Stock tires at 4/32" after 5300 miles?

[JLOC]

I've got a six-month old SR Model Y with approximately 5300 miles. I took my car in to have the tires rotated on Monday (9/20/21), and was told, while the front tires were still at 6/32", the rear tires were already at 4/32" (America's Tire used a handheld device to measure tread). With the rotation, the 4/32" tires are now in the front. Tesla mobile service replaced a missing rubber seal on Tuesday, 9/21/21. The technician also measured the tires (using a caliper), and he confirmed the tire store's measurements.

Wondering if this is normal for the stock Continental tires, or if I should be looking at any other potential culprits, such as an alignment issue (even though I am not noticing any obvious signs of an alignment problem).

A few notes:
(1) The Y has the 19" Gemini wheels, and it has the stock Continental tires (I believe they are the Continental ProContact RX). From my understanding, these tires should have a tread depth of 9/32" when brand new.
(2) The car was an inventory car, but only had a few hundred miles upon delivery (I can't remember the specific mileage, but I want to say it was under 200 miles).
(3) Since I now work from home, I mostly drive local roads
(4) PSI is at factory settings (~42psi)
(5) I go pretty easy with the accelerator, i.e., I am not gunning it at every stop sign/stop light. My last car was a Toyota Prius, so I am accustomed to driving much more slowly.

 

[Jigglypuff]

Get an alignment done, maybe zeroing out the toe all around, and check your tire pressures.

 

[JLOC]

Get an alignment done, maybe zeroing out the toe all around, and check your tire pressures.

Would this be covered under the warranty, or does Tesla only address alignment issue within the first 100 miles?

 

[thesmokingman]

I've got a six-month old SR Model Y with approximately 5300 miles. I took my car in to have the tires rotated on Monday (9/20/21), and was told, while the front tires were still at 6/32", the rear tires were already at 4/32" (America's Tire used a handheld device to measure tread). With the rotation, the 4/32" tires are now in the front. Tesla mobile service replaced a missing rubber seal on Tuesday, 9/21/21. The technician also measured the tires (using a caliper), and he confirmed the tire store's measurements.

Wondering if this is normal for the stock Continental tires, or if I should be looking at any other potential culprits, such as an alignment issue (even though I am not noticing any obvious signs of an alignment problem).

A few notes:
(1) The Y has the 19" Gemini wheels, and it has the stock Continental tires (I believe they are the Continental ProContact RX). From my understanding, these tires should have a tread depth of 9/32" when brand new.
(2) The car was an inventory car, but only had a few hundred miles upon delivery (I can't remember the specific mileage, but I want to say it was under 200 miles).
(3) Since I now work from home, I mostly drive local roads
(4) PSI is at factory settings (~42psi)
(5) I go pretty easy with the accelerator, i.e., I am not gunning it at every stop sign/stop light. My last car was a Toyota Prius, so I am accustomed to driving much more slowly.

Tesla's generally speaking wear tires out faster due to their power and grip. That's kind of to be expected in a RWD EV with a lot of instant torque. Are you using chill mode? If you *look at something like the BMW i3 which is fairly light with decent torque, that thing is also known to eat rear tires to give you more perspective.

 

[JLOC]

Tesla's generally speaking wear tires out faster due to their power and grip. That's kind of to be expected in a RWD EV with a lot of instant torque. Are you using chill mode? If you you at something like the BMW i3 which is fairly light with decent torque, that thing is also known to eat rear tires to give you more perspective.

I understand those points. While I do not drive in chill mode, I do try to go easy on the accelerator, as I have heard stories of people wearing out their tires in short order because they enjoy the instant torque of an EV. My daily driving mostly consists of driving my kids to and from school, and to and from their extracurricular activities, i.e., I do not drive as if I am trying to engage launch mode on a sports car.

 

[thesmokingman]

I understand those points. While I do not drive in chill mode, I do try to go easy on the accelerator, as I have heard stories of people wearing out their tires in short order because they enjoy the instant torque of an EV. My daily driving mostly consists of driving my kids to and from school, and to and from their extracurricular activities, i.e., I do not drive as if I am trying to engage launch mode on a sports car.

Your tire where is kind of self evident don't you think? I suggest trying chill mode...

 

[JLOC]

Your tire where is kind of self evident don't you think? I suggest trying chill mode...

Thanks. I understand what you are saying - that, given the tire wear, the most likely culprit is my driving.

I will try chill mode, but I will also have the car checked to confirm there is no issue w/ the alignment. To the extent the alignment is out of whack, it's a relatively inexpensive repair (assuming an alignment is not covered under warranty).

 

[JLOC]

Would this be covered under the warranty, or does Tesla only address alignment issue within the first 100 miles?

Found the answer to my own question - on page 10 of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty, it expressly states alignments are not covered under the warranty. Spoke to my service advisor, and I will only pay the alignment cost if the alignment check confirms an issue with the alignment. However, if the alignment check finds my alignment is fine, I will not be charged for the cost of alignment.

 

[whisperingshad]

Found the answer to my own question - on page 10 of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty, it expressly states alignments are not covered under the warranty. Spoke to my service advisor, and I will only pay the alignment cost if the alignment check confirms an issue with the alignment. However, if the alignment check finds my alignment is fine, I will not be charged for the cost of alignment.

They say how much?

 

[JLOC]

They say how much?

Yes - they sent me a cost estimate of $136.50. I only called one other third-party shop, and that place told me it would cost $225.00 (alignment check was also free). I haven't price-checked this enough, so I am not sure if $136.50 is considered a good/bad price for an alignment.

 

[whisperingshad]

Yes - they sent me a cost estimate of $136.50. I only called one other third-party shop, and that place told me it would cost $225.00 (alignment check was also free). I haven't price-checked this enough, so I am not sure if $136.50 is considered a good/bad price for an alignment.

It's a good price

 

[thesmokingman]

Yes - they sent me a cost estimate of $136.50. I only called one other third-party shop, and that place told me it would cost $225.00 (alignment check was also free). I haven't price-checked this enough, so I am not sure if $136.50 is considered a good/bad price for an alignment.

Check out honest1 auto care by south coast plaza, front alignment is 60 and rear is 40 iirc. But really if you had abnormal wear it would have been noted by the other place you went to in your original post. And even if you had abnormal wear it would be abnormal wear not the rears wearing out way ahead of the fronts which is actually normal. Check your tires wear rating.

 

[rking0122]

I have the 20 in inductions with the Goodyear OEM tires on a 2020 LR. 8700 miles over about 13 months. 4/32 remaining, getting closer to replacement. I am not particularly hard on these tires either. They've chewed down faster than my tires on my previous Model S. Course I am seeing others with 25-30K before replacement, so, maybe I do drive a little more spirited...

 

[Jigglypuff]

Teslas and other EVs do make us drive faster, which wears the tires. Also the weight is high for the size of the car, which is hard too. I expect 8-10k out of a set, but I'm also on a very rough, very twisty road most of the time.

 

[Krobbler]

It's worth contacting the tire manufacturers customer support team. Oem tires do not have mileage warranties but still call. I use to do this all the time for customers when I was in the tire industry.

Important words to say are "you feel unsafe" etc. 99% of the time they will pro-rate the tires and at least get you some money back for replacement. Continental typically gives less of a % off compared to michelin or Goodyear in terms of goodwill credits. Some may also not approve credit until you are at 3/32 or less of tread. They also cannot show signs of an alignment issue.

 

[Pianewman]

How about a visit to Discount Tire? They deal with this sort of complaint all the time, and seem to have decent solutions already worked out.
Good luck. I guess I'm lucky, not a lot of twisty/turny roads in the DFW region, I've got a pair of 19" ContiPros with 17k miles on them, and they're about halfway to the wear. (The other pair had to be replaced because one of them had an unrepairable puncture...they were wearing at the same rate)

 

[JLOC]

It's worth contacting the tire manufacturers customer support team. Oem tires do not have mileage warranties but still call. I use to do this all the time for customers when I was in the tire industry.

Important words to say are "you feel unsafe" etc. 99% of the time they will pro-rate the tires and at least get you some money back for replacement. Continental typically gives less of a % off compared to michelin or Goodyear in terms of goodwill credits. Some may also not approve credit until you are at 3/32 or less of tread. They also cannot show signs of an alignment issue.

Thank you for the tip.

How about a visit to Discount Tire? They deal with this sort of complaint all the time, and seem to have decent solutions already worked out.
Good luck. I guess I'm lucky, not a lot of twisty/turny roads in the DFW region, I've got a pair of 19" ContiPros with 17k miles on them, and they're about halfway to the wear. (The other pair had to be replaced because one of them had an unrepairable puncture...they were wearing at the same rate)

Thanks - Discount Tire is where I got my tires rotated, and where I first learned of the wear. However, they didn't think replacing the tires were necessary at this point.

 

[Y_Wait]

I just had my 2020 MYP w/o performance package, Gemini-mounted 19" Conti tires rotated, at 6500 miles. Front tires had 6/32" tread, rear 7/32". I assume that's after rotation! Hope that helps!

 

[Wolfhausen]

Weigh your right foot. I'm willing to bet it is a full 2 lbs. heavier than your left.

 

[Pianewman]

Y_Wait: MYP "w/o performance package"???