Caution Model X, Hidden Tire Wear

[Steinmetz]

2019 Model X, Raven, September 2019 production, factory 22 inch wheels

I have now come to realize this is a known issue, but want to caution others as it caused a trip interruption for me, and an unexpected Service Center visit. Check the rear inside tire wear! I checked rear tread depth before starting my 600 mile journey but really looked at only the center and outside, which was 4 to 5 mm. (The new Pirellis are 8mm.)Turns out the inside was completely gone, and resulted in a flat tire, and the other on the verge of blow out! Of course the Service Center blames alignment, which was not off all that much and the real culprit is the non adjustable rear camber.

Having researched after the fact, I now know this is a known issue, and to expect to get about 25k miles on the rears, (I had 28k), and perhaps 40k on the fronts. I recommend putting the suspension in the highest position and take a look at the inside of your rear tires. My normal default is low. I have not seen this level of rear tire wear since the days of the early Acura NSX which on a good day got 5k miles!

 

[ngng]

from the alignments I have seen the toe has been substantially off. camber wears tires, but not like toe. was your car aligned for your default low? what were the specs? toe that is "not off by much" can drastically increase wear

 

[aesculus]

Having researched after the fact, I now know this is a known issue, and to expect to get about 25k miles on the rears, (I had 28k), and perhaps 40k on the fronts.

This was my exact experience. The fronts might have made it to 40k but the rears should not have been driven to 29k in my case. The metal cord was showing on the inside rears while the outside looked good. It even started to leak a bit and that is what got me to notice it.

I think its normal and America's Tire guy told me I was lucky to get the 29k. Most Teslas he said only last around 22k for that reason.

Note I have air suspension and I had set my auto lowering to 55mph. I know have it at 65 mph but not sure if that will help or not.

 

[RandyS]

As a data point for you, my 2013 Model S had lots of negative camber and wore rear tires out on the inside. I eventually got tired of it and purchased some adjustable camber arms from BBC Speed and Machine in New Jersey about a year and a half ago. We have a family friend that owns an alignment shop and he installed and tweaked the new adjustable arms. The interesting thing to me is that the difference between -2.2 degrees and -0.2 degrees camber where we ended up was about a quarter of an inch in additional length on the arms. He made the adjustments and that seems to have fixed the camber/tire problem with the car...Highly recommended...

 

[araxara]

I see this post as I’m sitting at the Tesla Service center waiting for my 4 tires to be replaced on my Model X (Raven 2019, 20K mi). In my case the front tires were much worse than the rear. I run the car in the low setting all the time. I’ve had this problem on my 2016 model X too - resulting in a tire blowout on one of the rear tires. So I’m quite familiar with this issue. Since this is a lease, I’ll just be dealing with it by changing the tires.

 

[kvs25]

does this happen as frequently on the 20s?

 

[jboy210]

The NSX came factory fresh with an unalignable suspension.

 

[jboy210]

This was my exact experience. The fronts might have made it to 40k but the rears should not have been driven to 29k in my case. The metal cord was showing on the inside rears while the outside looked good. It even started to leak a bit and that is what got me to notice it.

I think its normal and America's Tire guy told me I was lucky to get the 29k. Most Teslas he said only last around 22k for that reason.

Note I have air suspension and I had set my auto lowering to 55mph. I know have it at 65 mph but not sure if that will help or not.

Being cheap, I am driving the M3LR more often to avoid having to put new tires on the X prior to lease turn-in in June. Currently at 20.200 miles.

 

[ngng]

As a data point for you, my 2013 Model S had lots of negative camber and wore rear tires out on the inside. I eventually got tired of it and purchased some adjustable camber arms from BBC Speed and Machine in New Jersey about a year and a half ago. We have a family friend that owns an alignment shop and he installed and tweaked the new adjustable arms. The interesting thing to me is that the difference between -2.2 degrees and -0.2 degrees camber where we ended up was about a quarter of an inch in additional length on the arms. He made the adjustments and that seems to have fixed the camber/tire problem with the car...Highly recommended...

that doesn't make sense. negative camber is going to wear the inside edge, similar to toe

i think the take away here is to take your car to a shop that cares. regardless if you have adjustable arms or not

 

[Richbot]

neturalize the toe and it'll get better but it won't go away entirely if you have camber built into the wheel alignment - it's just a downside of the better cornering we all accept when we add camber - in this case it's also just a downside of the anti dive/squat geometry built into the rear suspension

I should stick my toe plates on mine just to see what it's really doing at Low and Very Low.

 

[ngng]

i think this is why it is so important to align the car for the height you want to drive at. ride height will affect camber, which will affect toe. @Richbot i would be curious to see the numbers you see between different heights. measure the camber while you are at it!

 

[Richbot]

Paddock tools to the rescue for the electric station wagon, lol

 

[Steinmetz]

Here is before/after alignment spec. Note rear camber does not change since it is not adjustable. Ride height is normally set to LOW, inflation at 42PSI. Note that the alignment was done at 46PSI, and left rear shows 0. All work done by Portland Or. Service Center. I do wish it showed the acceptable ranges. I understand that those that have invested in adjustable links for camber set it at -1.0 and that is still an acceptable value per Tesla spec.

 

[ngng]

i tried to read the sheet but i couldnt lol. maybe do a screenshot insterad? the rear toe was way off. you really only need a smidge, like an 1/8" total in. i need to scale and check the toe on my car when it shows up. will likely set it up for 0 toe all around, maybe a smidge of toe out up front. but, at the end of the day it's a big, heavy SUV not a sports car, so 0 is probably fine

 

[K2500Z71]

It is only the toe being off that wears the rear tires, not the camber. I recently had my 2019 Raven X aligned and the toe was slightly off on the drivers side rear (the right was within spec). The drivers side rear tire had substantial wear on the inner edge. The passenger side had perfectly even wear after 15K miles, all on “low”. If your rear tires are wearing unevenly, get your alignment checked.

 

[ngng]

It is only the toe being off that wears the rear tires, not the camber. I recently had my 2019 Raven X aligned and the toe was slightly off on the drivers side rear (the right was within spec). The drivers side rear tire had substantial wear on the inner edge. The passenger side had perfectly even wear after 15K miles, all on “low”. If your rear tires are wearing unevenly, get your alignment checked.

that's not true. both wear tires. excessive neg camber will wear your insides as well, but at -2.5-3 the wear isn't going to look like toe

 

[K2500Z71]

that's not true. both wear tires. excessive neg camber will wear your insides as well, but at -2.5-3 the wear isn't going to look like toe

I ran my car on low which changes the camber. It puts more pressure on the inside edge for sure, but that didn’t translate to increased wear at all. Only the side where the toe was out showed increased wear on the inside edge. The other tire showed perfectly even wear across the tread area. I replaced all four tires because my fronts were worn out (also evenly)

 

[RandyS]

that doesn't make sense. negative camber is going to wear the inside edge, similar to toe

i think the take away here is to take your car to a shop that cares. regardless if you have adjustable arms or not

I said the inside was wearing with the excessive negative camber. I think you misunderstood...

 

[ngng]

I said the inside was wearing with the excessive negative camber. I think you misunderstood...

Oh I misread, thought it said outside

 

[DerekP]

This is crazy. I just noticed my model X was riding a bit funny and I checked the tires and all seem to be ok (but tread was low so ordered new one’s anyway). Then I checked more thoroughly a day later and found this hiding on the inside of the rear drivers tire! You can’t even see it without getting way under the car. This is the SECOND time on my 2018 X that I have had this issue. The first time was a front tire. Either the factory tires are terrible, or I will always have to keep a good eye on these.