Plaid 21” rear tire woes - factory defect?

[KOL2000]

Well, my suspicion is that the OP drives a LOT of highway miles, and the car self-selects "Low" at highway speeds. "Low" should likely result in more inner tire wear due to the camber changes at that suspension setting, and his extreme inner tire wear is the result of camber already being way off spec from the initial alignment at the factory.

I don't buy any other explanation as there's nothing to rub against the tires--besides the road.

I would suggest a new set of rear tires, at Tesla's expense, is due to the OP. Barring that, they should at least give him a MAJOR discount given the circumstances here. The wear is quite unusual and there's really only that one explanation: a bad factory alignment. Period.

But the new Tesla being what it is, they'll probably tell the OP to "go pound sand" because "Customer Service" was something that Tesla did back in the teens, but not today.

100% correct. they told me to F-off with regards to any discount or freebee. Tesla is far beyond the days that few of us remember. There is nobody to complain to or reason with. To another posters point, I drive mixed highway/city 10k miles a year mostly commuting and driving kids around.

Funny thing is back in 2013 when my rears were worn out (P85+) after like 3k miles in the inner rim they replaced the tires free of charge and re-aligned (made it a little bit better, able to get 5-6k miles per pair).

So for the last 10 years the party line has been "heavy performance car goes really fast instant torque not our problem". Whats shocking to me is that there are not 20 people chiming in on this thread saying "ME TOO".

guess I'm just unlucky on this!

 

[Rur Ambrose]

Hi Folks - 6500 miles in and rear tires show bizarre wear on the very most inside portion making them lose 5 psi every day. Not the usual camber issue all the old model S had. At service center and they said there is a bulletin saying this is a problem because the wheels are so wide and they are scraping some internal component. Tires look perfectly even in terms of wear no threads showing.

So it’s a factory defect apparently but of course warranty doesn’t cover it.

How is this legal or fair? Am I the only one experiencing this?

No this is happening frequently and if they don’t come up with a fix, you should file for the lemon law as a major safety problem. Both my rear tires ran flat as I was cruising at 85 mph and luckily no accident but somebody is going to get hurt. Design flaw on Tesla Plaids rear tires

 

[KOL2000]

No this is happening frequently and if they don’t come up with a fix, you should file for the lemon law as a major safety problem. Both my rear tires ran flat as I was cruising at 85 mph and luckily no accident but somebody is going to get hurt. Design flaw on Tesla Plaids rear tires

I wish I had time to do that. I also dont want to hurt the company as I love them and I'm an investor. But I do feel bad and wish someone at Tesla would do the right thing. The vibration is also really annoying and theres no fix thus far.

 

[Shan H]

I am also having similar issue, but its on 19", and been losing air pressure slowly every time I drive with no puncture or air leak from rim
Noticed that the wear on the inside is a lot more than it should and only 4000 miles in. My rear left is even worse than rear right, and losing about 1 PSI per week.

 

[Hayseed_MS]

I had a third party check alignment and it was spot on - at about 17k miles. Now at 38k miles. Approx 5-8k on the current set and very even wear. All tires have shown very even wear throughout their life. 21" set at 41 cold. Average around 44ish while driving. Aftermarket 20" for 10k miles and very even.

 

[Russell]

I am also having similar issue, but its on 19", and been losing air pressure slowly every time I drive with no puncture or air leak from rim
Noticed that the wear on the inside is a lot more than it should and only 4000 miles in. My rear left is even worse than rear right, and losing about 1 PSI per week.

Tighten, clean or replace the valve stem insert.

 

[thegruf]

agree with others 45psi (cold) is where you need to be. Seen exactly this on my cars in the past when I used to run 40-42, since I upped to 45psi problem went away.
and please don't run them on the road like this with canvas showing as you cant easily get a blowout - i speak from experience!

 

[Zelus]

I have a plaid that has the same issue. It is 100% not an alignment issue. It is rubbing on something. I got a flat on the highway and fount both rears are ready for a blow out. I’m so lucky they didn’t and I had a nail in the tire so I could find this. 15k miles

 

[lbowroom]

I have a plaid that has the same issue. It is 100% not an alignment issue. It is rubbing on something. I got a flat on the highway and fount both rears are ready for a blow out. I’m so lucky they didn’t and I had a nail in the tire so I could find this. 15k miles

How did you come to the 100% certainty of your conclusion? What is your rear toe measuring? What’s your camber and tire pressure? There is nothing for that part of the tire to rub on except the ground. It’s certainly a combination of camber, toe, and tire pressure that is causing this failure. Perhaps some under design by Michelin.

 

[KOL2000]

I have a plaid that has the same issue. It is 100% not an alignment issue. It is rubbing on something. I got a flat on the highway and fount both rears are ready for a blow out. I’m so lucky they didn’t and I had a nail in the tire so I could find this. 15k miles

15k miles is more than double what I got. We are all nuts for putting up with this. oh well. happy you didnt have an accident.

 

[no_one_special]

Hello, i am new to the community i own a 2021 Plaid with 21" wheels. I also have a similar issue, but mine is worst. I started loosing air pressure on one of my rear tires at 11k miles, thread depth is 6/32 according to the tire shop; however, the inner part of the tire is badly worn out on a very small area, pictures attached. I am very familiar with cars with cambered wheels having owned several mercedes, BMW (including an F10 M5) and Audi, but never seen anything like this. The car has been at the service center in and out (very long story) and every time they adjusted the tire pressure to factory pressure. The driver side tire was so badly damaged that the car is not drive-able until new tires are installed (which of course are not available until a week from today. Anybody has any idea what this is ? Has anybody else seen this ? Doesnt the wear area look particularly narrow ? i would almost say that it is so narrow because they are over inflated (again Tesla service center has checked these tire pressures about 5 times in 11k miles) . More info: I do drive the plaid how its meant to be driven, as a high speed cruiser... I dont track the car (please dont this is not a track car), most of my driving has been in Texas winter since i have owned the car but the last 2 months have been brutally hot (100+). I do once in a while show those hellcats where they belong (in my rear view mirror ) but other than that there is no reason for this wear pattern.

 

[lbowroom]

Hello, i am new to the community i own a 2021 Plaid with 21" wheels. I also have a similar issue, but mine is worst. I started loosing air pressure on one of my rear tires at 11k miles, thread depth is 6/32 according to the tire shop; however, the inner part of the tire is badly worn out on a very small area, pictures attached. I am very familiar with cars with cambered wheels having owned several mercedes, BMW (including an F10 M5) and Audi, but never seen anything like this. The car has been at the service center in and out (very long story) and every time they adjusted the tire pressure to factory pressure. The driver side tire was so badly damaged that the car is not drive-able until new tires are installed (which of course are not available until a week from today. Anybody has any idea what this is ? Has anybody else seen this ? Doesnt the wear area look particularly narrow ? i would almost say that it is so narrow because they are over inflated (again Tesla service center has checked these tire pressures about 5 times in 11k miles) . More info: I do drive the plaid how its meant to be driven, as a high speed cruiser... I dont track the car (please dont this is not a track car), most of my driving has been in Texas winter since i have owned the car but the last 2 months have been brutally hot (100+). I do once in a while show those hellcats where they belong (in my rear view mirror ) but other than that there is no reason for this wear pattern.

Happens often. Agree that it’s not typical camber wear. I suspect driving hard on under inflated tire. Because of camber only the inner edge takes the load.

 

[Hayseed_MS]

Hello, i am new to the community i own a 2021 Plaid with 21" wheels. I also have a similar issue, but mine is worst. I started loosing air pressure on one of my rear tires at 11k miles, thread depth is 6/32 according to the tire shop; however, the inner part of the tire is badly worn out on a very small area, pictures attached. I am very familiar with cars with cambered wheels having owned several mercedes, BMW (including an F10 M5) and Audi, but never seen anything like this. The car has been at the service center in and out (very long story) and every time they adjusted the tire pressure to factory pressure. The driver side tire was so badly damaged that the car is not drive-able until new tires are installed (which of course are not available until a week from today. Anybody has any idea what this is ? Has anybody else seen this ? Doesnt the wear area look particularly narrow ? i would almost say that it is so narrow because they are over inflated (again Tesla service center has checked these tire pressures about 5 times in 11k miles) . More info: I do drive the plaid how its meant to be driven, as a high speed cruiser... I dont track the car (please dont this is not a track car), most of my driving has been in Texas winter since i have owned the car but the last 2 months have been brutally hot (100+). I do once in a while show those hellcats where they belong (in my rear view mirror ) but other than that there is no reason for this wear pattern.

From the pics I cannot tell what caused the separation but I can see why you were losing air pressure...

 

[Russell]

Hello, i am new to the community i own a 2021 Plaid with 21" wheels. I also have a similar issue, but mine is worst. I started loosing air pressure on one of my rear tires at 11k miles, thread depth is 6/32 according to the tire shop; however, the inner part of the tire is badly worn out on a very small area, pictures attached. I am very familiar with cars with cambered wheels having owned several mercedes, BMW (including an F10 M5) and Audi, but never seen anything like this. The car has been at the service center in and out (very long story) and every time they adjusted the tire pressure to factory pressure. The driver side tire was so badly damaged that the car is not drive-able until new tires are installed (which of course are not available until a week from today. Anybody has any idea what this is ? Has anybody else seen this ? Doesnt the wear area look particularly narrow ? i would almost say that it is so narrow because they are over inflated (again Tesla service center has checked these tire pressures about 5 times in 11k miles) . More info: I do drive the plaid how its meant to be driven, as a high speed cruiser... I dont track the car (please dont this is not a track car), most of my driving has been in Texas winter since i have owned the car but the last 2 months have been brutally hot (100+). I do once in a while show those hellcats where they belong (in my rear view mirror ) but other than that there is no reason for this wear pattern.

I would contact the tire manufacturer. Sure they will tell you you drove the car with the tire being under inflated and your camber is off, but I think the separation at one spot is a defect.

 

[no_one_special]

I would contact the tire manufacturer. Sure they will tell you you drove the car with the tire being under inflated and your camber is off, but I think the separation at one spot is a defect.

Thank you I contacted Tesla and started there . Had this happening with Audi years ago

 

[Krisja]

My 2 cents?

When you floor it (as we sometimes do), the rear comes down and rubs the tire.

 

[lbowroom]

My 2 cents?

When you floor it (as we sometimes do), the rear comes down and rubs the tire.

No, it doesn't

 

[ThomasD]

Has anyone contacted the tire maker to ask what may cause this issue?

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Any updates on this from the OP?

Will Michelin and/or Tesla replace the tire(s) under warranty?

(I fear the answer is, "Go pound sand.")

 

[KOL2000]

Any updates on this from the OP?

Will Michelin and/or Tesla replace the tire(s) under warranty?

(I fear the answer is, "Go pound sand.")

Theres nothing to update. They told me its normal for the car to go through tires every 5-6k miles.

Its unfortunate because the media hits Tesla with bogus nonsense about FSD or where lithium comes from but there are actual legitimate issues they could target that Elon would have to admit are valid.

The tires, the vibration (plaid), the overwhelmed service centers, etc are all legitimate issues.