This is the middle of the story but I thought I'd start off here. As you can see the tire wear on the inside is almost down to the bands. I purchased 4 continental extremecontact dws 06's in August of 2014. This picture was taken roughly 25000 miles after that purchase.

This all started when I brought my car into the dealer on Saturday for a B1 service (oil change and tire rotation). It was also due for transmission fluid and power steering fluid. I get my car serviced at the dealer because I've been treated very well all up until this experience. After about 2 hours the service rep comes back and tells me nothing is wrong with the car and it is going through the wash. 2 minutes later he comes back and says he "forgot" to mention the tire wear he noticed and that my rears were down to 2/32" and my fronts which were just rotated on were down to 3/32". He then states and shows me on the rears from the pic above where the metal bands could be seen.

I leave the dealer since I did not purchase the tires through them and call up Dobbs ( local tire and automotive place) and explain to them what has happened and that my tires should be in warranty for tread wear. I am nervous to drive the car with the tires in this condition so I tell them I am bringing all of my service history with me to see if I can get a set of replacements.

I drive up there and the service manager puts the car on the alignment lift and states that the alignment of the car is out and because of that I can't go through the warranty process. Now, I have driven a lot recently since I took a new job and moved which basically means I have a 2 hour round trip commute 3 days a week (85 miles total those 3 days). The tires were checked in July for my last oil change and we're at 7/32" in the front and 8/32" in the rear and had been rotated once in March.

Now if the alignment were off I feel like I would have noticed this since I am literally in the car for 6 hours a week minimum on the highway. I had no pull in the steering during this time and no vibrations.

So with no recourse I need new tires for the car. Dobbs location didn't have the Continental's so I went with some Pirelli P7 a/s plus. Service manager gave me those at his cost which end up being $100 cheaper than what I originally paid for the Conti's. He recommends I get the alignment checked every time the tires get rotated.

After spending $770 for an alignment and new tires I am pissed and I feel like I am being taken to the cleaners.

The solution?

A friend recommends I go to Firestone and I can get lifetime alignments front and rear. When I do that I'll probably go ahead and get it checked each service interval from now on.

The warning? I guess just be more aware of what is going on with your car and be vigilant with checking your tires out. I'll probably visually inspect my tires each time I get gas now to see if there is any weird wear patterns.

Thanks for reading. Any other advice let me know.

 

It's normal for your alignment to eventually go out and it is considered a maintenance item. What did Acura do that was wrong? What did anyone do wrong, besides you not keeping up on the maintenance of your own car?

Checking your tires every fill up is a bit of overkill. It's a good idea to take your car in for an alignment, at a minimum, once a year.

 

Suspension wear, or even a faulty alignment will kill the tires, but when the tires are rotated the "mechanic" should note any unusual tire wear noticed.

Post the current alignment printout just to be certain the job was done properly and future problems might be eliminated.

 

yep, inspecting tires is one of your jobs as a car owner.

Inspect, Inspect, Inspect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I kept up the maintenance. I purchased new tires in August of 2014, oil change in Nov. Oil change and rotation in March, oil change in July, went in for oil change and rotation and the tires werected worn. Please tell me where I missed maintaining my car.

 

I have had good success with firestone's lifetime alignment. these cars will eat up tires with a bad alignment and if you drive hard and are lowered, its a big heavy sedan.

 

Yeah if the tires are going to wear more when lowered then my plans to lower the car won't happen at least unless I go with the lifetime alignment. How often do you think I should get it aligned? Every oil change or is that overkill?

 

It's a lifetime alignment so just go every 5K miles, or 10K...
25K miles out of a set of tires seems like a dream. I haven't gotten more than 12K out of any set in a long time.

I will tell you this about the TL...it toes out very quickly with any weight added to the car. Over the years I've chased this issue but there's no real solution...I guess one thing I haven't done is get an alignment with me in the car. The extra 230 pounds plus a full tank of gas will likely affect the alignment.

Plus, just looking at the wear you can tell it wasn't normal tread warranty wear. That is TOE OUT...no doubt, I've seen it on mine every time. So...aligned perfectly on the rack...get in and immediately the extra weight makes it squat and toe out. Then drive 25K miles and bam...there you go. I will say, be leery of lifetime alignments because we usual, once they have their money...quality...yada yada...

Lower away, man...you're already dealing with the tire wear issue, you might as well make it worth your while!

 

OP, pretty sure the wear is due to rear alignment issues. Post your before/after alignment sheet.

You might want to consider getting the SPC upper arms (~$155 shipped) which will keep the rear camber in spec whether stock or slammed...

 

that's not camber were...it would be spread a lot more evenly across the tire. That's toe, for sure. But I'm serious about getting it all pretty on paper and still having tires looking like that every single time...I need to align with my fatass in the car.

 

His alignment could have easily gone out of spec since his last alignment, which sounds like it hasn't had since August 2014 at the very least. One pothole and a wheel can be out.

Um, the part where you look underneathe your bumper for 4 seconds at each corner and say "oh, look, there's a problem".

To me it sounds like you're trying to pass the buck for your own negligence. This isn't any more so the dealers/shops fault, than it is yours. It's nice you took your car in for an oil change. Did you ask them to take a look at your tires? Likely not. They change the oil and on you go. Time is money. They aren't going to spend 1 second longer than they have to.

It's a harsh lesson, but now you know. At least you got 25k miles out of the tires. I've seen bad Toe alignment wear out a brand new set of tires in 3000 miles.

 

After you lower the car, you have to take it for an alignment. You'll get a print out showing you what angles your camber and caster is at, and most importantly, what your toe is at. If you're out of spec still then, you need to get parts to fix it. A mild drop should still keep everything in spec.

If in 5000 miles, you take it in and it is still in spec, I'd drop down to 10000 miles for checking alignment.

 

Out of spec camber exacerbates out of spec toe wear... I won't be the least bit surprised if his rear camber is out of spec or right at the negative limit...

 

Adam...if hitting a pothole can fk you, why would being lucky increase your interval after the first 5k?

I agree though...
I don't think he was passing the buck, I think he literally did feel like he got an alignment and was good and the tires should last XYZ miles and they didn't so they need to warranty them. Hey, at least he tried! ahahha....

 

C'mon J, you're smarter than that. I'd take it in for an alignment IF I hit something major. If not, I'd stick to a 10k mile interval. Didn't think it had to be spelled out for you

At 5k, you look underneathe. Everything look ok? Keep driving. ANY indication of uneven wear? Get it checked ASAP. I mean, he can get an alignment every 5k, but that just seems like overkill. We don't have those lifetime alignment things here. You pay each time. Most people don't even do once a year alignments here, even with the brutal pothole season we have in the spring.

Also, it's never a good idea to trust a shop or dealer 100%. It's sad, but true.

 

being able to read your mind would make me smart?



I ONLY trust my dealer to mount/balance/align...but it's because they are anal as I am and I know the guys. Otherwise, I agree...shoot, I have a lifetime alignment I don't use because it's a guaranteed box with shit inside.

 

I rotate/remove often enough to keep on eye on it. This is the first set of tires that have lasted me 2.5 years and I've been happy with the wear. Don't drive much anymore, thankfully.

 

Well I dunno, it makes sense, doesn't it? I hit something, I get it checked out. I trust the mount/balance/align the dealer does also, because I don't have those machines and have little choice but to trust them, however, that doesn't take the onus off me. I'm sure you're the same. You have faith the work was done well, but you still listen/look/feel for irregularities if they come up.

 

You got taken for a ride...

That pictured tire has at least 4/32nd's of tread left. The wear bars are the federal min of 2/32nds and yours are almost double.

2nd, it looks like your rear shocks and front compliance bushings are bad. You do have camber wear caused by some negative camber, but you also have inner wear from bad suspension components. If you look on the edges of the tread blocks, you can see the zig-zag line from where the tire is oscillating out of the way it's supposed to be.

You could have had kept running the tires without an issue as long as you got the car realigned. Now that you have the new tires, invest in new shocks and front compliance bushings.

Firestone does lifetime alignments for around $150.

 

Or at the very least have the tires flipped...

 

That's not true.. When you take it in for an oil change, the itemized receipt shows that you paid for a "25 point inspection", or something similar.

 

Not all places do that.

 

Sounds like you need to find a better dealership then... Every dealership I've ever gone to, has always offered this complimentary service... Even the freaking Pontiac dealer...

 

I get that too, although it depends on what I have done, at this point the guys there know I probably can check them all off by memory

 

Maybe so, but it still does not take the onus off someone to look at their own car once in awhile. Shit gets missed, shit gets overlooked, etc, etc. Self accountability and due diligence go a long way, rather than point fingers at someone else and say "it's all THEIR fault, not mine!"

There's been enough stories of missed practices by dealerships on AZ and anywhere else on the net. All it comes down to is someone spending 30 minutes of time, once every 3-4 months to make sure everything is ok, and if unsure, to bring it to someone's attention for a second opinion.

 

With all the statements about alignments every 5k-10k miles, are you serious? Do people believe that the alignment can go out of spec in that little mileage. Waste of time and/or money to have it done at such short intervals, and more chance of somebody doing an incorrect alignment. When a car is new, how many cars have one heard of that needs an alignment every 10k miles.
Have suspension checked, then aligned to proper specs, and you'll be good to go for a long time. The key ingredient is set to proper specs, mainly toe zero, and camber within specs.

Alignment racks can also be improperly calibrated as I've run into more than one.

 

Taking the car in regularly, and getting an inspection, *IS DUE DILIGENCE*. The whole point of taking it in, and having them do an inspection, is so that you don't have to, and don't have to worry about any of that, particularly when you are still under warranty.

Most tire places will tell you to get a tire rotation with every oil change. If you take it to someone to do that work, you are doing your due diligence... You should not have to check your tires every day, or everytime you park your car, etc. With that being said, the whole point of a vehicle inspection, is to take care of crap like this so you don't have to.

Are you suggesting grandma should put her car up on ramps in the parking lot of her senior center, and crawl under the car and inspect her car regularly in order to maintain warranty, or is bringing the car in for regular maintenance and inspection good enough?

 

Which is the same exact time period that most people get an oil change, so bringing it in to the dealer, who then does an inspection, should satisfy this criteria...

 

Honestly...I change the oil every 5K miles.
If I have to buy tires every 25K, that's fair game. I know it's not "fun" money to spend but it's real life. Tires don't last forever.

Get it aligned, try your best...get new tires when yours are fucked. End of story...if you do research, you'll see that with rebates, you can snag a set of 17/18's for under $300 for all 4. Will they be the $250 per Michelin's...no...they won't, but they'll be perfectly adequate for the job at hand.

 

There's no point of getting into the semantics of this, as it can be broken down into a case by case trial of what is and what isn't due diligence, however, in my mind, an able bodied man who is a car enthusiast and part of a car enthusiast community, should, as part of his due diligence, check his car once in a while and not solely rely on "professionals" who are well known for and have been well documented for ripping people off time and time again.

I'm not suggesting a grandma crawls under her car, but I'm also not suggesting she blindly trust that she's always in good hands with complete strangers. It'd be a marvelous (and fictitious) world if that happened, but unfortunately, in reality, that is not the case.

Blind faith is a dangerous thing.

 

dude, you justify half your thoughtless posts with semantics...
Are you kidding...
stop sword fighting.

 

OP you might want to look into a camber/toe kit to get the alignment perfectly within spec. We offer the SPC rear camber arms for $78.18 per side.

SPC EZ Arm XR - Excelerate Performance - Japanese and European Performance Specialists!!

 

I never changed my oil and engine blew, I blame dealer. Dealer should have come to my house and done service in my driveway, unacceptable. Will never buy car from that dealer again.

Thanks for the laugh OP.

Muricans, do they even wipe their own asses or pay Mexicans to do it.

 

yeah, a camber kit bought from excelerate would have totally prevented that tire wear.

 

I know, dammit. I couldn't help myself!!

 

I know that affliction!

 

I suggest to you OP, to ensure your tires are actually being rotated, mark them with chalk, crayon, or sharpie beforehand.

If those were aligned three times within that 25,000 miles of ownership, no way it'd had been that bad.

An "inspection" sheet with markings on it mean squat. Great, you let me know my perfect battery is perfect, and my new wipers are good. Really??? Who actually looks at these and and says to themselves "Gee, thanks for that inspection Bob!"

I usually tell them NOT to touch my fluids in the past when taking the car for a quick rotation or oil change. Dumb-asses watering down my Rain-X washer fluid with their crap.

 

OP, post a copy of your latest alignment sheet...

 

Before I get blasted for that...


If those were rotated three times within that 25,000 miles of ownership, no way it'd had been that bad.

 

Good luck with lifetime alignments at Firestone. Been there, done that and will never go back to those types of shops for an alignment.