inconsistent tyre wear

[MetManMark3]

Hi there

I had to create a new useID as I had problems logging on with my google account. Anyway same person just new username...

We love our auris hybrid. We bought it a year ago at 6 months old from the main dealership in Bristol. It went into the garage after 6 months as the wing mirror got dinged. They mentioned that our car had inconsistent tyre wear. This was picked up again yesterday when it had its full service. The front tyres are worn on the outside. Inner; middle; outer is 3,4,2 and 4,4,2. They suggested that we should consider replacing the tyres. The car has done 13k miles. This surprised me as I was not expecting the tyres to wear so quickly (they are the continentals that the car came with). I am also worried about what the underlying cause of this might be (bad wheel aligment etc). Any ideas? 

Our old SAAB garage also used to rotate the tyres at every service to even out tyre wear. Is this good practise? SHould I have asked the garage to have done this?

Any other thoughts welcomed? It was my wife that took the car to be serviced yesterday as I was at work so I have emailed the garage to ask what their thoughts on this are. So your comments would be very much appreciated!

Thanks

Mark

[fordulike]

New tyres, alignment check and adjust, tyre pressure gauge (checking once a week, adjusting to correct pressure).

Checking pressures at home, when the tyres are cold, is the best way. A cheap TPG and foot pump is a good investment. It's no good driving to a garage forecourt air pump, as the tyres will have warm air inside and give a false reading.

[FROSTYBALLS]

I have one of these in the spare wheel well of each car plus a couple in the house - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-69924-Pressure-Gauge-Flexible/dp/B0002GV286/ref=sr__1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504860997&sr=8-1&keywords=draper+tyre+pressure+gauge

They retain the reading until one releases the air in the gauge, and have an easily read dial.

Although forecourt air pumps are supposed to be checked for accuracy regularly (either by trading standards or specialist firms), some aren't.

[eygo]

i would use a digital pressure guage as i have never found an accurate dial pressure guage

especially on a foot pump , or maybe have a system like this fitted

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Auto-TPMS-Tire-Tyre-Pressure-Solar-Monitoring-System-LCD-Display-Internal-UK-/182751182509?hash=item2a8cd1bead:g:9xUAAOSwEQFZsEv4

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

In the latest Auto Express test on tyre pressure/depth gauges (digital and analogue), only an analogue tyre pressure gauge gave perfect results - the PCL TPG1 (the traditional rising pillar type of gauge). 

[MetManMark3]

Thanks for the replies folks. However, I do check the tyres regularly. Please see below the email that I sent to the garage and their reply. I was not really bowled over by their response... Any thoughts would be much appreciate.

Mark

 

 

Me to the garage:

Hi Scott

You guys serviced our car yesterday - thank you. You picked up on the fact that the outside tyre tread depth was very low. This was something that you had also noticed when we went to have a wing mirror replaced 6 months ago. We only bought the car 12 months ago from the dealership in Bristol and I am a little concerned that you have highlighted that the tyres are only just legal after this short period of time. We had done less than 10k miles at this time. 

 

When you serviced the car were you able to identify during the service why the tyres have worn inconsistently? As I understand it this is often due to excessive camber in the front suspension or poor wheel alignment etc Could you also confirm whether you rotated the tyres as this is what our old SAAB garage always used to do at every service to even out irregular tyre wear.

 

I am keen to understand what the underlying cause of this might be. Typically I'd expect a set of tyres to last about 30k miles rather than 10k!

 

Thanks in advance

 

Mark

 

 

Their reply:

Many thanks for your email.

I can confirm that the technician's report indicated that both of your front tyres had worn to 2mm tread depth on the outside edges. This may be an indication that the tracking is slightly out, and so we would recommend a full 4-wheel alignment once the front tyres have been replaced. I can confirm that this would cost £60 inclusive of VAT in addition to the cost of the tyres.

We do not rotate tyres as part of a routine service unless specifically requested to do so by the customer as this would entail an additional cost in terms of increased labour time. In any event, if the tyres are directional, the outer edge would remain the outer edge irrespective of which wheel it was fitted to. 

You stated that you had done less than 10k miles since buying the car 12 months ago. I can confirm that we would expect tyres to last between 10k and 15k miles before needing to be replaced, and so it is likely that the tyres had ample tread depth at the point of sale. 

I hope this clarifies the situation for you, but should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Michelin UK's tyre life comparator gives an idea of tyre life - obviously the Michelins come out best. Only one Michelin has an expected life over 30,000 miles - the rest range from 18,000 to 23,000. Continental EcoContact 5's were rated at just over 15,000. The one factor to throw in is that one doesn't know how the driving usage or style of the previous owner affected the tyres.

So perhaps your estimate of a 30,000 mile tyre life is optimistic.

As regards tyre rotation, there doesn't seem to be a consistent message either for or against. Kwik-Fit don't recommend rotation. Black Circles, the AA and the RAC leave it to owners to choose. 

Costco has a policy of always fitting new tyres on the rear, and will rotate tyres automatically when just two new tyres are bought.

[eygo]

with the use of tpms ,the rotation of tyres is more difficult due to the system needing to know which sensor is in each corner of the car.

i would budget for changing tyres at 20000 miles,we have just changed a set of tyres on our auris due to the manufacturing date

being 4312 ( week 43 of 2012) as i didnt like the idea of kath driving on old tyres.