Heavy wear in front passenger tire - should I replace?

[2left]

With four or five service appointments for other things since delivery, I feel sick that I ignored the basics. After 7k miles of “family style” driving, my front passenger tire looks like this, with a pic of my rear tire to compare.

I have a service appointment in three weeks. Should I rotate or replace?

 

[pt19713]

That's beyond usable since it's at the wear bar. Replace and get an alignment. It shouldn't wear that unevenly, most likely your toe is out of spec.

 

[GeorgeC1]

Replace and fix the issue causing it. Probably a simple alignment but could be a suspension fault.

 

[mark95476]

OP will be throwing good money after bad if they don't get an alignment.

That's beyond usable since it's at the wear bar. Replace and get an alignment. It shouldn't wear that unevenly, most likely your toe is out of spec.

 

[MY-Y]

To me, it looks like your car is quite a bit toe-in. The good news is that after you get your car aligned, your Wh/mi will go down.

(Camber can cause this type of wear, but I don't think that's likely in so few miles.)

 

[pt19713]

The Ys have aggressive negative camber, max -1.0 in the front, -2.0 in the rear. That's outer wear which means it'd have a lot of positive camber. Unlikely due to the factory suspension geometry, so more likely the toe spec, maybe the caster.

 

[2left]

The Ys have aggressive negative camber, max -1.0 in the front, -2.0 in the rear. That's outer wear which means it'd have a lot of positive camber. Unlikely due to the factory suspension geometry, so more likely the toe spec, maybe the caster.

Thanks to everyone for the info. Do you think there is any chance of claiming this as a warranty issue?

 

[pt19713]

It's unlikely. A lot can happen in 7000 miles. They can easily claim you hit a pot hole or an object and that pushed the suspension alignment settings to out beyond factory specs.

It stinks that we can't be confident that brand new vehicles leaving the Tesla factories have proper alignment settings.

I'd suggest buying a tire tread depth gauge, usually $4-6 for a basic one. It takes about a minute to measure all four tires (measure inner, center, and outer). It'll give you a good idea if the tires need to be rotated (if the difference is 2/32" between front & rear), but also will give you an early indication of uneven treadwear.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

The Ys have aggressive negative camber, max -1.0 in the front, -2.0 in the rear. That's outer wear which means it'd have a lot of positive camber. Unlikely due to the factory suspension geometry, so more likely the toe spec, maybe the caster.

Caster doesn't cause uneven wear, it has to do with how the steering self centers itself.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Thanks to everyone for the info. Do you think there is any chance of claiming this as a warranty issue?

It should be, but unless you are good at beating on service centers, it won't be. Considering how many cars leave the factory with bad alignments, it's a safe bet it's Tesla's fault that they didn't align the car properly.

I've said it in a lot of other threads - if you keep hearing that body panels, glass, lights and charge doors aren't aligned properly from the factory, what makes you think the wheels are guaranteed to be aligned properly? It's a lot easier to see the panels out of alignment, so if Tesla can't be bothered with those, they certainly can't be bothered with the alignments you can't see.

Smart people will have their alignment checked as soon as they pick up their cars, and chalk up the cost of the alignment to part of the cost of buying a Tesla.

 

[pt19713]

Caster doesn't cause uneven wear, it has to do with how the steering self centers itself.

That's why I stated it's more likely the toe setting.

Having a caster setting out of spec in addition to the toe setting out of spec can compound the effect. The caster in itself usually won't be a major issue for tire wear.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

That's why I stated it's more likely the toe setting.

Having a caster setting out of spec in addition to the toe setting out of spec can compound the effect. The caster in itself usually won't be a major issue for tire wear.

No, caster has NOTHING to do with wear. Just admit you're wrong and stop trying to cover for yourself.

 

[pt19713]

No, I don't need to admit I'm wrong. Most modern cars run positive caster to get more negative camber. You can't rule out caster because there's a chance the caster setting is less positive, which will cause positive camber, which will cause the outer tread block wear.
Is it likely? No, that's most likely the toe setting causing the issue.
Why did I add the comment about caster? Because I've learned from posting on this forum that people will nitpick *everything* so I throw in various and unlikely scenarios to cover all bases. This post is one of those examples.

I'm just commenting based upon several decades of road racing and SCCA Solo I and Solo II racing, but what do I know.

 

[laughMan]

please post the before and after alignment number!

 

[Dave EV]

With four or five service appointments for other things since delivery, I feel sick that I ignored the basics. After 7k miles of “family style” driving, my front passenger tire looks like this, with a pic of my rear tire to compare.View attachment 626687

What does the drivers side tire look like?

 

[2left]

What does the drivers side tire look like?

More wear than the rear tires, but not as bad as passenger side. Driver side is first photo.

 

[AllCattleNoHat]

That's bad as well, replace both and yes it definitely needs an alignment. My steering wheel was ever so slightly not straight when we got our car, when we took it back due to an air bag sensor fault I had them look at it and they performed a four wheel alignment as "goodwill". Steering wheel is perfectly centered now. It never pulled to one side and didn't show any tire wear but we haven't driven as far as you have.

 

[2left]

It should be, but unless you are good at beating on service centers, it won't be. Considering how many cars leave the factory with bad alignments, it's a safe bet it's Tesla's fault that they didn't align the car properly.

I've said it in a lot of other threads - if you keep hearing that body panels, glass, lights and charge doors aren't aligned properly from the factory, what makes you think the wheels are guaranteed to be aligned properly? It's a lot easier to see the panels out of alignment, so if Tesla can't be bothered with those, they certainly can't be bothered with the alignments you can't see.

Smart people will have their alignment checked as soon as they pick up their cars, and chalk up the cost of the alignment to part of the cost of buying a Tesla.

Yes, given the dozen or so mechanical, electrical, and assembly issues I have already had, Vegas would say smart money is that it was bad off the assembly line. Tesla had already sent me an estimate for about $700 to replace and balance the tires.

 

[Pianewman]

Tesla isn't the only manufacturer with alignment issues from the factory. Part of "dealer prep" has been to check alignment on all cars, which I know is done at the 4 Toyota dealerships I've dealt with. Ditto for VW.

 

[2left]

Tesla isn't the only manufacturer with alignment issues from the factory. Part of "dealer prep" has been to check alignment on all cars, which I know is done at the 4 Toyota dealerships I've dealt with. Ditto for VW.

Ouch! Don’t get this forum started on “Tesla dealer prep”!