Tire Wear

[toddjb122]

No matter what the NTB says, it's an alignment issue. Weight alone does not cause cupping and/or premature inside tire wear. My 5000 lb '99 rr still has the original michelins with about 60000 miles on them and totally normal wear pattern. Weight may be a factor with an independent suspenion, but not all by itself.

Glad you like the LR3, it's a great truck.

Roverman, Just curious, how often do you rotate your tires?

Do you do a front to back rotation (keeping everything on the same side), do you do a 5 wheel rotation with the spare, or something else?

Thanks.

 

[Silly2]

Unfortunately I came upon this discussion group because while washing my LR3 I noticed the left rear tire had worn down to the steel belt. I had just driven from LA to SF with my pregnant wife; we could have easily blown the tire and it would have been fatal at those speeds. I have been taking the vehicle in for the scheduled maintenance and the dealer never mentioned anything about tire wear problems. Of course I am very shakened and angry. Unfortunately it's the weekend and the service dept and LR CRC are not open. They will definitely be getting an earful from me tomorrow. They better reimburse me for the alignment and prorate the tires.

 

[roverman]

Todd,
I rotate the tires on my RR twice a year, X pattern front left swap with back right and front right to back left. On the LR3, I rotated every 3 or 4k same way, but still ended up with new michelins at 15k. I had a little tread left, but am saving the crapyears to put back on when I turn the lease in at 30k. My dealership told me to just go get an alignment at the local tire shop which is where they take it anyway - and mark it up 300%. They will not cover the crappy alignment spec and I didn't feel like arguing with them.

 

[FloridaLr3]

After having my tires replaced once. My left front is wearing on the inside edge again.

My toe for the FL -0.07, FR -0.07 Total toe is -0.13. The TSB calls for a total toe +0.02. I guest the dealer did not have the updated spec.

It appears that they got the rear correct. The positive toe on the rear does seem to prevent uneven tire wear.

I'm trying to get the dealer to replace the front tire that's wearing. I also sent in my MVD Notice to Land Rover.

Any one know the specs and ranges for the toe for the front left and right. I did not see it in the TSB. It just mentions total front toe.

Also if they replace one tire. I read that I need to have it trimmed down to the same diameter as the others to prevent premature wearing of the center diff?

 

[JackMac]

If memory is correct, the TSB only changed the spec on the rear toe.

Front toe spec was:

Left: -0.17 to 0.00 deg
Right: - 0.17 to 0.00 deg
Total toe: -0.33 to 0.00 deg

Your dealer that did the alignment should have retained a copy of the before/after readout on file.

The diameter difference on an AWD vehicle can be an issue if there is significant difference in tread between left/right. I wouldn't be too concerned unless more than 10K miles difference.

Talk to your dealer and LRNA. Aside from the known rear tire wear issue, alignments and tires generally are not covered. They may do a good faith repair, however.

 

[JohnnieMiami]

What's the best way to contact LRNA since the dealership does not seem to be too interested in my plight (even after spending $100k on 2 cars in a week).

 

[FloridaLr3]

If memory is correct, the TSB only changed the spec on the rear toe.

Front toe spec was:

Left: -0.17 to 0.00 deg
Right: - 0.17 to 0.00 deg
Total toe: -0.33 to 0.00 deg

Your dealer that did the alignment should have retained a copy of the before/after readout on file.

The diameter difference on an AWD vehicle can be an issue if there is significant difference in tread between left/right. I wouldn't be too concerned unless more than 10K miles difference.

Talk to your dealer and LRNA. Aside from the known rear tire wear issue, alignments and tires generally are not covered. They may do a good faith repair, however.

Thanks I have theTSB in front of me and it says the front total toe is +0.02. but does not gave a range or left/right toe.

 

[roverall]

I have a 05 LR3 SE that I have owned for 1.5 years. The car has 28,000 miles with about 20,000miles on the OEM Goodyears. I have Winter Snow tires as well. After the first 6 months of ownership I brought the car in and told the dealer there was a problem with the camber on the rear wheels. They said they fixed the problem, but I just checked the tires after reading this thread and I noticed that the inside is worn down to the point of the tires needing to be replaced. I brought the car into the dealer and they acknowledged that the tires needed to be replaced. They also said that clearly the uneven tire wear was a result of the Camber being incorrect on the vehicle. I reminded them that I brought this to their attention a year earlier and that tires should not wear out after 20,000 miles. They said that they could fix them problem, but they would not replace the tires. I think this is absurd- to acknowledge the car caused the tires to wear out after 20,000 miles, but not pay for the tires. Clearly this car has problems, and the service sucks.

 

[toddjb122]

pushback on them, reoverall.

they paid for mine. they paid for one tire which was fine as i moved the best of the worse to the spare, bought one new one, and now have 2 new tires (as one is the spare). seemed fair to split the difference that way since it is a wearable item. they also covered the allignment.

 

[roverman]

Called LR customer relations and they will not help me one bit, not even fixing the alignment. i said what about the TSB? They said that is a bulletin for their service guys so that they can try to fix problems, it is not a recall and does not mean that they have to fix something under warranty. I was astounded. I said "so they issue a TSB to fix a known fault on the vehicle" She said yes. "But you won't cover the problem that was wrong in the first place??" She said no. Pretty simple huh?
Me: "well other people i've read about on the LR forums seem to get more cooperation than this"
Her: "since you went to an independent tire center and got tires without letting us diagnose the problem, we can't help you"
Me: "i didn't really need help diagnosing tires that were ridiculously worn on the inside edges"
Her: "you should have alerted us to the problem sooner"
Me: "I alerted my salesman the day I picked it up that it looked like the tires were tilted in and he said it's supposed to be that way"
Her: "I'm sorry to hear that, he probably shouldn't have told you that"

I reminded her that this is my 5th LR and I have many many years of car purchasing ahead of me and her actions will greatly influence my next vehicle purchase. She said "we are very sorry we can't help you at this time".

All I wanted was a $65 alignment...didn't even mention the cost of the tires I bought at 15k miles. That could very well cost them 1/4 million or more over the next 30 years....

Well done Land Rover, well done.

p.s. I am very seriously considering parking my '99 Range rover out front at the dealer with a list of the couple dozen things wrong with it BETWEEN the end of warranty and 75k miles, maybe my own Visa commercial
1.) Heater core O ring $1100
2) Valve Job $3000
3.) Torque Convertor $2500
4.) Water Pump $700
5.) Display failing
6.) Hood latch broken
7.) Air suspension failing
8.) Suspension squeaking louder than i could possibly explain
9.) Suspected worn wrist pin (loud ticking from bottom of engine) in engine that would cost what, $5000?

JOY OF ACTUALLY OWNING A LAND ROVER = PRICELESS?