What are those red paint dots that are on the tires and suspension coils on the xB?

 

It's the light spot on your tire. Usually they line those up with the valve stems.

 

ah, thanks. What about the dot on the rear coil springs?

 

Whoops sorry! Didn't even pay attention to the suspension part. I honestly have no idea, but would venture to guess they are just identifying marks that tell assemblers to use this part on the box. If anyone knows, I'd be interested in learning the answer as well.

 

will these rub off my new tires eventually?

 

I would assume so. The tires I had put on last week have red and yellow dots on the sides.

 

Probably a way to identify the type of spring. The front springs might have a different colored dot. The differences between the two springs such as wire guage, height and spring rate are probably not immediately apparent visually, and so colored dots could be used to avoid mixing them up in assembly.
Red and other colored dabs of paint are also used by assemblers to indicate that a fastener has been torqued.

 

the front and rear springs look soooo much different they could never be mistaken for one another.

 

The dots on the springs are probably to distinguish xA, xB, and Echo springs from each other, or may be a designation for a specific lot of springs...

 

Many tire shops mark the tires with some sort of marker during balancing and inspection during installation. These marks will wear off in time. The markings on the springs could very well be the same, used to signify that the springs have been properly inspected for flaws at manufacturing. Also, depending where the springs are marked, the markings could be used to match up orientation to ensure the spring is installed in the correct position. This is a common procedure when installing springs, especially on struts, to ensure proper alignment with the strut's rubber housing and the metal top plate.

 

I work for Michelin so have some insight on the dots on the tires. They are what we call harmonic dots. These are put on the tire when they are processed at the plant to determine if the tire is 'good' or not. The marks indicate the radial high point on the tire. Most people think this indicates something related to the balance of the tire but it does not (at least not Michelin or BFGoodrich tires). The dot will wash away. It is just a water based ink.

As for the markings on the suspension components. All the guessing so far is probably pretty close to correct.

 

its the point that the engineers who built the car predicts will fail first, each engineer gets to put a dot on the car and after a year the one who picked the point of failure with the most breaks wins a big prize from scion.



I asked my neighbor a toyota maintinance guy the same thing and he said most of the dots you see are for easily being abile to tell which way a part is supposed to go on the assembly line, using a specific colored dot for a certain orientation of the part makes it easier and more efficiant to discern proper part placment