Caution Model X, Hidden Tire Wear

[Harvey Danger]

Tesla will take your money and perform an 'alignment'. Ive heard conflicting reports as to whether you can request them to do the alignment while the suspension is set to a particular ride height. Regardless, they will probably not be very precise about it. Tesla is notorious for using a very generous tolerance and once it's 'within spec' they will make no further adjustment.

More to the point, there is very little adjustment they *can* do anyway- the toe arms can be adjusted a degree or two using 'eccentric bolts' (not especially precise) and the camber arms are not adjustable at all.

So yeah, considering your options for remediating any problems that are found, you will probably be fine either way. If you trust your third party alignment shop (and they are very experienced with teslas) that would probably be a fine option, maybe even slightly superior. The only time I'd see Tesla being the preferred option is if something is way out of whack and cannot be adjusted to be 'within spec' and requires serious warranty repair or something - then you want Tesla to be doing it of course.

Installing after-market adjustable toe arms and camber arms is an entirely separate conversation. Many have decided this is the best way / only way to be able to obtain a meaningfully precise alignment.

 

[K2500Z71]

Your local Firestone auto center will sell you a lifetime alignment for $199. Money well spent and they do a great job. I’ve had my X aligned there twice now.

 

[Josephponline]

For those following this thread, and FWIW I posted 6 months that I switched out my winter tires (which I had to retire at 7,000 miles for inner rear wear down to belt). Based on that experience and my research EVfix me installed the N2itive shocks for me. I said at the time I'd provide an update in due course.

So i've just now switched out my summer tires back to (new) winter ... and after 10,000 miles on my summer set, the wear is perfectly even. Very happy with the outcome here which worked for me and my driving situation, being the N2itive products setup for predominantly "Low" i.e. a lot of freeway miles, at high speeds with automatic lowering.

 

[Harvey Danger]

Very happy with the outcome here which worked for me and my driving situation, being the N2itive products setup for predominantly "Low" i.e. a lot of freeway miles, at high speeds with automatic lowering.

Thank you this kind of followup is helpful

 

[Dave SB]

You need to use a really good tire shop that is expert at alignment. They can do a little with toe in to help. However, disable the auto lowering. the lower setting will kill the inside of tire. We had left the P90D in range mode for much longer than intended and found that suddenly there was more (symmetric ) wear on the front and less (symmetric) wear on the rear tires. We are at 140K miles and significantly longer wear on the same Continental tires. If you don't need the performance for long trips try that.

 

[Advocacher]

Thank you all for your informative posts on this thread. I just had a flat tire and have been told all four tires are undriveable. This is my second set of Continentals, with about 15,000 km on them (less than 10,000 miles). Tesla Vancouver (Canada) Service Center says the camber is intentional, and this is not a warranty item. Tesla SC installed the tires in March 2020, swapped for winter in November 2020, swapped back March 2021, inspected the tires in April 2021 and reported tread depth in the 4-4.5 mm range across all four tires. Photos attached as of yesterday. Personally I can’t believe this is normal or acceptable and not covered under warranty. I would be grateful for any advice from this forum. Some specific questions:

1. Should I have an independent mechanic verify camber angle/alignment before returning to Tesla SC?

2. Is this really not covered by warranty (and/or negligence on the part of the SC?)

3. If this is really on me to either replace my tires every year (!!) or fix the camber, any recommendations for a repair shop to install a fix like the N2itive video in Vancouver, Canada?

 

[ngng]

Thank you all for your informative posts on this thread. I just had a flat tire and have been told all four tires are undriveable. This is my second set of Continentals, with about 15,000 km on them (less than 10,000 miles). Tesla Vancouver (Canada) Service Center says the camber is intentional, and this is not a warranty item. Tesla SC installed the tires in March 2020, swapped for winter in November 2020, swapped back March 2021, inspected the tires in April 2021 and reported tread depth in the 4-4.5 mm range across all four tires. Photos attached as of yesterday. Personally I can’t believe this is normal or acceptable and not covered under warranty. I would be grateful for any advice from this forum. Some specific questions:

1. Should I have an independent mechanic verify camber angle/alignment before returning to Tesla SC?

2. Is this really not covered by warranty (and/or negligence on the part of the SC?)

3. If this is really on me to either replace my tire every year (!!) or fix the camber, any recommendations for a repair shop to install a fix like the N2itive video in Vancouver, Canada?

1. yes
2. no
3. yes. align in standard, but deal with shudder. align in low, bandaid shudder fix, but premature tire wear. spend 2k on an alignment kit to correct buying new tires every few years?? up to you

 

[Sunshine Speed]

Thank you all for your informative posts on this thread. I just had a flat tire and have been told all four tires are undriveable. This is my second set of Continentals, with about 15,000 km on them (less than 10,000 miles). Tesla Vancouver (Canada) Service Center says the camber is intentional, and this is not a warranty item. Tesla SC installed the tires in March 2020, swapped for winter in November 2020, swapped back March 2021, inspected the tires in April 2021 and reported tread depth in the 4-4.5 mm range across all four tires. Photos attached as of yesterday. Personally I can’t believe this is normal or acceptable and not covered under warranty. I would be grateful for any advice from this forum. Some specific questions:

1. Should I have an independent mechanic verify camber angle/alignment before returning to Tesla SC?

2. Is this really not covered by warranty (and/or negligence on the part of the SC?)

3. If this is really on me to either replace my tires every year (!!) or fix the camber, any recommendations for a repair shop to install a fix like the N2itive video in Vancouver, Canada?

Try researching to find tires that will last longer. I hear Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus last longer than the Continentals that Tesla installs, there's a forum thread about this.
My strategy is:
1) Always drive in standard suspension height, so that I get a higher road view (compared to Low), more suspension travel, and my tires last longer.
2) Planning to have the half-shafts replaced under warranty every time the acceleration shudder returns. I've hd them replaced free once, and my Service Center said they will keep doing it.

 

[Grazant]

Can't believe how lucky I am to have read this thread. I have only 15,000 miles on my 2nd set of tires and the metal is showing on the fronts inside. I am 50% city 50% highway so this should be checked by everyone to make sure they are safe. Without getting under the car for oil changes I never look at the very inside of the tire, would have noticed with an ICE car with oil changes. I did have alignment at 7,000 miles from delivery due to extreme outside wear on the fronts, so this will be my 3rd set of tires with only 27,000 miles on the car.

 

[AlexP]

This is my MX rear driver side tire after less than 2 years. I'm not sure about the miles, but I would say it is no more than 20K miles.

 

[ngng]

This is my MX rear driver side tire after less than 2 years. I'm not sure about the miles, but I would say it is no more than 20K miles.

View attachment 727354

looks like toe to me. camber would wear more evenly from the inside out

 

[P85_DA]

I’m on 22 Stock pirellis never had contis as this is what car came with . Never had alignment done always set to low .. and now at 163k miles I have been consistently getting 36-39k miles per set . Happy with pirellis so probably won’t try anything else

 

[garcialm]

I’m on 22 Stock pirellis never had contis as this is what car came with . Never had alignment done always set to low .. and now at 163k miles I have been consistently getting 36-39k miles per set . Happy with pirellis so probably won’t try anything else

I didn't realize they had stock pirellis on the mx. What model pirellis? I might want to try those with my next set.

 

[P85_DA]

I didn't realize they had stock pirellis on the mx. What model pirellis? I might want to try those with my next set.

PZero Scorpions ..mine are 22s I normally pay $1000 installed Los Angeles

 

[aesculus]

Yesterday my twin passed me on the highway. The amount of negative camber on the rear wheels was extremely evident. I suspect my, and most other Model X's, have the same negative camber which results in the inside rear tires prematurely wearing out.

 

[Jbrew]

Picked up my X about a month ago. PO mentioned it would need new tires soon. Fronts had about 4/32. Rears looked good with about 6/32 (outside) so I figured I had a little bit of time. Stumbled on this thread and sure enough, the inside rear tires were worn down to the belts.

Got new tires on Friday. Went with Pirelli scorpion a/s plus 3's as recommended by the shop since they are the direct replacement/evolution of the all-season verde 2's... so I was told.

wh/mi has increased from ~350 to ~390. Hoping this comes down after use.

One thing that bothered me was that they said my alignment was good... based on the alignment printout (attached) and tire wear I have my concerns. Does anyone have OEM alignment specs? Should alignment be done in low or standard height? X was in low for this "alignment". They mentioned they couldn't adjust the rear... is that true? I have a feeling they were just being lazy.

 

[henderrj]

When this happened in my S they decided that my rear hubs needed replacement. Had them replace everything back there, and sure enough, I don't have inside tire wear anymore. Now my front tires only wear the insides faster than the outsides!

 

[Gantech]

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!

I just replaced my rear tires…..12,500 miles…

 

[Gantech]

2018 X went to discount tire for air pressure top off. 12,500 miles on the factory continental tires. Both rear tire inside down to metal. Had to replace both rear tires. What to do next? Go to Tesla for alignment? Running suspension second lowest setting.

 

[Sunshine Speed]

I asked the Tesla service center to align my X in "Low" suspension, and they refused. They said my tire wear will be extreme if I drive in Low, and I should drive in Standard suspension height instead. But I have a P90DL and I want to floor it, so I drive in Low to avoid the Shudder. Seems like there are options:
1) Go to a 3rd-party place to align your X in "Low" suspension setting.
2) Buy the N2itive Kit (3rd party) which replaces some suspension components and allows for normal tire wear in Low suspension setting.
3) Buy new wheels such that all four are the same size (square setup) and can be fully rotated diagonally, which will help with tire wear in Low. suspension
4) Do nothing, drive in Low, and purchase a lot of rear tires as they wear out.
5) Drive in Standard suspension height and stop flooring the accelerator. Or keep flooring it get new half-shafts every 6 months under warranty.

I'm considering doing #3, and putting 20-inch front wheels for X on all four of my wheels, enabling rotations. I can keep my 2 front wheels, and buy another 2 front wheels used, and put those on the rear.