What's going on with this tire?

To rule out a completely seized caliper, you should be able to just look at the wheel while some else drives up/down your driveway to make sure its spinning.
If it weren’t spinning, wouldn’t my car be pulling to that side hard?

I guess I could also mark the front wheels, move my car a bit and see if the marks move the same. Or even just do that on the one wheel and see if it moves.
 
If it weren’t spinning, wouldn’t my car be pulling to that side hard?

I guess I could also mark the front wheels, move my car a bit and see if the marks move the same. Or even just do that on the one wheel and see if it moves.
Cameras are everywhere now. You could just put your phone recording in your driveway and drive past in each direction. Your brakes will be fine but it's an easy test. Honestly, felling for resistance while rotating by hand ins a better test though. On pavement, it is really hard for a sticky brake to lock a wheel. On ice/snow, maybe.
 
If it's not turning you would know, the car wouldn't coast when you let off the throttle. look this isn't rocket science here
 
...On pavement, it is really hard for a sticky brake to lock a wheel. On ice/snow, maybe.
While running down the road I'll agree.

Lexus uses drum-in-hat style parking brakes. If you don't use them regularly, any application of the handbrake may give you a nasty lockp... enough to drag a wheel.
 
So the idea is get the wheel off the ground and see if I can spin it?

Someone asked what car I have. This is a Lexus IS250. It has AWD.
Long read...buckle in.

Hopefully you isolate the root cause. It shouldn't be that hard to source.

You said it was on the winter tire that was taken off last year and not noticed until now. What kind of shape are your warm weather tires in? I'm assuming they are ok or there would have been some mention of it - unless I missed that bit. I'm thinking the car was driven with the parking brake engaged and that tire was your sacrificial lamb.

If you have had a seized caliper, I think you would have noticed it. You would have smelled burning brake pads, well at least until they wore out completely, then an awful bit of squealing. The a front caliper seize would really throw off your steering and braking and a rear would make the car feel like you are dragging something.

There are a few more scenarios here but like @ToSlow said, this isn't rocket science so finding the issue should be pretty straight forward.

As for the AWD, I hate to be the bearer here but it is very important that the tire circumference are reasonably equal among all 4 tires. Mixing new with warn tires will stress the transfer case potentially causing a much larger issue. Some will scoff at this advice. If you are uncertain, YouTube is your friend and you will find I was trying to be a kind soul.

For what it's worth, if you are staring down the barrel of a full new set I would like to turn you on to the Michelin Cross Climate all weather tire. I have had these for the past year. Handling and performance are incredibly good. In the winter (last winter was a good test), it has been the best performing winter tire I have had. I have used all the top brand winter tires including the Blizzak, X-Ice, Yokohama IceGuard and Firestone Winterforce. The Blizzak were great for one season and absolute rubbish for the rest of the life. I would never buy the Firestone again either. The X-Ice and IceGuard were really good. The Cross Climate is taking the cake for me. Rotate every 10k and carry on.

I am a research hound and really believe that tires are the second most important safety feature on a vehicle. You being the first. I do my best to buy the best tires I can afford. Of the 5 vehicles in the house, now 3 are on the Cross Climate. The other 2 will be when they need tires.
 
Long read...buckle in.

Hopefully you isolate the root cause. It shouldn't be that hard to source.

You said it was on the winter tire that was taken off last year and not noticed until now. What kind of shape are your warm weather tires in? I'm assuming they are ok or there would have been some mention of it - unless I missed that bit. I'm thinking the car was driven with the parking brake engaged and that tire was your sacrificial lamb.

If you have had a seized caliper, I think you would have noticed it. You would have smelled burning brake pads, well at least until they wore out completely, then an awful bit of squealing. The a front caliper seize would really throw off your steering and braking and a rear would make the car feel like you are dragging something.

There are a few more scenarios here but like @ToSlow said, this isn't rocket science so finding the issue should be pretty straight forward.

As for the AWD, I hate to be the bearer here but it is very important that the tire circumference are reasonably equal among all 4 tires. Mixing new with warn tires will stress the transfer case potentially causing a much larger issue. Some will scoff at this advice. If you are uncertain, YouTube is your friend and you will find I was trying to be a kind soul.

For what it's worth, if you are staring down the barrel of a full new set I would like to turn you on to the Michelin Cross Climate all weather tire. I have had these for the past year. Handling and performance are incredibly good. In the winter (last winter was a good test), it has been the best performing winter tire I have had. I have used all the top brand winter tires including the Blizzak, X-Ice, Yokohama IceGuard and Firestone Winterforce. The Blizzak were great for one season and absolute rubbish for the rest of the life. I would never buy the Firestone again either. The X-Ice and IceGuard were really good. The Cross Climate is taking the cake for me. Rotate every 10k and carry on.

I am a research hound and really believe that tires are the second most important safety feature on a vehicle. You being the first. I do my best to buy the best tires I can afford. Of the 5 vehicles in the house, now 3 are on the Cross Climate. The other 2 will be when they need tires.
I put on cc2's for a long trip south in the winter and left them on when we got back home as there wasn't much winter left. Imo, while they have a snowflake, on ice, there was a huge drop in performance from xice. Living near barrie, I wouldnt want to use them year round. Now, if I was closer to Toronto, they are a great option that ticks the box for insurance and saves needing to store and swap a second set.
 
I put on cc2's for a long trip south in the winter and left them on when we got back home as there wasn't much winter left. Imo, while they have a snowflake, on ice, there was a huge drop in performance from xice. Living near barrie, I wouldnt want to use them year round. Now, if I was closer to Toronto, they are a great option that ticks the box for insurance and saves needing to store and swap a second set.
Vastly different experience from yours but I'm in the GTA. In heavy snow they have been extremely good. Stopping distance and surefooted handling have been great in slippery conditions and ice too.
 
What some may have missed is this is a winter tire that was just going on the car... meaning it came off like this (and was not noticed in spring) and the same car has been driving around spring/summer/fall with other tires.... SO, check the tires that came off for any damage, if they are all good and the car was being driven it reduces the likelyhood (does not eliminate it) this is a problem with the vehicle vs a bad tire (if one of them has damage, well...). Shifted/broken belt is what it looks like and the OP should buy a lottery ticket it did not let go when driving before it came off!

It is still a good idea to check over the vehicle, there is still a non-zero possibility a brake temporarily seized. Different rims, maybe this one rubs on something or got stuck/jammed vs summers (for example summers have more clearance and a stone got wedged between the smaller winter rims and the caliper). Alignment or suspension is unlikely if the summers are all good.
 
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