be forced to find another dealer. Where I live, there are 2 Lexus dealers within 15 miles of each other.
Finally, call the 800 number in your owner’s manual and explain, calmly, that you’re not satisfied. Lexus dealers live and die by the CSI: Customer Satisfaction Index. Good luck with this; most auto techs are honest, though fewer are competent.
I learned that I’m really glad that I fix my own cars now that I’ve had the opportunity to be an auto tech. One more thing, was a 4-wheel alignment done on your car? (The rear suspension has camber and toe settings.)
They told me nothing and if it was on the paperwork, they certainly did not point out any information that I could reflect back on. As a consumer and admittedly, a woman, ahem, I took their word for it.
I did bring the car in under the warranty time frame, but isn’t it too late to go back and insist they repair or fix anything for me now? It’s been about 3.5 years since they inspected my car for alignment problems.
Sorry. I hit the wrong button and it put a flag on your comment. Stoopid button. LOL. I appreciate your advice and how everyone on here seems to be a big help. I feel very taken care of by you beefy, manly men. Thx.
Three and a half years can be a long time without checking the alignment. While some, or many, may disagree I’m of the opinion that the alignment should be inspected about every 40k miles or so and even more often if a problem is suspected or it’s known that the car has hit a bad pothole or hit a curb pretty hard.
Having an alignment check every so often can allow someone to keep tabs on what’s going on suspension-wise and possibly stop a minor problem from becoming a major one.
Several years ago a tv station was doing a story on the local evening news about a few bad potholes in south Oklahoma City. These potholes were actually craters and were not just knocking cars out of alignment but they were also bending wheels, blowing out tires, bending front suspension components, and in one case left a young girl and her Saturn I think it was stuck in one of them.
After 3 or 4 years there’s nothing you can do or that could be done as to an alignment that was performed way back then.
If the alignment was correct back then there’s no guarantee it would be correct 2 weeks later as one pothole, curb, or rough railroad track could change things.
One cannot simply drive a car around the block and determine if an alignment is needed.
I concur with OK 100%.
My wife needed new tires on her 07 Lexus with less then 35k miles. Looking at the tires I could tell the car was out of alignment. However driving it around it was fine. We bought new tires and had them do an alignment. The alignment was WAY off. The car does handle much better…but not sure if it’s the alignment or the new tires that made the bigger difference.