IS300h does not stay straight on a straight road

Gaurav Bhandari · January 1, 2022

My Lexus IS 300h pulls to either left or right and I have to steer either side to keep it straight. Not sure if this is an issue or something else? I have tested it with my lexus lane assistant set to ON. On a straight road I was expecting the car to drive straight and not pulls on either side. Any comments or thoughts?

malcolmw · January 1, 2022

Have you checked your tyre pressures?

westo3 · January 1, 2022

Or the tracking?

GMB · January 1, 2022

I had a similar problem a few years ago. It was the Avon Tyres. Got rid of them and put Pirellis on - Problem disappeared.

Gaurav Bhandari · January 1, 2022

3 hours ago, malcolmw said:

Have you checked your tyre pressures?

Will do it first tomorrow morning

Gaurav Bhandari · January 1, 2022

2 hours ago, westo3 said:

Or the tracking?

Which tracking?

m4rkw · January 1, 2022

Are you sure it pulls in both directions? That's somewhat odd, typically a pull would be to one side or the other. Are you sure you were driving on a flat road? Most roads have some degree of camber to let the rain run off.

If it's pull to one side then the first thing to do is swap the front tyres left to right and see if the pull changes direction. If it does then you know it's a tyre problem and not a geometry problem. If nothing changes, do the same thing with the rear tyres as a rear tyre can also cause a pull. If neither of these swaps changes the direction then I would suspect geometry or worn suspension components.

westo3 · January 1, 2022

2 hours ago, Gaurav Bhandari said:

Which tracking?

Once you have followed the above advice re the tires and the problem has not been resolved then it might be a geometry problem so take the car to any tyre fitters and ask for the tracking to be checked and adjusted if necessary. If the problem still persists check out the suspension

Thackeray · January 2, 2022

In my experience, the average tyre fitting outlet may not have staff with the experience to do accurate wheel geometry. I personally had a repeated bad experience with a nationwide tyre fitting service that produced worse results each time they tried to adjust the tracking. So after an MOT tester advised me to find a garage with a Hunter alignment machine I found a garage around 20 miles away but the results were really impressive. On an earlier thread on this topic, someone put up a link for AlignMyCar, which is a website that lists locations of garages with Hunter machines. I haven't tried this website myself but if it finds your nearest Hunter machine that sounds helpful.

NemesisUK · January 2, 2022

Pulling left and right is often just tramlining, wide tyres following imperceptible ruts in the tarmac cause by trucks/heavy traffic. White lines can also be a problem.

Some tyre makes are worse than others.

m4rkw · January 2, 2022

I used to have a BMW E46 which are notorious for tramlining and do it whenever anything in the suspension isn’t tight as a drum.

Linas.P · January 2, 2022

My bet would be on alignment - have you hit any pothole recently (I assume car was not always like that)? If there is significant TOE OUT then it could be the case of car pulling both directions, because it would make whatever tramlining tendencies tyres have far worse.

Most tyre however should not tramline provided wheel alignment is right and you not driving in truck tracks, but as others said some tyres are worse then others.

As well note that you can't swap directional tyres (if there is arrow showing direction of rotation that means "directional") from one side to another to check.

Soldat79 · January 17, 2022

To solved it, I made two things, In first I increase a little bit TOE IN on rear wheel (more you add TOE in at the rear left wheel more the car pulling at left.;;.) next change my tire Bridgestone weather control by Pirelli Cinturato SF2.

Just a stupid question, do you have the same issu with the trunk of the car with weight inside for down the rear?

Soldat79 · January 17, 2022

On 1/2/2022 at 11:53 AM, m4rkw said:

I used to have a BMW E46 which are notorious for tramlining and do it whenever anything in the suspension isn’t tight as a drum.

Hi m4rkw, how it's possible the suspension become loosened?

m4rkw · January 17, 2022

26 minutes ago, Soldat79 said:

Hi m4rkw, how it's possible the suspension become loosened?

Things wear out over time and gradually become loose, rubber parts deteriorate

Soldat79 · January 18, 2022

Ok, I understand

Gaurav Bhandari · January 30, 2022

Finally got wheel alignment checked from kwik fit for free. Nothing odd here, not sure to trust it.

wharfhouse · January 31, 2022

17 hours ago, Gaurav Bhandari said:

Finally got wheel alignment checked from kwik fit for free. Nothing odd here, not sure to trust it.

If that's a check (rather than changes being made) I would have thought it would be OK. In my experience tyres can play quite a part in how a car behaves. What tyres do you have on each wheel and how much tread is left on them and are any of them unusually worn. If the alignment had been done in the past on part worn tyres it can make the car behave strangely as the tyres are worn wrongly for the new alignment. Also tyre pressures play a big part though I'm sure you'll have checked those with a decent tyre pressure gauge (not down the local petrol station as they are often inaccurate).

Gaurav Bhandari · January 31, 2022

3 minutes ago, wharfhouse said:

If that's a check (rather than changes being made) I would have thought it would be OK. In my experience tyres can play quite a part in how a car behaves. What tyres do you have on each wheel and how much tread is left on them and are any of them unusually worn. If the alignment had been done in the past on part worn tyres it can make the car behave strangely as the tyres are worn wrongly for the new alignment. Also tyre pressures play a big part though I'm sure you'll have checked those with a decent tyre pressure gauge (not down the local petrol station as they are often inaccurate).

Hey, thanks for the help.Tyre details will post by the end of the day. However, for gauge, any recommendation? I rely on the one at the shell station.

wharfhouse · January 31, 2022

2 hours ago, Gaurav Bhandari said:

Hey, thanks for the help.Tyre details will post by the end of the day. However, for gauge, any recommendation? I rely on the one at the shell station.

I've used a Ring RTG6 (around £15) for some 5 years and found it accurate (for comparison have checked the TPMS sensors through an app on the OBD port) and it had some reviews saying it was accurate - but there are many others - just make sure you get a recognised brand and you shouldn't go too far wrong - or media like Auto Express often have comparisons of tyre pressure gauges that measure accuracy and so would guide you in the right direction. The tyre pressure gauges at garage forecourts often misread and also your tyres may not be cold by the time you get there (tyre pressures should always be measured cold - if it's unavoidable you do it when they are warm then you can about 3 psi extra to get close to what they will go back to when cold, but always better to do them cold). If I use a garage airline to add some air for any reason then I always check with my own gauge and so know from experience how far out garage forecourt ones can be sometimes...!

paulrnx · January 31, 2022

Best to buy a tyre pressure guage and check pressure in each tyre and ensure inflated to recommend settings. Different tyres on the same axle will give steering anomalies too.

Gaurav Bhandari · February 1, 2022

@wharfhouse I checked all the tyres, they are BluEarth (E51) from Yokohama. Tyres looks fine and not worn. I believe I should it to someone else for testing it and if they have the same feedback. One thing is for sure I usually drive on the left lane and as per the kwikfit guys that is the lane mostly used by heavy trucks that can change the road structure...

wharfhouse · February 1, 2022

17 minutes ago, Gaurav Bhandari said:

@wharfhouse I checked all the tyres, they are BluEarth (E51) from Yokohama. Tyres looks fine and not worn. I believe I should it to someone else for testing it and if they have the same feedback. One thing is for sure I usually drive on the left lane and as per the kwikfit guys that is the lane mostly used by heavy trucks that can change the road structure...

The Yokohama BluEarth (E51) are the OEM fit tyres by Lexus from the factory - I have them on mine and have continued to replace them with the same at my local Lexus dealer and never had any issues with them whatsoever (my IS 300h is 7 years old and has done 112K miles). By the way my Lexus dealer is always cheaper than any other local tyre fitting places - when you look to change them worth asking at your Lexus dealer for a quote. In the second photo down that tyre looks more worn than the others but may just be the way the shot was done though shouldn't have a significant effect even if it is. Did you also check for any excessive wear on the inside edges of each (turn front wheel to full lock and have a good look). If all tyres have largely the same tread, no excessive wear on the inside edges and you have purchased a decent tyre pressure gauge and checked they are all inflated to spec (2.5 bar / 36 psi all round) then given the alignment all looked ok I would take the car onto a straight piece of motorway that has a decent surface and no significant camber on a day with no or little wind and run in lane 2 or 3 (not the inside lane or lane 2 if it's 4 lanes), switch off any lane keeping assist too - and then you should be able to relax your grip on the steering and the car should run true and straight at 70 mph. Mine does and as far as I know the alignment hasn't been touched since it left the factory.

If that is all OK then the issue is the rutted inside lane issue which I do experience to some extent too (all cars I have had experienced this, some worse than others). By the way, I see you are listed as living in Hampshire, don't do the above test on the M3 in Hampshire as that has a significant camber to the left and the car will tend to drift left a bit. Also the M27 isn't great as it has quite a few bends and camber too. The M4 in Berkshire is probably the best one to do the test on, especially the newly surfaced 4 lane section from J12 heading towards Reading.

If there is any significant pull then I think the only course of action may be a visit to Lexus (in case it could be something in the suspension) or a reputable alignment specialist (in case the KwikFit alignment wasn't done correctly). Lexus can also do 4 wheel alignment too. Not sure what Lexus dealer is nearest to you but I have always used Lexus Reading for all work on my car (I purchased the car there too when it was 2 years old with 40K miles) and have no complaints. In fact I have asked them to check things in the past and they have reported back with no problems when they could have easily charged me for work.

Gaurav Bhandari · February 1, 2022

1 hour ago, wharfhouse said:

The Yokohama BluEarth (E51) are the OEM fit tyres by Lexus from the factory - I have them on mine and have continued to replace them with the same at my local Lexus dealer and never had any issues with them whatsoever (my IS 300h is 7 years old and has done 112K miles). By the way my Lexus dealer is always cheaper than any other local tyre fitting places - when you look to change them worth asking at your Lexus dealer for a quote. In the second photo down that tyre looks more worn than the others but may just be the way the shot was done though shouldn't have a significant effect even if it is. Did you also check for any excessive wear on the inside edges of each (turn front wheel to full lock and have a good look). If all tyres have largely the same tread, no excessive wear on the inside edges and you have purchased a decent tyre pressure gauge and checked they are all inflated to spec (2.5 bar / 36 psi all round) then given the alignment all looked ok I would take the car onto a straight piece of motorway that has a decent surface and no significant camber on a day with no or little wind and run in lane 2 or 3 (not the inside lane or lane 2 if it's 4 lanes), switch off any lane keeping assist too - and then you should be able to relax your grip on the steering and the car should run true and straight at 70 mph. Mine does and as far as I know the alignment hasn't been touched since it left the factory.

If that is all OK then the issue is the rutted inside lane issue which I do experience to some extent too (all cars I have had experienced this, some worse than others). By the way, I see you are listed as living in Hampshire, don't do the above test on the M3 in Hampshire as that has a significant camber to the left and the car will tend to drift left a bit. Also the M27 isn't great as it has quite a few bends and camber too. The M4 in Berkshire is probably the best one to do the test on, especially the newly surfaced 4 lane section from J12 heading towards Reading.

If there is any significant pull then I think the only course of action may be a visit to Lexus (in case it could be something in the suspension) or a reputable alignment specialist (in case the KwikFit alignment wasn't done correctly). Lexus can also do 4 wheel alignment too. Not sure what Lexus dealer is nearest to you but I have always used Lexus Reading for all work on my car (I purchased the car there too when it was 2 years old with 40K miles) and have no complaints. In fact I have asked them to check things in the past and they have reported back with no problems when they could have easily charged me for work.

Wow, thank you so much. That was a lot of infomation. Thank you so much for taking time to go through the pictures and even comment on them.

I am glad to know that you are using the same tyres and have faced no issues and on the top you always look forward to replace your tyres with the same model. I will give a thorough check to the tyre's inside edge, will also test on M4 Berkshire and if I still face issue will let Lexus know. But I cannot thank you enough for all your support 🙂

I have taken service plan from from Lexus hedge end, as I bought car from them, but will check with them if I can go lexus Reading going forward..

wharfhouse · February 1, 2022

If you are happy with Lexus Hedge End then no need to change - just wasn't sure if you had a particular dealer in mind so thought I'd let you know my experience of Lexus Reading. Not 100% sure but I think service plans are for within the same dealer network so probably not transferable to Lexus Reading (which is part of Jemca group).