Was told at 30,000 maintenance tires are feathering and need alignment and new brakes. The car doesn’t pull or squeak and no trouble stopping. Front tires are new, back replaced after oil change because tread was 3/32(?). Should I see symptoms if I need an alignment and new brakes?
Obviously you haven’t been rotating your tires regularly - and that is at least some of the reason for the tire wear.
But
You should be aware that even vehicles that do not have a pull can be out of alignment. There are settings where one out of spec condition is offset by another out of spec condition ? typically camber vs toe.
Minor alignment issues will kill tires, but not be detectable in the handling of the car. Get the alignment fixed.
If the brake pads are worn down, then you then to change them. You will not detect any difference in braking until the pad wears through. At that point you’ll have diminished braking and damage to the braking system such that it will cost more to fix than if you had done it now.
That is a somewhat expensive car, why do you not want to keep it in good condition?
Symptoms of both are readily visible on the tire and on the brakes - not necessarily while you drive. For brakes you don’t want to wait for driving symptoms. Go back and give them the “Show Me”. Feathered tires look and feel rounded on one edge and sharp or “new” on the other. I guess if you feel your being hustled here, you need to decide if you stick with your warranty regimen or go find a good independent mechanic and tire shop for future use. Tell them you want to keep any brake parts replaced.
Appreciate the help. Want to keep it in good condition, otherwise would not ask for advice. I don’t want to be taken advantage of because I don’t know about cars and it seems to be driving well.
Don’t the tires rotate every time you drive the car?
Look at the tires yourself and see if they are wearing smoothly or if they are feathering. For about $2.00 you can get a tire tread depth gauge and check each tread across the tire(s) for uneven wear. If it is uneven, then get an alignment.
BTW, rotating tires does NOT extend their life, it actually shortens it. I’d like to hear from one person here who regularly rotates their tires and get over 100,000 miles per set. I don’t rotate and I do get that from my tires, and I drive hard.
Keith,
I’m sorry, but just because you get 100K out of a set of tires and don’t rotate doesn’t mean that rotating tires NEVER has a positive affect on wear. It is quite possible YOUR experience is not the norm.
My experience is that rotating tires does have a positive affect - but the way I drive, I’m never going to get 100K - too many turns.
Recommend you get your alignment checked every two years. Most tires on non-drive wheels will feather and show some evidence of it at 5,000 miles. You can feel the difference by feeling the outside edge of the tire in both directions. You will notice the difference yourself.
Want to have fun? Notice boat trailer tires when parked. Some of the rattier ones have big lumps on them.
In some testing, we throw out the most extreme circumstances when we average the results. So you can disregard the ones who say that following procedures is the only way to prevent something and you disregard the ones who say it never happens.