3494-6. Driving tips
4
Driving
IS200t_EE(OM53D77E)
WARNING
■Driving with snow tires
Observe the following precautions to reduce the risk of accidents.
Failure to do so may result in a loss of vehicle control and cause death or serious injury.
●Use tires of the specified size.
●Maintain the recommended level of air pressure.
●Do not drive at speeds in excess of the speed limit or the speed limit specified for the
snow tires being used.
●Use snow tires on all, not just some wheels.
●Do not use LDA (Lane Departure Alert with steering control) system.
■Driving with tire chains (excep t vehicles with 18-inch tires)
Observe the following precautions to reduce the risk of accidents.
Failure to do so may result in the vehicle being unable to be driven safely, and may
cause death or serious injury.
●Do not drive in excess of the speed limit spec ified for the tire chains being used, or 50
km/h (30 mph), whichever is lower.
●Avoid driving on bumpy road surfaces or over potholes.
●Avoid sudden acceleration, abrupt steering, sudden braking and shifting operations
that cause sudden engine braking.
●Slow down sufficiently before entering a curve to ensure that vehicle control is main-
tained.
NOTICE
■Repairing or replacing snow tires
Request repairs or replacement of snow tires from any authorized Lexus retailer or
Lexus authorized repairer, or any reliable repairer or legitimate tire retailers.
This is because the removal and attachment of snow tires affects the operation of the
tire pressure warning valves and transmitters.
■Fitting tire chains (except vehicles with 18-inch tires)
The tire pressure warning valves and transmitters may not function correctly when tire
chains are fitted.
5107-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
IS200t_EE(OM53D77E)
Rotate the tires in the order shown.
To equalize tire wear and help extend tire life, Lexus recommends that tire rota-
tion is carried out approximately every 10000 km (6000 miles).
Do not fail to initialize the tire pressure warning system after tire rotation.
Your vehicle is equipped with a tire pressure warning system that uses tire pres-
sure warning valves and transmitters to detect low tire inflation pressure before
serious problems arise.
If the tire pressure drops below a predetermined level, the driver is warned by a
warning light. ( P. 557)
◆Installing tire pressure warning valves and transmitters
When replacing tires or wheels, tire pressure warning valves and transmitters
must also be installed.
When new tire pressure warning valves and transmitters are installed, new ID
codes must be registered in the tire pressure warning computer and the tire
pressure warning system must be initialized. Have tire pressure warning valve
and transmitter ID codes registered by any authorized Lexus retailer or Lexus
authorized repairer, or any reliable repairer. ( P. 511)
Tire rotation
Vehicles with front and rear tires of
the same sizeVehicles with front and rear tires of
differing sizes
FrontFront
Tire pressure warning system
5117-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
7
Maintenance and care
IS200t_EE(OM53D77E)
◆Initializing the tire pressure warning system
■The tire pressure warning system must be initialized in the following circum-
stances:
●When rotating the tires.
●When the tire inflation pressure is changed such as when changing travel-
ing speed or load weight.
●When changing the tire size.
When the tire pressure warning system is initialized, the current tire inflation
pressure is set as the benchmark pressure.
■How to initialize the tire pressure warning system
Park the vehicle in a safe place and turn the engine switch off.
Initialization cannot be performed while the vehicle is moving.
Adjust the tire inflation pressure to the specified cold tire inflation pressure
level. ( P. 638)
Make sure to adjust the tire pressure to the specified cold tire inflation pressure
level. The tire pressure warning system will operate based on this pressure level.
Turn the engine switch to IGNITION ON mode.
Press and hold the tire pressure
warning reset switch until the tire
pressure warning light blinks
slowly 3 times.
Wait for a few minutes with the engine switch in IGNITION ON mode and
then turn the engine switch off.
◆Registering ID codes
The tire pressure warning valve and transmitter is equipped with a unique ID
code. When replacing a tire pressure wa rning valve and transmitter, it is nec-
essary to register the ID code. Have the ID code registered by any authorized
Lexus retailer or Lexus authorized repairer, or any reliable repairer.
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5127-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
IS200t_EE(OM53D77E)
■When to replace your vehicle’s tires
Tires should be replaced if:
●The treadwear indicators are showing on a tire.
●You have tire damage such as cuts, splits, cracks deep enough to expose the fabric, and
bulges indicating internal damage
●A tire goes flat repeatedly or cannot be properly repaired due to the size or location of
a cut or other damage
If you are not sure, consult any authorized Lexus retailer or Lexus authorized repairer, or
any reliable repairer.
■Replacing tires and wheels
If the ID code of the tire pressure warning valve and transmitter is not registered, the tire
pressure warning system will not work proper ly. After driving for about 10 minutes, the
tire pressure warning light blinks for 1 minu te and stays on to indicate a system malfunc-
tion.
■Tire life
Any tire over 6 years old must be checked by a qualified technician even if it has seldom
or never been used or damage is not obvious.
■Routine tire inflation pressure checks
The tire pressure warning system does not re place routine tire inflation pressure checks.
Make sure to check tire inflation pressure as part of your routine of daily vehicle checks.
■Low profile tires
Generally, low profile tires will wear more ra pidly and tire grip performance will be
reduced on snowy and/or icy roads when comp ared to standard tires. Be sure to use
snow tires or tire chains
* on snowy and/or icy roads and drive carefully at a speed appro-
priate for road and weather conditions.
*: Tire chains cannot be mounted on the 18-inc h tires. Snow tires should be used instead.
■If the tread on snow tires wears down below 4 mm (0.16 in.)
The effectiveness of the tires as snow tires is lost.
5137-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
7
Maintenance and care
IS200t_EE(OM53D77E)
■Situations in which the tire pressure warning system may not operate properly
●In the following cases, the tire pressure warning system may not operate properly.
• If non-genuine Lexus wheels are used.
• A tire has been replaced with a tire that is not an OE (Original Equipment) tire.
• A tire has been replaced with a tire that is not of the specified size.
• Tire chains etc. are equipped.
• An auxiliary-supported run-flat tire is equipped.
• If a window tint that affects the radio wave signals is installed.
• If there is a lot of snow or ice on the vehi cle, particularly around the wheels or wheel
housings.
• If the tire inflation pressure is extr emely higher than the specified level.
• If tires not equipped with tire pressure warning valves and transmitters are used.
• If the ID code on the tire pressure warning valves and transmitters is not registered in the tire pressure warning computer.
●Performance may be affected in the following situations.
• Near a TV tower, electric power plant, gas station, radio station, large display, air-
port or other facility that generates st rong radio waves or electrical noise
• When carrying a portable radio, cellular phone, cordless phone or other wireless communication device
●When the vehicle is parked, the time taken for the warning to start or go off could be
extended.
●When tire inflation pressure declines rapi dly for example when a tire has burst, the
warning may not function.
■The initialization operation
●Make sure to carry out initialization af ter adjusting the tire inflation pressure.
Also, make sure the tires are cold before carrying out initialization or tire inflation pres-
sure adjustment.
●If you have accidentally turned the engine swit ch off during initialization, it is not neces-
sary to press the reset switch again as init ialization will restart automatically when the
engine switch has been turned to IGNITION ON mode for the next time.
●If you accidentally press the reset switch when initialization is not necessary, adjust the
tire inflation pressure to the specified leve l when the tires are cold, and conduct initial-
ization again.
■Warning performance of the tire pressure warning system
The warning of the tire pressure warning syst em will change in accordance with the con-
ditions under which it was initialized. For this reason, the system may give a warning even
if the tire pressure does not reach a low enough level, or if the pressure is higher than the
pressure that was adjusted to when the system was initialized.
5197-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
7
Maintenance and care
IS200t_EE(OM53D77E)
WARNING
■When inspecting or replacing tires
Observe the following precautions to prevent accidents.
Failure to do so may cause damage to parts of the drivetrain as well as dangerous han-
dling characteristics, which may lead to an acc ident resulting in death or serious injury.
●Do not mix tires of different makes, models or tread patterns.
Also, do not mix tires of remarkably different treadwear.
●Do not use tire sizes other th an those recommended by Lexus.
●Do not mix differently constructed tires (r adial, bias-belted or bias-ply tires).
●Do not mix summer, all season and snow tires.
●Do not use tires that have been used on another vehicle.
Do not use tires if you do not know how they were used previously.
●Vehicles with a compact spare tire: Do not tow if your vehicle has a compact spare
tire installed.
●Vehicles with an emergency tire puncture repa ir kit: Do not tow anything if a tire that
has been repaired using the emergency tire puncture repair kit is installed. The load
on the tire may cause unexpected damage to the tire.
■When initializing the tire pressure warning system
Do not operate the tire pressure warning re set switch without first adjusting the tire
inflation pressure to the specified level. Otherwise, the tire pressure warning light may
not come on even if the tire inflation pressu re is low, or it may come on when the tire
inflation pressure is actually normal.
5237-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
7
Maintenance and care
IS200t_EE(OM53D77E)
When replacing wheels, care should be taken to ensure that they are equivalent
to those removed in load capacity, diameter, rim width and inset
*.
Replacement wheels are available at any authorized Lexus retailer or Lexus
authorized repairer, or any reliable repairer.
*: Conventionally referred to as “offset”.
Lexus does not recommend using the following:
●Wheels of different sizes or types
●Used wheels
●Bent wheels that have been straightened
●Use only Lexus wheel nuts and wrenches designed for use with your alumi-
num wheels.
●When rotating, repairing or changing your tires, check that the wheel nuts are
still tight after driving 1600 km (1000 miles).
●Be careful not to damage the aluminum wheels when using tire chains.
●Use only Lexus genuine balance weights or equivalent and a plastic or rubber
hammer when balancing your wheels.
■When replacing wheels
The wheels of your vehicle are equipped with tire pressure warning valves and transmit-
ters that allow the tire pressure warning sy stem to provide advance warning in the event
of a loss in tire inflation pressure. Whenever wheels are replaced, tire pressure warning
valves and transmitters must be installed. ( P. 510)
Wheels
If a wheel is bent, cracked or heavily corroded, it should be replaced. Other-
wise, the tire may separate from the wheel or cause a loss of handling control.
Wheel selection
Aluminum wheel precautions
5247-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
IS200t_EE(OM53D77E)
WARNING
■When replacing wheels
●Do not use wheels that are a different size from those recommended in the Owner’s
Manual, as this may result in a loss of handling control.
●Never use an inner tube in a leaking wheel which is designed for a tubeless tire. Doing
so may result in an accident, causing death or serious injury.
NOTICE
■Replacing tire pressure warning valves and transmitters
●Because tire repair or replacement may affe ct the tire pressure warning valves and
transmitters, make sure to have tires se rviced by any authorized Lexus retailer or
Lexus authorized repairer, or any reliable repairer or other qualified service shop. In
addition, make sure to purchase your tire pressure warning valves and transmitters at
any authorized Lexus retailer or Lexus auth orized repairer, or any reliable repairer.
●Ensure that only genuine Lexus wheels are used on your vehicle.
Tire pressure warning valves and transmitte rs may not work properly with non-genu-
ine wheels.