Keep an Eye on Tire Wear

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jeff_h

jeff_h

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I drive a lot of highway miles (4-4.5k per month) and have 75k miles on the car and thought I could get another 10k -- at least it appeared that way when standing next to the tires and taking a glance, looked like they still had a good amount of tread left.

I took it into my local tire shop yesterday for state inspection only (wasn't my normal tire shop, my normal shop doesn't do inspections), and they texted me pics saying the car wouldn't pass due to tires, so of course I had to get them replaced (all-in-all 75k miles on a set isn't bad). They said that an alignment was needed to keep it from happening with this new set so of course I had them do that too.

Here's a pic that shows all 4 tires, from standing next to each tire on the outside all looked fine but I didn't take the time to stick my head under there for a closer look, was kinda depending on my normal tire shop that rotates the tires every 8-10k (and who had just done it a week prior) to take a look during the rotation and give me a heads up if they saw abnormal wear.

So just a heads up to get a good look by yourself rather than depend on your tire shop, I used to rotate my own tires just so I could get a good close-up look on each, but since I turned 50 a few years ago I take it to my tire shop (they do the rotations for free) and walk across the street for a coffee -- that'll teach me.

NiroTires20220223.webp
 
No, it's a long commute on interstate and backroads, and I've only had a couple days with snow on the roads.
 
Are the backroads rough? Just takes hitting a few potholes to know out the alignment on these cars.
 
So, the question is: is the wear on the inside from either the front or rear, and seeing it on both front and rear is because the tires were rotated, or do you have an issue on all for wheels?

My guess is you have an alignment issue on the front, and the fronts were rotated to the rear, and you proceeded to chew up the "new" fronts.

Greg
 
Greg Elmassian said:
So, the question is: is the wear on the inside from either the front or rear, and seeing it on both front and rear is because the tires were rotated, or do you have an issue on all for wheels?

My guess is you have an alignment issue on the front, and the fronts were rotated to the rear, and you proceeded to chew up the "new" fronts.

Greg
Click to expand...

Well from looking at the rear of the car I always thought the rear tires looked slightly off, but I've seen other cars that also look that way to the naked eye so I figured maybe that's just how they look. See the below pic I found online of a 2020 to see what I mean, as the rear wheels also look slightly tilted in that pic, but again that could be completely normal and the way the car was designed. I'm not complaining, I got 75k miles from the OEM set so I'm happy with that, was just surprised to see the uneven wear and posted so others here can give their tires a closer check and avoid the surprise that I got when I thought the wear was even across the tires, as that's how it looked from looking from the outside of each wheel anyway.

They did the alignment and yes I normally ask them to move the back tires to opposite front and fronts straight back, so with the alignment I guess we'll find out after a few thousand miles if things are wearing more normally, but I am going to definitely take a closer look before taking it in for each rotation.

2020_kia_niro_hybrid_2_1920x1080.jpg
 
What did they find with the alignment?
-How much was it out, in what direction and location?
-Where they able to get everything back to spec?

I'm wondering if there is anything systemically wrong with the suspension or with the weight of the battery.
 
ElectroDad said:
What did they find with the alignment?
-How much was it out, in what direction and location?
-Where they able to get everything back to spec?
Click to expand...

Well I see a lot of red colors before and green colors after (see below), so let's hope it improves things.
Niro_Alignment.webp
 
We just replaced our stock tires at only about 36k miles. Winter driving in Colorado just wasn’t cutting it and we didn’t feel safe. The guy at Costco said the stock tires basically suck. Couple that with the higher torque and you wear through them a lot faster. Upgraded to some Michelin all-seasons with a 60k warranty and what a difference! Also got an alignment because you should always do that when you get new tires. I think we could’ve squeezed a few thousand more miles out of the old tires but I couldn’t stand driving on them anymore in the snow and ice.
 
jeff_h said:
I drive a lot of highway miles (4-4.5k per month) and have 75k miles on the car and thought I could get another 10k -- at least it appeared that way when standing next to the tires and taking a glance, looked like they still had a good amount of tread left.

I took it into my local tire shop yesterday for state inspection only (wasn't my normal tire shop, my normal shop doesn't do inspections), and they texted me pics saying the car wouldn't pass due to tires, so of course I had to get them replaced (all-in-all 75k miles on a set isn't bad). They said that an alignment was needed to keep it from happening with this new set so of course I had them do that too.

Here's a pic that shows all 4 tires, from standing next to each tire on the outside all looked fine but I didn't take the time to stick my head under there for a closer look, was kinda depending on my normal tire shop that rotates the tires every 8-10k (and who had just done it a week prior) to take a look during the rotation and give me a heads up if they saw abnormal wear.

So just a heads up to get a good look by yourself rather than depend on your tire shop, I used to rotate my own tires just so I could get a good close-up look on each, but since I turned 50 a few years ago I take it to my tire shop (they do the rotations for free) and walk across the street for a coffee -- that'll teach me.

View attachment 15439
Click to expand...
Blimey, 75k miles on tyres is unbelievably good! I don't yet have an EV, but I'm doing well to get 25k out of my Land Rover Freelander 2 tyres.
 
I’m only at 11000 km so I don’t see any wear yet but our recent snowfalls … several … have left me feeling nervous in the Niro. I’m 75 and in my opinion these are the worst tires ever in snow. I kind of hope by next fall the wear will push me to new tires … at least all season if not Michelin XIce
 
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