Excessive tyre wear 500 miles… should not happen?!

[Lobsterlee]

Hi all,

Long story short… I purchased a 2021 33k miles Sportline Black Edition from a VW commercial Van Centre in November last year. They, and it have been nothing but disappointing to say the least.

Multiple issues, some minor, some more pressing. Some of the bits were sorted by my local commercial centre last month. As part of the vans visit there, they provided a short vehicle health check video. The images show the two front tyres with 4mm of tread reported on each.

Today I was informed of a loss of pressure on the offside front. I went straight to my garage to inflate & noticed considerable wear on the inside of the tire. This caused me to check the near side and although it wasn’t as bad, it’s not good!!! Less than 500 miles after the health check.







Both the following images are of both the near side and offside as of today, less than 500 miles since the commercial centre video and reported 4mm on each. Obviously tyres are down to me, the garage advised the tracking is out to cause that wear, although there are surprised it’s happened within such few miles.

Has anyone experienced anything similar, especially as under my ownership for less than 4 months, and less than 500 miles since the last check. Is there any chance the 12 month warranty would cover such deterioration/tracking etc? I’m already under VWCV’s care over numerous other issues, as they have taken responsibility for sorting from the supplying dealer, although they too have failed to make any progress the past 3 weeks despite them sending numerous emails saying they’ll be in touch tomorrow

As a black edition it comes withe the eibach coil overs and as part of the ongoing issues, I’ve reported various clunking noises when turning at low speeds from both the front and rear, or reversing up an incline etc. not sure if related and doesn’t happen all the time, sounds almost but not as excessive as when part of my spring broke on my T5. Local commercial centre advised probably a stone trapped and then releasing, which I don’t believe unfortunately.

Honestly I’m now at the point of speaking with the ombudsman as intention to reject the vehicle was made to initial van centre within 30 days, and more and more issues arising almost daily now, all at my expense! Could have bought a brand new one for less but my old T5 was so reliable, I wanted to stay with a true VW.

 

[Dellmassive]

i would get 4 new tyres fitted and then a full 4 wheel Hunter alignment. .

Thread 'Lowering & 4-wheel Laser Alignment - How I Done It -'

8 Sep 2018

Lowering & 4-Wheel laser alignment - How I Done It -

Another constant HOT TOPIC is lowering, B14`s Elbracs etc etc

So lets take some time as see what its all about.

Steering Geometry is Very important for the life of your tyres and the safety and handling of your van. A poorly setup geometry can cause poor Tyre contact with the road, excessive trye wear and a big headache.


**************************************************

If you just dropped the van with a lowering kit of new springs and shocks then yes the geometry may be out and front camber & toe may be out.

But. . . . . . . ...

• Dellmassive
• how to guide wheel alignment
• Replies: 94
• Forum: Suspension, Steering, Brakes

• 

 

[BuilderJay]

My Sportline’s tyres are wearing all evenly and I’m doing about 10,000 miles on them. My vans just over 3 years old now and done 19800 miles now. Just put the 2nd set on the front and will need a 2nd set on the rears in around another 1000 miles I reckon. Van is loaded all the time too.

 

[Sasquatch]

As usual, Im with Mr Massive.

Aside from wearing very quickly the pattern of wear suggests strongly that something is amiss. A full 4 wheel 3D alignment check is a good place to start, and a careful examination of all steering and suspension components for play, breakages, worn bushes, etc.

Probably unrelated, but ensure pressures are correct.

Its also worth buying a digital gauge and checking them yourself rather than taking the word of a garage at a health check. Odds are theyve done nothing wrong, but if you can keep on top of things yourself thats another variable eliminated if you have problems in the future.

Please let us know how you get on. Hopefully youll be back in love with your new van before long. Best of luck!

 

[FWhite]

My Sportline’s tyres are wearing all evenly and I’m doing about 10,000 miles on them. My vans just over 3 years old now and done 19800 miles now. Just put the 2nd set on the front and will need a 2nd set on the rears in around another 1000 miles I reckon. Van is loaded all the time too.

Actually, while even, it seems a lot of wear to me.
I would expect to make about double of that in a work van.
Do you have soft "sport" tires ( i.e. Conti Sport) or is this specific to the Sportline or (or the Sportline induced driving style ) ?

 

[Lobsterlee]

Thanks all.. I woke in a cold sweat this morning as I couldn't remember there being a locking wheel nut adaptor in the bunch stuff the VW dealer gave me when purchased. Luckily!! after removing the nut caps, there isn't any locking wheel nuts...

Since I purchased on 1st November, its driven lovely... It's not overly laden and I've yet to induce the Sportline driving style as I'm too busy dodging the wonderful potholes we have here in Suffolk. As previously mentioned, I've only done around 2000 miles in total since then and around 500 since January when the video inspection was carried out by another VW centre.

I wouldn't be so irked as I am had there not been a plethora of other issues that have cost me money since buying... some sorted and some still ongoing.

I carry the same items as I did in my old T5 Sportline (2.5 T30 - 174)... which I still have btw... seriously contemplating switch back into it lol...

The old T5 ran on Nexens which I used to change every 18moths or so (15 -20k miles per year)... they ran great for me. This T6.1 has Falkens on the front and Rapid 609 on the rear! the rears have 6mm or tread and are completely even - I've just googled and aren't the Rapids meant for an SUV's

I've not changed the height of the Eibachs & everything looks and drives ok, aside from a really annoying "clunk" that I sometimes get at low speed when turning or reversing... VW have looked and can't find an issue as intermittant I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the excessive wear over the past 6 weeks, probably not but just another thing to add to the list

 

[t0mb0]

Wearing off over 4mm on the inside over 500 miles points to an extreme tracking error - probably even visible by eye and almost certainly by spirit level to check how vertical the wheels are. I'm not sure what would cause this level of alignment issue, it possibly does mean there's something up with the suspension. It needs looking at by a specialist in wheel alignment who will also identify any wider issues with the suspension.

Obviously you need to decide whether you want to fight to return the vehicle first though, as there's no point shelling out for alignment and new tyres if you're then going to want to return it anyway. If you want to do this I suggest ramping up the pressure on VWCV, in my experience if you cause them enough hassle they will cave in order to get rid of you - the first step is to demand to get off the first line of call handlers onto a dedicated senior case handler who you then pressure until they give in...

 

[Lubrown]

My Sportline’s tyres are wearing all evenly and I’m doing about 10,000 miles on them. My vans just over 3 years old now and done 19800 miles now. Just put the 2nd set on the front and will need a 2nd set on the rears in around another 1000 miles I reckon. Van is loaded all the time too.

Oof. Got 30k out of my Hankooks on a normal height T5.1 camper. Even then they were still way above legal - I prefer to change nearer 3mm unless it’s a Michelin which are actually designed to work well in the wet right down to 1.6mm wear limit.

What’s wiping out the tyres so early on Sportlines?

 

[Lobsterlee]

Wearing off over 4mm on the inside over 500 miles points to an extreme tracking error - probably even visible by eye and almost certainly by spirit level to check how vertical the wheels are. I'm not sure what would cause this level of alignment issue, it possibly does mean there's something up with the suspension. It needs looking at by a specialist in wheel alignment who will also identify any wider issues with the suspension.

Obviously you need to decide whether you want to fight to return the vehicle first though, as there's no point shelling out for alignment and new tyres if you're then going to want to return it anyway. If you want to do this I suggest ramping up the pressure on VWCV, in my experience if you cause them enough hassle they will cave in order to get rid of you - the first step is to demand to get off the first line of call handlers onto a dedicated senior case handler who you then pressure until they give in...

Yeh, I was assigned a dedicated case handler in early Jan, they called me on the Friday and were very sympathetic to the issues I’d had to date. They advised they would look over all details on the Monday and call me back mid week. I heard nothing for two weeks so called back and left a message on the dedicated number they gave. Two more weeks and nothing.
I finally got through on week three, they advised the supplying dealer had still not replied and would chase again!
Then received an email a week later saying my case manager was away from the business and would call me tomorrow when they return… nothing happened, I received the same message to following week… again nothing, I emailed back and than was a week ago… no response as yet and now the tire issue to be added to the list

Not sure if worth contacting the breakdown assistance, but tire garage advised they will just say wear and tear… even though it seems so much more than that.

Appreciate everyone’s input

 

[darkman884]

As alreaadvised , get the tracking checked and for any worn components.
As an observation, it would seem it has a slow puncture and has constantly being driven under inflated .
Trust me , under inflation can cause very rapid uneven wear.
As for rejecting it , on what grounds are you going with ?
There must be more substantial problems
Because I would suggest uneven tyre wear won't be one of them

 

[Lobsterlee]

As alreaadvised , get the tracking checked and for any worn components.
As an observation, it would seem it has a slow puncture and has constantly being driven under inflated .
Trust me , under inflation can cause very rapid uneven wear.
As for rejecting it , on what grounds are you going with ?
There must be more substantial problems
Because I would suggest uneven tyre wear won't be one of them

Thanks, yeh new tyres and tracking being done Monday so will have a clearer indication then. Low pressure warning only came on yesterday and tyre looked lower than it has done, The slow puncture theory makes sense in terms of wear, I’m guessing a faulty sensor/reading could be the reason I wasn’t away beforehand as it continued to drive as normal or as it has in the time I’ve had it.

There’s no big substantial problem as yet on relation to rejecting, just lots of misinformation/advertising and handling from the dealer since day one of collecting the vehicle. A total lack of responsibility and not even an apology… so far it’s been off the road for over three weeks since November and I’ve even received penalty fines, escalated to threats of court action whilst it was back in their care as not settled within the period they advised it was etc.

Advertised options of the Black Edition not working, rust damage in load area hidden, paint peering from bumper etc… three visits and 7 days + to sort discovery pro unit… there’s a hefty list, all of which is costing me money whilst it’s off the road. Now the tire issue…

Hopefully My Handler/Case Manager comes good next week