My 2008 Ford Escape has 30,000 miles and the tire noise and ware is getting worse. Has anyone had luck with Ford replacing tires?
Yes, bad luck. They wouldn’t do it for me.
Usually, the tires on a new car have a separate warranty from the tire manufacturer. I only had one experience with a this on a new car. I bought a new Oldsmobile in 1978 and had the infamous Firestone 721 radial tires. I went to a Firestone dealer and he wouldn’t do a thing. He wanted to send me to a town 25 miles away to another Firestone dealer. Of course, the first dealer was willing to sell me a new tire. I didn’t understand how you could sell Firestone tires but not be authorized to replace a defective tire.
Since the tires had 28,000 miles (over half the life of the tire back then), I went to Quality Farm and Fleet (no longer in existence) and bought a couple of Duralon (made by Dayton) tires. They were more satisfactory than the Firestone 721 tires.
The car should have come with a warranty brochure from the tire manufacturer. What does it say about the warranty?
How much tread is left? Is the wear even or uneven? Have the tires been rotated, if required by the owner’s manual?
Are you looking for Ford to warranty the tires? At 30K miles that’s about all you’ll get out of OEM tires for an SUV. Don’t expect any kind of a warranty claim to get you much.
Ford will sell you new tires, you’d have to talk to the dealer about what brand, size, and price they’d quote you. Then get prices from other tire retailers and decide. If Ford gives you a good price I’m sure they are competent to mount, balance, and put the tires on your Escape.
This is one case where I would insist that they give me a four wheel alignment under warranty. Then I’d shop for a good price on new tires.
This may not apply to a 2008, but the Continentals that came on my 2002 Escape were total junk. I just let 'em wear out and put on some Bridgestones.
However…
In the case of my car, I believe it turned out to be wheel bearings. I assumed the problem was the tires, and the Contis probably are noisier than average. But it was noisy all the way until the time I changed the bearings.
I suggest you “make noise” of your own and demand they evaluate your bearings. They are really expensive to change, and you’re still under warranty. There’s a chance that’s the problem.
Part of the problem with the Escape is the factory spec for alignment. Target camber value is over 1?. That should be the MAX with a target value of 1/2?