Could this have happened in 3k miles?

[ZenicaNC]

So the other day I am washing the car and noticed a screw head in the front tire. One TPMS warning so I did have to add a few pounds. I have the Fidelity plan so I figured, take it in and have it checked. The tires are at 4/32 so I knew going in, getting time to replace. I sometimes park with the front wheels turned out so I get a nice view of the tread and can measure them.

Imagine my surprise when the tech asks me to come take a look and this is what I see in the rear. I don't crawl under the car but I do swipe my hand across the tread through the wheel well, front and rear in addition to turning the fronts out so I can get more access. The treadwear indicators are not exposed and measuring across, they are lower by 2/32 inboard than outboard, I attributed this to not being about to do a front to rear rotate. I should have been dismounting and flipping the tires since they are not listed as "this side out".

My car was at Porsche 3k miles ago. I haven't hit anything, not even a pothole. Roads by me are very good. I drive 90% of the time in normal mode. Could they have gone from showing no visible warnings to this in just 3,132 miles? and if so, WHY?

I have read that these cars are problematic for inner wear but this seems a lot.

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[SergeyIndy]

I have the same tires with 16k miles on them with even wear while driving on round abouts all the time. I cannot explain what is happening to yours as it does not look normal.

 

[gtm]

So the other day I am washing the car and noticed a screw head in the front tire. One TPMS warning so I did have to add a few pounds. I have the Fidelity plan so I figured, take it in and have it checked. The tires are at 4/32 so I knew going in, getting time to replace. I sometimes park with the front wheels turned out so I get a nice view of the tread and can measure them.

Imagine my surprise when the tech asks me to come take a look and this is what I see in the rear. I don't crawl under the car but I do swipe my hand across the tread through the wheel well, front and rear in addition to turning the fronts out so I can get more access. The treadwear indicators are not exposed and measuring across, they are lower by 2/32 inboard than outboard, I attributed this to not being about to do a front to rear rotate. I should have been dismounting and flipping the tires since they are not listed as "this side out".

My car was at Porsche 3k miles ago. I haven't hit anything, not even a pothole. Roads by me are very good. I drive 90% of the time in normal mode. Could they have gone from showing no visible warnings to this in just 3,132 miles? and if so, WHY?

I have read that these cars are problematic for inner wear but this seems a lot.

Big difference if you went from new tires to this in 3,000 miles or if it was 3,000 miles since Porsche had the car. Porsche might not have noted marginal tires. Porsche might not have paid any attention depending on what you had it in for. Short answer is that yes this could have happened since it was at Porsche. If from new then something is very wrong with your alignment.

 

[ZenicaNC]

Big difference if you went from new tires to this in 3,000 miles or if it was 3,000 miles since Porsche had the car. Porsche might not have noted marginal tires. Porsche might not have paid any attention depending on what you had it in for. Short answer is that yes this could have happened since it was at Porsche. If from new then something is very wrong with your alignment.

I guess I have a hard time imagining how, if the tires treadwear were displayed in a graph how the graph curve for this was so gradual until 3k miles ago and then sharply rises to the point where it is now. How 3k miles ago, the wear pattern was normal and in the span of 3k miles it became a death trap with no change in drivers, driving style or anything else I'm aware of.

The dealer invoice shows the ubiquitous multipoint safety inspection being completed with zero areas of attention.

The wear patterns shown, if due to the alignment, indicate what adjustment is the cause?

 

[WattTurbo]

The of your tires look more worn out than a 3k miles tire would as well. Are you sure that’s a 3k miles tire?

 

[Bennachie]

Low pressures. Neg camber and too low pressure means tyre runs on the soft sidewall rather than the tread blocks....

 

[ZenicaNC]

The of your tires look more worn out than a 3k miles tire would as well. Are you sure that’s a 3k miles tire?

A bit of confusion, the tires don't have 3k miles on them. It has been 3100 miles since it was last at the Porsche dealer for an unrelated reason where they performed a multipoint safety inspection and failed to note anything of interest. I am wondering if this abnormal tire wear was evident then and they should have caught it, allowing me to make a correction that would have prevented me from driving around on tires that would eventually become the hazard they are now.

Edit:
I don't actually know definitively how many miles are on them. The car was a CPO with 13k miles. Whether or not they replaced them as part of the CPO process is unknown to me and I don't recall noticing them at the time.

 

[ZenicaNC]

Low pressures. Neg camber and too low pressure means tyre runs on the soft sidewall rather than the tread blocks....

Tire pressures have always been in the green as far as the vehicle warning systems are concerned.
Other than the very recent single TPMS warning regarding the front tire with the puncture, I haven't had any TPMS warnings, even during winter when I usually see them on the Cayenne. If memory serves, the rear tires have always been 44-48 psi.

How likely is it to have the rear alignment off but not the fronts? The front tires were worn pretty evenly with just 1/32 to 2/32 variance across the width with the greater wear inboard. The very outer measurement for front and rear is the same.

 

[gtm]

Tire pressures have always been in the green as far as the vehicle warning systems are concerned.
Other than the very recent single TPMS warning regarding the front tire with the puncture, I haven't had any TPMS warnings, even during winter when I usually see them on the Cayenne. If memory serves, the rear tires have always been 44-48 psi.

How likely is it to have the rear alignment off but not the fronts? The front tires were worn pretty evenly with just 1/32 to 2/32 variance across the width with the greater wear inboard. The very outer measurement for front and rear is the same.

The total mileage on the tires is unclear but kind of important. Also one or both rear tires showed this wear pattern? A forum search will turn up more than one thread on inner tire wear. The sidewall construction and rubber compound is different than the tread. Once the tire wear starts on the "corner" where the tire goes vertical it will progress rapidly. The 21" wheels and 305 mm width seem to be prone to this wear. This wear pattern is not ideal, but not particularly abnormal. And it really does look like low tire pressure was at least in part to blame. That is some really pronounced wear, extending all the way to the "Continental" lettering.

 

[ZenicaNC]

The total mileage on the tires is unclear but kind of important. Also one or both rear tires showed this wear pattern? A forum search will turn up more than one thread on inner tire wear. The sidewall construction and rubber compound is different than the tread. Once the tire wear starts on the "corner" where the tire goes vertical it will progress rapidly. The 21" wheels and 305 mm width seem to be prone to this wear. This wear pattern is not ideal, but not particularly abnormal. And it really does look like low tire pressure was at least in part to blame. That is some really pronounced wear, extending all the way to the "Continental" lettering.

My rear tire pressures have always been 44 in the rear, at least any time I pulled up the pressure information in the instrument cluster display.

The wear on the rear tires was the same for both. I took pictures of both but may have uploaded the images of just the passenger side. New Continentals are being put on all four wheels today so going forward, I will be keeping a closer eye on them.

Do the various modes (range/normal/sport/sport plus) play a role in the potential for this wear pattern? On the highway I use range and for most city driving I use normal. I do have the 21" Mission E wheels with the 305mm staggered sizes.

EDIT:
The wheel alignment for the Taycan, does it always require removing parts from the car? I've read the bumper comes off or the sub frame gets dropped. Is this true?

 

[gtm]

Here is a rather lengthy thread on the topic of tire wear, what might be causing it and what might be done to minimize it.

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/check-your-tires.8611/

 

[r553]

When was the last wheel alignment done on the car? From what I have seen an alignment is basically a toe adjustment. Front camber requires dropping the subframe, rear camber and toe are adjustable. Rear toe adjustment requires VW tool T90009. On my 2020 4S with 19" all season tires I am getting 12K miles wear out on the front and 15K miles wear out on the rear tires.

 

[ZenicaNC]

When was the last wheel alignment done on the car? From what I have seen an alignment is basically a toe adjustment. Front camber requires dropping the subframe, rear camber may not be adjustable. On my 2020 4S with 19" all season tires I am getting 12K miles wear out on the front and 23K miles wear out on the rear tires.

I cannot say. It may never have been done if it wasn't done at CPO which let's face it, probably wasn't. I haven't had one done because it drives straight, doesn't pull and until now, hadn't given me any reason to suspect it needed one. If the settings that would address the tire wear I am seeing require removing parts of the car like bumpers and/or subframes, as someone else here said, it is more economical to just replace tires!

 

[r553]

You might contact someone in your local Porsche Club in NC and see what independent shops are recommended for alignments. I've found the dealer to be expensive and not competent for alignments. I use an independent alignment shop where many of the independent Porsche shops send their customer cars to.

My experience with the CPO inspection on my 2007 Cayman is that it was done at the salesman desk....

 

[ZenicaNC]

You might contact someone in your local Porsche Club in NC and see what independent shops are recommended for alignments. I've found the dealer to be expensive and not competent for alignments. I use an independent alignment shop where many of the independent Porsche shops send their customer cars to.

My experience with the CPO inspection on my 2007 Cayman is that it was done at the salesman desk....

I am so going to borrow that line....it was done at the salesman desk....

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