2020 LEXUS NX300 tires

2684-6. Driving tips
LEXUS NX300 Owners Manual_USA_M78389_en
Vehicles with 225/65R17 and
235/55R18 tires
Side chain: 0.12 in. (3 mm) in diameter
0.39 in. (10 mm) in width
0.98 in. (25 mm) in length
Cross chain:
0.16 in. (4 mm) in diameter
0.55 in. (14 mm) in width
0.98 in. (25 mm) in length
Vehicles with 225/60R18 tires
Tire chains cannot be mounted on the
225/60R18 tires.
Snow tires should be used instead.
Regulations regarding the use of tire
chains vary depending on location and
type of road. Always check local regu-
lations before installing chains.
■Tire chain installation
Observe the following precautions when
installing and removing chains:
●Install and remove tire chains in a safe
location.
●Install tire chains on the front tires only.
Do not install tire chains on the rear tires.
●Install tire chains on front tires as tightly as
possible. Retighten chains after driving
1/4 - 1/2 mile (0.5 - 1.0 km).
●Install tire chains following the instruc-
tions provided with the tire chains.
Regulations on the use of tire
chains
A
B
C
D
E
F
NOTICE
■Fitting tire chains
The tire pressure warning valves and
transmitters may not function correctly
when tire chains are fitted.

319
LEXUS NX300 Owners Manual_USA_M78389_en
6
6
Maintenance and care
Maintenance and care
6-1. Maintenance and care
Cleaning and protecting the vehi-cle exterior ................................ 320
Cleaning and protecting the vehi- cle interior ................................. 323
6-2. Maintenance Maintenance requirements .. 326
General maintenance ............. 327
Emission inspection and mainte- nance (I/M) programs ......... 330
6-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance Do-it-yourself service precautions......................................................... 331
Hood............................................... 333
Positioning a floor jack............ 333
Engine compartment............... 335
Tires ................................................ 343
Tire inflation pressure ............... 351
Wheels........................................... 353
Air conditioning filter...............355
Electronic key battery ............. 356
Checking and replacing fuses ........................................................ 358
Headlight aim.............................. 360
Light bulbs ..................................... 361

3296-2. Maintenance
LEXUS NX300 Owners Manual_USA_M78389_en
6
Maintenance and care
SeatsDo the seat controls
operate properly?
Steering wheel
• Does the steering
wheel rotate
smoothly?
• Does the steering wheel have the cor-
rect amount of free
play?
•There should not be any strange sounds
coming from the
steering wheel.
Vehicle exterior
ItemsCheck points
DoorsDo the doors operate
smoothly?
Engine hood
Does the engine hood
lock system work prop-
erly?
Fluid leaks
There should not be any
signs of fluid leakage
after the vehicle has
been parked.
ItemsCheck points
Tires
• Is the tire inflation pressure correct?
• The tires should not be damaged or exces-
sively worn.
• Have the tires been rotated according to
the maintenance
schedule?
• The wheel nuts should not be loose.
Windshield wip-
ers/rear win-
dow wiper
• The wiper blades should not show any
signs of cracking,
splitting, wear, con-
tamination or defor-
mation.
• The wiper blades should clear the wind-
shield/rear window
without streaking or
skipping.
ItemsCheck points

3436-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
LEXUS NX300 Owners Manual_USA_M78389_en
6
Maintenance and care
Check if the treadwear indicators are
showing on the tires. Also check the
tires for uneven wear, such as excessive
wear on one side of the tread.
Check the spare tire condition and
pressure if not rotated.
New tread
Worn tread
Treadwear indicator
The location of treadwear indicators is
shown by a “TWI” or mark, etc.,
molded into the sidewall of each tire.
Replace the tires if the treadwear indica- tors are showing on a tire.
■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 repe atedly or cannot be
properly repaired due to the size or loca-
tion of a cut or other damage.
If you are not sure, consult with your Lexus
dealer.
■Tire life
Any tire over 6 years old must be checked
by a qualified technician even if it has sel-
dom or never been used or damage is not
obvious.
■Maximum load of tire
Check that the maximum load of the
replacement tire is greater than 1/2 of the
Gross Axle Weight Ratings (GAWR) of
either the front axle or the rear axle, which-
ever is greater.
For the GAWR, see the Certification Label.
For the maximum load of the tire, see the
load limit at maximum cold tire inflation
pressure mentioned on the sidewall of the
tire. ( P.418)
■Tire types
●Summer tires
Summer tires are high-speed perfor-
mance tires best suited to highway driv-
ing under dry conditions. Since summer
tires do not have the same traction per-
formance as snow tires, summer tires are
inadequate for driving on snow-covered
or icy roads. For driving on snow-covered
Tires
Replace or rotate tires in accor-
dance with maintenance schedules
and treadwear.
Checking tires
A
B
C

3446-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
LEXUS NX300 Owners Manual_USA_M78389_en
roads or icy roads, the use of snow tires is
recommended. When installing snow
tires, be sure to replace all four tires.
●All season tires
All season tires are designed to provide
better traction in snow and to be ade-
quate for driving in most winter condi-
tions as well as for use year-round. All
season tires, however, do not have ade-
quate traction performance compared
with snow tires in heavy or loose snow.
Also, all season tires fall short in accelera-
tion and handling performance com-
pared with summer tires in highway
driving.
●Snow tires
For driving on snow-covered roads or icy
roads, we recommend using snow tires. If
you need snow tires,
select tires of the
same size, construction and load capacity
as the originally installed tires. Since your
vehicle has radial tires as original equip-
ment, make sure your snow tires also
have radial construction. Do not install
studded tires without first checking local
regulations for possible restrictions.
Snow tires should be installed on all
wheels. ( P.266)
■If the tread on snow tires wears down
below 0.16 in. (4 mm)
The effectiveness of the tires as snow tires is
lost.
Rotate the tires in the order shown.
To equalize tire wear and extend tire life,
Lexus recommends that tire rotation is car-
ried out at the same in terval as tire inspec-
tion.
Do not fail to initialize the tire pressure
warning system after tire rotation.
WARNING
■When inspecting or replacing tires
Observe the following precautions to
prevent accidents.
Failure to do so may cause damage to
parts of the drive train as well as danger-
ous handling characteristics, which may
lead to an accident 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 than those
recommended by Lexus.
●Do not mix differently constructed
tires (radial, 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.
●Do not tow if your vehicle has a com-
pact spare tire installed.
NOTICE
■Driving on rough roads
Take particular care when driving on
roads with loose surfaces or potholes.
These conditions may cause losses in tire
inflation pressure, reducing the cushion-
ing ability of the tires. In addition, driving
on rough roads may cause damage to
the tires themselves, as well as the vehi-
cle’s wheels and body.
■If tire inflation pressure of each tire
becomes low while driving
Do not continue driving, or your tires
and/or wheels may be ruined.
Tire rotation

3486-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
LEXUS NX300 Owners Manual_USA_M78389_en
When replacing tires or wheels, tire
pressure warning valves and transmit-
ters 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 warn-
ing valve and transmitter ID codes reg-
WARNING
■Caution regarding interference with
electronic devices
●People with implantable cardiac pace-
makers, cardiac resynchronization
therapy-pacemakers or implantable
cardioverter defibrillators should not
come within 17.7 in. (450 mm) of the
tire pressure warning system initiators.
The radio waves may affect the opera-
tion of such devices.
●Users of any electrical medical device
other than implantable cardiac pace-
makers, cardiac resynchronization
therapy-pacemakers or implantable
cardioverter defibrillators should con-
sult the manufacturer of the device for
information about its operation under
the influence of radio waves.
Radio waves could have unexpected
effects on the operation of such medi-
cal devices.
Installing tire pressure warning
valves and transmitters

3496-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
LEXUS NX300 Owners Manual_USA_M78389_en
6
Maintenance and care
istered by your Lexus dealer.
( P.350)
■When replacing the 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
properly. After driving for about 20 min-
utes, the tire pressure warning light blinks
for 1 minute and stays on to indicate a sys-
tem malfunction.■The tire pressure warning system
must be initialized in the following
circumstances:
 When adjusting the tire inflation
pressure.
 When the tire inflation pressure is
changed such as when changing
traveling speed.
 When rotating the tires.
 When changing the tire.
When the tire pressure warning system
is initialized, the current tire inflation
pressure is set as the benchmark pres-
sure.
■How to initialize the tire pressure
warning system
1
Park the vehicle in a safe place and
turn the engine switch off.
Initialization cannot be performed while
the vehicle is moving.
2Adjust the tire inflation pressure to
the specified cold tire inflation pres-
sure level.
Make sure to adjust the tire pressure to the
specified cold tire inflation pressure level.
The tire pressure warning system will oper-
ate based on this pressure level.
3Turn the engine switch to IGNI-
TION ON mode.
NOTICE
■Repairing or replacing tires, wheels,
tire pressure warning valves, trans-
mitters and tire valve caps
●When removing or fitting the wheels,
tires or the tire pressure warning
valves and transmitters, contact your
Lexus dealer as the tire pressure warn-
ing valves and transmitters may be
damaged if not handled correctly.
●Make sure to install the tire valve caps.
If the tire valve caps are not installed,
water could enter the tire pressure
warning valves and the tire pressure
warning valves could be bound.
●When replacing tire valve caps, do not
use tire valve caps other than those
specified. The cap may become stuck.
■To avoid damage to the tire pressure
warning valves and transmitters
When a tire is repaired with liquid seal-
ants, the tire pressure warning valve and
transmitter may not operate properly. If a
liquid sealant is used , contact your Lexus
dealer or other qualified service shop as
soon as possible. After use of liquid seal-
ant, make sure to re place the tire pres-
sure warning valve and transmitter when
repairing or replacing the tire. ( P.345,
354)
Initializing the tire pressure
warning system

3506-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
LEXUS NX300 Owners Manual_USA_M78389_en
4Press or of the meter con-
trol switches and select .
5
Press or of the meter con-
trol switches, select the “Vehicle
Settings” and then press .
6
Press or of the meter con-
trol switches, select the “TPMS”
and then press and hold the .
The “Tire Pressure Recalibrating. Please
Wait Until Complete” will be displayed on
the multi-information display and the tire
pressure warning light will blink slowly 3
times.
When the message disappears, initializa-
tion is complete.
■Initializing the tire pressure warning sys-
tem
Initialize the system with the tire inflation
pressure adjusted to the specified level
■The initialization operation
●Make sure to carry out initialization after
adjusting the tire inflation pressure. Also,
make sure the tires are cold before carry-
ing out initialization or tire inflation pres-
sure adjustment.
●If you have accidentally turned the engine
switch off during initialization, it is not
necessary to press the reset switch again
as initialization 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
level when the tires are cold, and conduct
initialization again.
■Warning performance of the tire pres-
sure warning system
The warning of the tire pressure warning
system will change in accordance with the
conditions 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.
■When initialization of the tire pressure
warning system has failed
Initialization can be completed in a few min-
utes. However, in the following cases, the
settings have not been recorded and the
system will not operate properly. If repeated
attempts to record tire inflation pressure
settings are unsuccessf ul, have the vehicle
inspected by your Lexus dealer.
●When initializing the tire pressure warn-
ing system, the tire pr essure warning light
does not blink 3 times.
●After carrying out the initialization proce-
dure, the tire pressure warning light
blinks for 1 minute then stays on after
driving for 20 minutes.
The tire pressure warning valve and
transmitter is equipped with a unique
WARNING
■When initializing the tire pressure
warning system
Do not initializing tire inflation pressure
without first adjusting the tire inflation
pressure to the spec ified level. Other-
wise, the tire pressure warning light may
not come on even if the tire inflation pres-
sure is low, or it may come on when the
tire inflation pressure is actually normal.
Registering ID codes