pettydw

Does anyone else have this happening: My rear tires are wearing significantly faster than the fronts. The rears have lost about half their tread and the fronts still look almost new. I have 8K mostly highway miles, including about 2K miles with family and luggage. I have owned many front drive cars and have never seen this before, especially considering the amount of torque going to the front wheels on the TL. The car is 6MT with EL42's. Thanks.

Ron A

I think it is a combination of the EL-42's and the people+luggage. A Canadian TLer drove about 4,000 miles to Miami, I think, and his back tires were worn out. He bought two new tires, put them on the front, put the old front tires (still good) on the back, and when he got home the back tires were worn out again. I don't think I ever found out what caused this.

I just rotated my Bridgestone LS-Z's, which replaced my replaced EL-42's. LS-Z's come with 12/32" tread depth instead of the usual 10/32". In 3,100 miles (I rotated early because I was changing my oil and just wanted to do it all at once), the back tires showed no wear at all, and the fronts showed 1/32" of wear. If you average the wear of the front tires, since they will not always be on the front, I should get very good mileage out of these tires (I hope).

JoganJani

pettydw, since you have 8K miles, were your tires rotated while A1? I'm Potenza's on my 6MT and the tread is even on all four. I'd rotated mine at 5200 when I did A1. Now have 9300 and is due for B.

bluenose

It appears that some early production vehicles had a rear wheel alignment problem. You may have this also. Same can be easily checked by the dealer.

pettydw

I opted not to rotate tires when I changed the oil (early) about 2500 miles ago, since they did not look bad at the time. Since then, it is obvious due to shallower grooves being worn away. At least they are wearing quietly.

Neogeek

here is mine after a loaded trunk and rear seat. this is just 10k miles comparing the front with the rear, so the there might be an even greater difference from a brand new tire then what the rear looks like since the front has already been worn a little.

Front:



Rear:

pettydw

My fronts look the same as Neogeek's pictures, but my backs are in a bit better shape. The trend is the same though.

KJSmitty

Guys, something is wrong with your alignment, and if its not then the TL has serious issues with the rear suspension. I've never had anyone or two "heavier" people (just my two kids) and luggage in my TL but at 10K miles you cant tell the difference between the front and back. I don't care what front wheel drive car your driving the rear tires will never wear that fast to that extent... Even with a loaded trunk etc. (not exceeding GVW limits) the rear suspension should not cause a toe-in/out issue like what you guys are obviously experiencing. I would be demanding answers from your dealer (not to mention new tires). As "Ron A" mentioned their was another individual a while back with the same problem. If I remember right he had to go a few rounds with the dealer/regional rep but they finally figured out - it had a misaligned rear end, and he received multiple new tires from his delaer..... Don't let them tell you different, get a second opinion from another alignment specialist.

Good luck

Smitty

jime

I have an early 6MT/HPT. I wore out my HPT tires in the rear before I had the first tire rotation because of poor alignment. Take it to the dealer and have the car aligned for free.

TBone2004

Lemme get this straight - the first pic is the front and the second pic is the REAR? WOW!

lindros2

I would point out that the EL42 has a low treadwear rating (although these are 260 A A, I could swear mine were in the 100's).

It is very unusual that the rears are wearing faster; my first two sets weren't in this bad shape. I now have the higher treadwear-rated (albeit rated by the manufacturer) Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (400 AA A).

-josh

pettydw

Update: The dealer replaced the rear tires under warranty and realigned the rear suspension on their new machine. The machine print-out indicated the alignment was 3 mm toe-in vs. the now 1 mm toe-in. Hopefully the machine was right and all is now well.