Hello,


First of all I live in greater Chicago area. I have a Camry hybrid 2013 (XLE) and bought 4 new Michelin Premier A/S tires couple years ago and the mileage on the car was around 18000 miles. 2-3 months ago when I was getting oil and filter change done at the dealership, they pointed out that the front tires were down to 3/32 and rear were 5/32. AT that time my car had about 40000 mile (give or take a hundred). They recommended tires be changed. Today I checked the mileage on the car and it is around 43000 miles.


The dealership rotated the tires so that the 3/32" pair is not in rear and 5/32" pair is in front.


I went back to Costco where I had bought these tires and asked for explanation as to why they wore out too rapidly, as they were supposedly guaranteed for 60000 miles.


I also notice the "average mpg" has been dropping ever since I got these tires.


The manager at Costco said reason for the rapid wear out could be one or more of the following:
******
1.Tires not rotated every time the oil and filter changed.


(I have changed out every 10000 miles. Synthetic oil and only at dealership,I have had it rotated it twice)


2. Tires not kept inflated correctly.
(I have had the tire pressure checked at least once in two months at the same Costco location)


3. Tires not balanced at the time of installing
(They installed them and their receipt shows that they were balanced)


4. Wheal alignment not right.
( I have not done wheel alignment since they were installed)


5. Aggressive Driving
(I am the only one who drives it and rarely exceed 75 mph where allowed, but I agree this doesn't mean I am not aggressive driver)
**********


At the dealership they said they have heard similar end user experience about Costco tires.


As snow has started to come down in our area, I need to know the following to make a good judgment before deciding on tire replacement, so I appreciate all your inputs.


1. Should I get all new tires? If so, the same brand but from different place, such as Discount Tires?


Any other brand that you would recommend?


2. Wheel alignment should be done at the time of new tire installation?


3. Can I get the tires and have it balanced and get it installed at dealership and have then do the balancing and wheel alignment?


4. How often should I get the wheel alignment?


Regards

 

1. Yes buy a set of four new tires since 5/32" tread depth won't last long and won't handle as well as new tires on the other axle.

There is nothing wrong with Michelin Premier A/S or with Costco. Costco doesn't do alignment. Only tire sales, mount and balance and ongoing free air check and free tire rotation.

Whenever tires don't last as many miles as they ought to, air pressure and tire rotation are the most important things to consider and check on regularly. Tire pressures can change in as little as two weeks, two months is too long. When checked, how was tire pressure?

Sure other tire brands and other All Season tires are also OK but unless you are looking after your investment you may or may not get any more life out of them regardless of how long they are supposed to last.

Tire rotations should be done every 4000 miles or so, 10,000 miles is too long, front tires will wear out fast if you wait that long.

Alignment is for your suspension, each time you buy new tires it isn't a bad idea to think about doing alignment. How can you tell you need an alignment? Look at the tire wear and see if you are wearing out certain tires or areas more than others. Can you tell if the alignment is off? Not really, unless it is very bad. Regular driving on bad roads can easily damage alignment settings in as little as a few months.

Driving at higher speeds has little to do with tire wear, braking hard, turning fast and other aggressive driving can easily wear out tires.

2. Alignment- if your 2013 Camry has not been aligned after you bought it then it is time to do it. Since buying new tires is an investment, an alignment will help to ensure that the tires will perform and last longer (hopefully). It is also a good time to check for suspension wear and damage.

3. You can do anything you want but the dealership will charge significantly more than Costco to do any work. Personally I would avoid dealerships. Again, there is nothing wrong with costco tire.

4. Alignment can be done with purchase of new tires or if on inspection your tires are not wearing evenly at any point. Alignment shops will warranty their work for up to 6-12 months and do a realignment if asked.

 

:thumbs up

Well stated. Sound advice.

 

Thank you Minhune for excellent reply.
This morning I stopped by Discount Tires and asked them to take a look at the tires and tell me if (1) the tires needed balancing (2) there was a need for wheel alignment. I also asked them to comment about the wear and tear of the tires.

They said "no" to both (1) and (2) questions. The main comment about wear and tear was that I have Michelin Premier A/S 94H and that the vehicle is recommended to have 93V. He explained H vs V designation means that H is rated at lower max speed that V rating. I did not understand what 93 or 94 stands for. He also stated that this perhaps explains the significant wear and tear seen on the tires.

Going back a bit, at the time when the dealer told me that I needed new tires, the front had 3/32" and rear had 5/32" tread left and the miles on the car was around 40000. I had them rotate the tires.
Today, my car has about 43700 miles and the front tires have 4/32" and rear close to 2/32" tread left. This means they are loosing close to 1/32" tread every 1000 miles. Clearly this is not a good news to me.

After discussing a bit more at DiscountTires and my colleagues at work, I am leaning towards either Yokohoma 740 GTX costing around $139 or Continental PureContact costing around $125 per tire.

Both are rated at 94V I believe. Could you give your opinion on which one would you prefer if you were in the market?

Regards

 

If the tire wear is more or less even for each tire and just worn down then yes, you don't have to do an alignment.

Michelin Premier A/S can come in either H or V speed rated depending on your exact tire size. If your Hybrid Camry came with V speed rated tires then Costco should have put on the same V rated tires not H rated.

However H and V rated tires will wear about the same on the Camry so what the tire shop claims is false. 94 refers to the load rating of the tire and has nothing to do with tire tread wear.

Tires can wear at different rates once they are down to 3/32" which is down to the wear bars. They are close to bald and unsafe to drive in the wet.

Of the two tires you mentioned, the Continental PureContact with EcoPlus is a good Grand Touring All Season tire-
see tirerack review-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=188
It's not quite as comfortable and quiet but has good handling in dry or wet.

The Yokohama YK740 GTX is a new tire model so there is not much on it except for the manufacturer's hype and claims.

Still sounds like the best approach for even tire wear for you is regular and early tire rotation, fronts will wear faster on a FWD car. Check tire pressure every 2 weeks is good.

 

I researched like crazy and bought new Premier All Seasons (V rated) a few months ago. Consumer Reports rated them above average on noise and good for 80,000 miles. First impressions were great, but...
After 3000 mies the tires went from QUIET to LOUD. Suddenly.
I was perplexed by the nice reviews for noise mixed with opposite opinions, but now I think it's because the rubber wears enough to expose those little gripper filaments.

Snow traction was excellent during March- lots of snow to test it in. Rain was good too.
But, I want my quiet ride back.

My winter tires are Hakkapiilttas and my previous summer tires were Michelin Pilot Super Sports. All quiet compared to the Premiers :-(

 

After 3000 miles in how much time? As rubber ages (not just mileage) it gets harder and that can lead to more noise.

When the tire is new the rubber is at it's best fresh from the factory. While it may get good marks when tested it may or may not hold up for you with real world use and exposure to the elements.

So basically all old tires get noisy, it's really easy to tell when you replace old tires with new ones that are decently quiet (not all are).

Your other option is to go with Bridgestone or Pirelli and look for Grand Touring All Season tires. They tend to offer longer treadlife and good daily driving road manners.