My son bought new a 2005 cadillac STS and the front tires had to be replaced after 8,000 miles. The cadillac dealership replaced the tires and alinged the front end(tires were cupped on inside) after approx. 10,000 miles, the same sequence.
another dealer realinged front end, replaced front tires, approx. 9-10,000 tires cupped out. the cadillac service dept. has no answers. my question is, do you two, or anyone know of a tech tip orcan explain this problem?
Tires that are cupped is usually caused by worn shocks/struts.
I would bet on worn shocks/struts. I would also bet that your son is driving aggressively.
This was a new car with zero miles and cupped tires from the beginning, shocks/struts could not be worn in new car. I’m looking for a reason a new car wore out tires within 10,000 miles, but I appreciate your response.
A new cadillac shouldn’t come with worn equipment. I’m hoping someone with cadillac experience may know of similar problems in other STS’s. I appreciate your response but hope Click & clack may come up with response from Cadillac.
In the years that I have visited this forum, I have never seen any hint that Click or Clack ever visit it.
Your only hope of getting a response from Cadillac is to contact the regional customer service representative. Good luck with that.
Cupping and worn shocks are nearly always found together, but mechanics may be too quick to assign the cause/effect relationship. Looseness anywhere in the suspension that allows a resonant frequency vibration to start at the wheel will trash the shocks in short order. Simply replacing shocks will eliminate the symptom for a while, but may not cure the underlying problem.
Any good suspension mechanic should be able to identify the imbalance and/or loose connection that is allowing the vibration that is cupping the tires to get started. He may need to spin the wheels on the car under load to see the problem.
Was your son the original owner? Could anyone have had a rough encounter with a curb or pothole that they are not ‘fessing up to’? At a minimum, you are almost certainly going to be buying another set of struts before this is over. You can argue that they failed on warranty. but given the current climate at GM, I would not expect GM to be receptive.
My 2008 Audi A3 has cupped tires. The tires have only 5,000 miles on them. The shop can’t find anything wrong with the suspension. Any other culprits for cupped tires? Perhaps because they are cheap or poorly manufactured tires? Don’t want to invest in new tires if it is going to happen again right away. Tires are Copper Zeon Sport A/S 225/45HR17, an expensive size to replace.
My 2008 Audi A3 has cupped tires. The tires have only 5,000 miles on them. The shop can’t find anything wrong with the suspension. Any other culprits for cupped tires? Perhaps because they are cheap or poorly manufactured tires? Don’t want to invest in new tires if it is going to happen again right away. Tires are Copper Zeon Sport A/S 225/45HR17, an expensive size to replace.