My car was in an accident damaging the right rear corner. The right rear tire sidewall was damaged as well. Insurance will pay to replace the damaged tire, but the whole set has about 34,000 miles on them. They have worn well and probably have another 20-30,000 miles left on them, but are there issues with replacing just one tire? Would this cause any handling problems? Do I need to anti-up and replace the other rear tire at the same time?
Well, what kind of car do you own? We sort of need those kind of minor details.
First, see if your owner’s manual says anything about matching tread depths. Some cars, especially Subarus, are very strict in this regard.
If not, it’s still a good idea to have the two tires on an axle match, although I suspect a lot of people would throw the new tire on and not be concerned. One possible option is to swap the left tire with the spare, if it’s full-size. Another possible option is to order from Tire Rack and have the new tire shaved to match the other one.
Okay, if it helps, it’s a 2006 Toyota Matrix automatic.
It wouldn’t cause any harm to replace just one tire on this particular car, but I wouldn’t recommend it either. I would replace both rear tires. As a rule on cars that aren’t AWD, or don’t don’t specifically cite something in the owners manual, you should always just replace tires in pairs.
Some model years of the Matrix had AWD as an option. If this particular Matrix has AWD, I would suggest that you read the Owner’s Manual very carefully regarding the topic of matching tires on all 4 wheels in order to prevent expensive damage to the center differential.
If this car is FWD, the issue of non-matching tires will not cause mechanical damage, but the fact remains that emergency handling will be compromised if the replacement tire is not the exact same brand/model/speed range as the other 3 tires.
If the car is a standard front wheel drive without traction control don’t even worry about it. Even if it had traction control I don’t see it being an issue, traction control systems are not that sensitive. If the car is a AWD that is an issue. Older tires will have a smaller circumference the new will be larger. for example a brand new 205 55 16 tire will have an approximate circumference of 78.15 inches where a almost bald tire of the same size will be about 76.19 inches in circumference. Therefore the newer tire will cover a greater distance of nearly 2 inches in one rotation compaired to the older tires. If the car is AWD the sensors may read the three older tires as slipping or the larger as skidding. Only worry about it if your car is AWD. If it is there are a few tire shops that can shave new tires to make them match existing tires.
It is a front wheel drive. I don’t foresee a problem matching the make and model of tire. I was more concerned about the difference in tread wear. Sounds like that probably will not be much of an issue.
Thanks for all the insight.
I would replace the pair, but no need to do all 4.
[b] Remember keep the two best tyres on the back [/b]
This is true for FWD RWD AWD and 4WD. In an emergency you want the most traction at the back to prevent the back from loosing grip and swinging around so you are looking at where you were and not where you are going.