[starter]

We have a Kia Seltos top-end diesel automatic in our extended family. It was purchased in Feb/March 2020.
The vehicle has been meticulously maintained and has completed 1K, 5K & 10K services.
The car has currently done about 17K kms and the front tyres are completely worn out.




Is there a way to address this to the manufacturer?

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by starter

The vehicle has been meticulously maintained and has completed 1K, 5K & 10K services.
The car has currently done about 17K kms and the front tyres are completely worn out.

The outer side of the tyre is completely worn out. It is the same on both the front tyres? Get the alignment checked somewhere outside and see if the values are off. Next check would be the front suspension.

A RCA and rectification needs to be done before you change the tyres else the new tyres would wear off too.

You can reach out to the dealer but tyre is a wear and tear item. Not sure if they will cover under any goodwill warranty. The car has covered 7k kms since the last service, enough to wear out the tyre if the alignment is bad.

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by starter

completed 1K, 5K & 10K services.
The car has currently done about 17K kms and the front tyres are completely worn out.

I have two queries before making any suggestions :

1. Did the service station carry out any wheel alignment and/ or wheel balancing at the time of last service ?

2. Was this issue a progressive one - wear level increasing with time since last service or it was not noticed earlier and just now came to notice ?

[Mountainman21]

This seems like a wheel alignment issue (more wear in outer tread than inner tread).
Alignment goes bad if vehicle is driven on bad roads frequently (which is the case with most of the roads in India).
Goodyear Assurance tyres are using hard rubber compound so ideally they will have higher life (>35-40K KMs) than tyres with Softer rubber compound such as Michelin Primacy 4ST.

[starter]

Thanks guys. We did request them in the 10K service to rotate, align and balance the wheels.
The dealer/SA had specifically asked us to not get the wheels balanced/aligned anywhere outside. They use some kind of an ink to mark the adjustment nut.

Before we get it checked outside, i wanted to understand if there is a way we could address this to the manufacturer. I don't want them to blame us for having fiddled with the alignment outside.
It is surely a wear & tear item but 17K seems too soon for the tyre to wear out this badly.
What if this is due to an alignment issue or an issue with the front suspension.

@AutoNoob: They did not notice this serious wear until recently. Maybe it was hard to notice until it started to become bald.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by starter

Thanks guys. We did request them in the 10K service to rotate, align and balance the wheels.
The dealer/SA had specifically asked us to not get the wheels balanced/aligned anywhere outside. They use some kind of an ink to mark the adjustment nut.

If alignment was skipped - this is the likely result. Your SA can essentially go do whatever to himself, go to a MRF Tyredrome or other MRF dealership, as these generally have top of the line Hunter and Corghi machines for alignment.

[Bibendum90949]

Since the alignment was done at Kia itself, you stand a chance to claim for the tyre though an alignment job can last only 5k kms provided the car is run on highways and not much of run in the hills etc.

Even after an alignment is done, it's a good practice to keep an eye on all the tyres regularly and check for abnormal wear, more so when you're on a long drive. A 1000 km is more than enough for a tyre to go from a very good condition to worse as seen in the picture.

You can push for a replacement under good will, or in worst case a 50% discount on new tyre. Guess it's a Good Year one which isn't a great tyre to start with. The tyre manufacturer also may honour a replacement, same needs to be routed through Kia itself I presume. Good luck.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

Since the alignment was done at Kia itself, you stand a chance to claim for the tyre though an alignment job can last only 5k kms provided the car is run on highways and not much of run in the hills etc.

No point replacing horrible quality OEM tyres with ones just as horrible. Get Continental, Michelin, Yoko, Bridgestone, so many other good brands out there depending on your budget.

[Hayek]

Don’t see any chance of getting a manufacturer to take the blame for tyre wear after 17,000 km - while it is on the low side, it is not unheard of especially if the car is driven hard or the alignment was off (as seems to be the case here). Just go ahead and buy the best possible tyres for your car, and get an alignment done this time from a reliable tyre dealer

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by Mountainman21

JK Assurance tyres...

It's Goodyear Assurance, not JK.

Originally Posted by hserus

No point replacing horrible quality OEM tyres with ones just as horrible. Get Continental, Michelin, Yoko, Bridgestone, so many other good brands out there depending on your budget.

+1 to that. Hankook is another good option.

[tazmaan]

Originally Posted by starter

We have a Kia Seltos top-end diesel automatic in our extended family. It was purchased in Feb/March 2020.
The vehicle has been meticulously maintained and has completed 1K, 5K & 10K services.
The car has currently done about 17K kms and the front tyres are completely worn out.


Is there a way to address this to the manufacturer?

I am not saying that it is the case but there have been cases with some dealers where newer tyres (even batteries) have been replaced by older ones during service. Do check the manufacturing date of the tyre with the remaining tyres. Once I got my Innova back from service without the spare wheel.

For a tyre to be worn out so badly at 17k kms the driver for sure would have noticed the pull and alignment issues.

[Sebring]

First of all, are these your tyres? Tyre cant wear out so much in just 17,000 Kms, that too Goodyears (Known for its hard wearing capability). I suspect foul play. Know of cases where good tyres were swapped at service. Always ensure there is some indelible mark on the tyre only you can identify

Originally Posted by starter

The car has currently done about 17K kms and the front tyres are completely worn out.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by starter

The dealer/SA had specifically asked us to not get the wheels balanced/aligned anywhere outside. They use some kind of an ink to mark the adjustment nut.

Just check the values at some reputed alignment centers without changing anything, this should give a hint or some clue on the root cause, If not on narrowing down the root cause, at least we can eliminate something.

Originally Posted by starter

i wanted to understand if there is a way we could address this to the manufacturer.

Yes, you can. Raise a complaint through dealer.

Originally Posted by starter

What if this is due to an alignment issue or an issue with the front suspension

If alignment is within the spec, you (or the customer) are safe. Otherwise obviously the dealership will blame the customer with generic excuses 'saar, you might have hit a pot hole during the last 7k km, and alignment got disturbed and hence the tyre wear'

[ike]

Originally Posted by starter

The dealer/SA had specifically asked us to not get the wheels balanced/aligned anywhere outside. They use some kind of an ink to mark the adjustment nut.

I wonder why you were forbidden from getting this done outside, was it to preclude you from finding out about anything that they might have messed up during servicing? I know we do not have any evidence for any foul play but this doesn't sound right to me.

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved out from The Indian Car Scene to the Tyre forum.