Doesn't look hard at all honestly, but since I have to have an alignment done anyway I'll have my shop do it all.
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Plaid 21” rear tire woes - factory defect?
- Thread starter KOL2000
- Start date
Jett Black
Member
Same story here.
I had a very slow leak in my right rear tire. It was losing about 1psi every 3 days. I took it to a local shop. They did a leak test and everything looked fine.
On a road trip, I get a notification that the right rear is getting low. It’s down to 30psi and dropping about 1psi every 4 minutes. I figure it is a puncture and the object is still there.
I make it to a supercharger and take a look. The attached image is what I see. The tread/sidewall junction has separated. The crazy part is the tread is still in fine shape.
So, I go down the rabbit hole and end up on this thread.
I have installed a new set of tires and ordered the N2itive Alignment kit.
Based on the discussion - and the solution N2itive has come up with - the factory camber/toe settings and weak suspension components are to blame.
How do we get Tesla on board with a fix, or is there a better way to get this issue sorted out?
I had a very slow leak in my right rear tire. It was losing about 1psi every 3 days. I took it to a local shop. They did a leak test and everything looked fine.
On a road trip, I get a notification that the right rear is getting low. It’s down to 30psi and dropping about 1psi every 4 minutes. I figure it is a puncture and the object is still there.
I make it to a supercharger and take a look. The attached image is what I see. The tread/sidewall junction has separated. The crazy part is the tread is still in fine shape.
So, I go down the rabbit hole and end up on this thread.
I have installed a new set of tires and ordered the N2itive Alignment kit.
Based on the discussion - and the solution N2itive has come up with - the factory camber/toe settings and weak suspension components are to blame.
How do we get Tesla on board with a fix, or is there a better way to get this issue sorted out?
Attachments
This is probably the best photo showing exactly what some of us have been trying to say, related to it being an alignment issue, not a tire failure. thanks for sharing it.
As for a "fix" from Tesla, a six-figure performance car should come with a $500 part from the factory to adjust camber. It's that simple. The second part to the equation concerning at what suspension level do you align the car to from the factory, is the one I don't have an answer for. Does the low alignment running at medium height at below 70mph change anything significantly? Would it be better to do a proper alignment at medium and let it induce a bit more camber when it goes into low? No clue.
Jett Black
Member
I got in touch with Michelin. They requested that I take the damaged tire to one of their approved shops for an inspection.
Immediately when I showed the inspector the tire he said, "You got a major alignment issue." He is reporting this information back to Michelin.
I am hoping that Michelin will get this information to Tesla and we can kick up some dust this way.
I have attached a few more images showing how drastically the "misalignment" wore the tire.
Anyone know any way to get word to Tesla?
Immediately when I showed the inspector the tire he said, "You got a major alignment issue." He is reporting this information back to Michelin.
I am hoping that Michelin will get this information to Tesla and we can kick up some dust this way.
I have attached a few more images showing how drastically the "misalignment" wore the tire.
Anyone know any way to get word to Tesla?
Attachments
n2mb_racing
Active Member
Not really. All their communication channels are broken. How did you reach out to Michelin? I'll probably have to do the same thing soon.
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Jett Black
Member
File a claim with Michelin (assuming you’re on the 21” wheels?) and they should generate an order for two new rear tires under the warranty. Al, you’ll pay for is mounting and balancing.
details on many pages here….
Do NOT dispose of your old tires until the Michelin rep has seen them, however.
Hope you saved the old tires?
Your photo is a textbook example that Michelin engineers would love to have in their hands….
full warranty replacement is yours if you saved the tires.
Not alignment—tire defect in design or manufacture….
please save your tires for Michelin rep review.
HighPotential
Member
I agree. Not an alignment issue. My theory is the torque of these cars breaks the tire's structural integrity and they start to come apart and over a short amount of time they wear like this since they are deforming in strange ways.
Awiner
Member
One way to get more data/info is if those that have had this issue, throw your vehicle on an alignment rack and let’s analyze the numbers.
I’ve seen some excessive toe out which would definitely not help with the delaminating. Add to that some excessive negative camber and it gets even more concerning.
Teslas allowable specs for alignment values are extremely wide in nature.
I’ve seen some excessive toe out which would definitely not help with the delaminating. Add to that some excessive negative camber and it gets even more concerning.
Teslas allowable specs for alignment values are extremely wide in nature.
Yeah, my camber was -2.7 in the low setting and I forget what the toe was, but it was out pretty far on the passenger rear, the one that burned up the inside edge. Now it's -0.9 camber and 0.25 toe.
Not sure why it is hard for people to understand the tire is coming apart, only in the part that is suffering from excessive wear. If the tire was coming apart starting on the outside edge while it has excessive wear on the inside edge, then that would change my mind.
n2mb_racing
Active Member
cmarshack
Member
This is just not true. The Model S has been doing this to tires ever since it was released. Now that these cars have even more torque, this is becoming even more prevalent.
If it's a Michelin issue, please explain why it happened to my Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06+'s?
The Flatbed is my 2022 Model S and the pic below if from my 2020 Model S Long Range +.
Same tires, same issue only difference is I got less than 10K miles from the 2020 rear tires and actually got 27k out of the 2022 because I had mire tire guy flip them "inside out" at 10k and back again at 23k miles. The 2022 does seem to get longer tire wear due to the new suspension setup.
Yes.
Air leak appears to be a precursor for the actual sidewall/tread separation.
You don't want to be around for the tread to come apart.
MFrunkerOG
Active Member
Get this - and check your camber at all different height setting inside your garage.
Amazon sells the magnetic level separately and also the wheel mount jig
Zackman Scientific Wheel... Amazon.com
kipa Adjustable Magnetic Gauge... Amazon.com
For camber checks, I got this one, and I like that it is digital with a very precise reading, and it easy to calibrate with the ground by placing it in front of the tire and hitting the zero button.
For total toe, this tool is amazing at giving a very accurate reading:
www.trackace.co.uk
Even if you pay shops to do your alignments, it makes sense to have these tools so you can do your own checks to see if you need an alignment, and also check that the alignment shop really did the alignment properly and didn't just fudge their machine to print out the right results (shocker alert).
For total toe, this tool is amazing at giving a very accurate reading:
Trackace DIY laser wheel alignment tracking gauge. Poor wheel alignment wastes fuel, damages tyres & increases your CO2 emissions carbon emissions.
Poor tracking will not only increase your fuel bill, but can dramatically reduce tyre life, increase your CO2 emissions, increase stopping distances & possibly earn you three points on your licence
Even if you pay shops to do your alignments, it makes sense to have these tools so you can do your own checks to see if you need an alignment, and also check that the alignment shop really did the alignment properly and didn't just fudge their machine to print out the right results (shocker alert).
The sad part is, adding alignment fixtures to a subframe is probably a $5 change, but it would require like, inspecting the alignment at the factory and setting it and doing a bit of a test drive to make sure, and that's an extra hour of assembly time, and we can't have that. Multilink rear cars have had cam bolts on them for centuries, maybe even millenia. Entire ostensibly "less advanced" cars that sold for less than the aggregate cost of the destroyed tires posted in this thread so far. It's so bizarre, almost as bizarre as no brake ducts on a car that can put enough energy into brakes to melt a small moon (the brake duct thing isn't just Tesla, ubersedans everywhere are being delivered duct/scoopless to squeeze out an extra five bucks of parts commonality with base cars and five one thousandths of a MPG). Thank ricky bobby's sweet 8lb 5oz baby jesus for the aftermarket
I have been watching this space closely because I'm a potential customer of this car (especially now that you can get track mode and a Motorsport-Style Round Wheel straight from the factory, what a miracle of modern technology!), this isn't shade so much as enthusiast frustration. I've seen so many awesome cars kneecapped by one or two dumb design choices that owners have to fix on their dime over the years and I guess I shouldn't be surprised Tesla is just as likely to do it as anybody else
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emailforbrett
Member
On the phone with Michelin now requesting a warranty replacement. Premature tread separation due to Tesla having a bad camber built into the rear suspension. The Tesla tech said it only happens on the driver rear tire. Happens all the time to the refresh S and X.
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emailforbrett
Member
Michelin is reimbursing me 70% of the cost of the new tire. I wore down 30% of the tire over the past 15,000 miles I guess. I’m not going to add any suspension changing aftermarket items to correct the issue. I’ll just replace the tires under warranty as they fail I guess. Sucks. Just another Tesla thing.
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