YACT: Tire warranty

[duragezic]

I got two new Dayton tires for my front in August '04. During my oil change a few days ago they said the right front was ready to be replaced. WTF? There is adequate tread left on both (and on the rear tires too which were of course moved from the front when I get new fronts).

I drive maybe 8k miles/yr and by no means do I abuse my car or the tires.

I don't see any visible signs on the tire in question that would indicate it needs to be replaced but not that I know much about them anyway (but obviously there's no cracks, and hell I've seen tires in far worse condition on vehicles compared to my seemingly new ones).

Being that the tires have maybe 15k miles and are under 2 years, if they do indeed need to be replaced due to one possibly being in danger of popping or whatever, is there some sort of warranty on them?


Also I need CV boots replaced as well as accessory belts. I believe all the parts for those are cheap (<$20 each). Could I do accessory belts myself? I hear the CV boots are a major pain to replace so I'd be buying mostly labor on that.

Also they said I need a transmission flush/fill and new filter. They quoted $100 or more. I thought I remember getting the same thing done for like $40.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Sometimes the tread will "pull apart" and cause issues. 2 years and 15k? Unless the tires were cheap or you left your car parked for an extended period of time without moving it....they may be trying to scam you. Take it to another shop for a second opinion.


As for the Belts, replace them yourself....it takes a little bit of work, but shouldn't be bad as long as you let your engine cool down before you try working with it. I recommend night work too if it's hot outside. 😛

How old is your car? CV boots should only be replaced if the rubber is getting worn or has a crack in it. They are going to be dirty no matter what, so don't let them talk you into swapping them out unless they are really ready to be replaced.

 

[Brainonska511]

Do you rotate your tires so you can get even wear in the front and back sets?

 

[xanis]

Where did you buy them from? Go look on TireRack to see if those tires even come with warranties.

 

[altonb1]

What exactly is the cause of them needing to be replaced? A warranty willonly get you so far. if the replacement is due to abnormal wear because of an allignment problem or incorrect air pressure, etc, then you will eat the replacement cost and the warranty will be voided.

 

[torpid]

When you say adequate tread are you checking the tread marker or just looking at the tire and thinking it is ok since it still has ridges?

If it's a tread issue, even if it does have a tread warranty, what they do is just pay you the difference between what it should be and what it is, so you don't get a fully new tire for free anyway.

 

[duragezic]

I don't believe they are cheap crap. Standard all-terrain that were like $60+ each and they're only 14 inchers. Both new ones installed plus any alignment and balancing came to $150.

It's a 1993. The CV boots may be original. I think they said there is a crack in them since grease is leaking out. But I don't think it's been like that long enough since I have no symptoms of the joints being bad so I think although the labor is a lot I'll just do the boots. The car only needs to last 2 more years till I'm through with college. Anyway since this mechanic is doing the boots I guess I'll jus thave him do the belts. So maybe $50-$75 on parts for the belts and boots, then labor. Hopefully will be under $200.

I believe I have had them rotated once sicne I got them (I'd have to check my records to be sure though... my mom would usually take care of my maintenance while I'm at work or while I was gone to college). And the car was never sitting for a long time. I didn't hardly use it while up at school since I walked mostly, but it definitely would get used every day or every other day for a few miles. THen again the college town I was in is absolute sh*t for roads, and my driveway was pretty much crap. Might've not been too good on the tires, plus trying to make it up and down steep as hell hills in the winter time.

I'll look up the tire model # when I go home. They didn't really give a reason on why it needed to be replaced. And as far as the tread I just said adequate isnce they aren't all that different from when I got them. Just seems like too early to need replacing when I thought most tires were good for 30-40k easily.

 

[torpid]

Performance tires often need replacing at 20-30k just due to treadwear. Not sure about 15k though, that seems a bit absurd.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Locate the purchase paperwork on the tires.

That will tell you what/if the warranty is.

Most REPUTABLE places will provide at least a 30K warranty (possibly prorated).
As others stated above; abnormal wear/tear do to front end problems can invalidate such warranty.

Simple rule of thumb is to stick a penny into the tread. If you can see the top of Lincoln;s head, the tread is becoming unsafe. Also, look for abnormal wear. There are usually tread indicators (bands) that will indicate when the tread is becoming unsafe.



If the CV boots are leaking oil, get them replaced before a major repair job is required on the fron end.

The boots protect from dirt and also contain the lubricant(oil). When that goes; the boots will crack/rip, allowing dirt to get in and destroy the metal. Lack of oil will affect the wear on the parts also.

 

[hoorah]

I think all of you are missing something. This is not a tire problem. Its at best a small problem exxagerated by crappy tires. Even if the tires are crap, there has to be a reason that the front right wears faster than the front left. Replacing one tire before another is not any kind of normal maintenance, so to say that its "ready to be replaced" doesn't make any sense.

I'm going to guess its either an alignment problem or a worn tie rod allowing play (and thus, another alignment problem). Either way, you need to find out why they claim that tire needs to go. If they have no answer (like sidewall cracking specific to the tire), then make sure they check for play in the suspension, especially on that front right.

Going even further out on a limb, it wouldn't be unheard of if they charged you for an alignment last time and never did it. I've seen some clever wording about paying for an alignment, and they will do the alignment "if necessary". That said, I know nothing about the shop you go to, so to stereotype them like that is wrong. I'm just saying not to assume they aligned it just because you've paid for it.

CV joints, eh. Its work, but its not hard. Decide how much your time is worth. I'd definitely do the accessory belts myself, if for at the very least knowing how to do it in the future. That way, the next time someone quotes you $350 to do an accessory belt, you can think "Hey, I've done that before, this doesn't feel right...." Little car experience in college goes a long way.