i10 front tyre complete wear out

I own Dec-2007 i10 era. Total KM run 18K.

Last week during general inspection of my vehicle, I noticed that my front tyres are completely bald.

Hyundai ASC claims that it is a balanching issue and I am not very convinced. I think balancing will cause the wear at some side/part of the tyre. I am doubtful if the tyre is replaced.

On the servicing side, the car went to ASC 2 months back and drove only 2K KM since then. At that time the wheel alignment was not done as per service advisors advice. Wheel balancing alignment was done 8months back by ASC.

I have not filed a complained to Hyundai customer care. I am planning to get some expert advice before going ahead.

Requesting xperts here to please share views.

Thanks in advance.

In 18k kms the tyre is bald?? Theres something fishy here IMO. Generally tyres last around 50k kms but again might a little. however it is highly unlikely that it wears off completely at 18k kms. I think your doubt that the tyres have been replaced might be true. Between have both the tyres gone bald or is it just one side?

Centaur.. Thanks for the reply..

Yes, I also expect that 40K+ is the right time to say good bye to tyres.. but to my surprize both the front tyres are completely worn out..

Do you think, wheel alignment can create complete worn-out in 2K KMs?

Balancing will not eat up the tyres. Irregular tyre may indicate the following:

1. Bad alignment: If the camber is not right, there will be more wear on one side of the tyre. If the toe is not set properly, the tyre will suffer even wear but excessive.

2. Bad suspension components like the tie rods, struts etc.

3. A wrongly done body repair in the front area. Usually improper mounted aprons and misaligned chassis will lead to uneven wear. 

Wheel alignment cannot really eat up tyres in 2k kms but it depends upon how badly it is aligned. But if the tyre is misaligned to this extent, then it would have been surely noticeable. Did the tyre suffer any major hit recently? It is better you sue the dealer for this. If the car were to be in warranty, then you could have asked for a new set of tyres. But now, the best you can get is some compensation for the damage.

Sankalp I guess in this case his car tyres have gone completely bald and not just on one side. Like you said wheel alignment cannot be the reason for this. It is something else for sure

I gave the possible reasons and indications. As I read it again now, it is the front tyres. As both of them have gone, it has to do with an improperly set Toe. Excessive toe in or toe out can lead to this. Suspension problems, chassis problems indicate a single side wear and here it is not evident here.

Sankalp/Sridhar,

Sorry if I am going a little off track.

When I met the MASS people recently, I asked them how they adjust Camber and Caster. What they told me was that during normal wheel alignment done in the service centres, they adjust only Toe.

Only when the vehicle meets with some accident or something and the chassis get damaged, they do a full body alignment during which Camber gets rectified. They dont adjust Caster for light vehicles (it is not easy).

Is this information correct?

Tomy

You are totally correct. During regular alignment, the only thing that is adjusted is the toe. It is relatively easy to adjust toe, and also it is the toe that gets misaligned most of the times. Toe can be adjusted by varying the length of the steering tie rod. 

Camber and caster cannot be corrected with such an easy process, ie by adjusting the length etc. Also, camber and caster rarely get errors, unless the wheel experiences a sudden shock or bump. Usually, we come across cases where the customer runs over potholes or humps at a high speed, or even sometimes cars hit dividers, pavements etc at a moderate speed. In such cases, the camber or/caster gets affected. Though its side-effects may not be very prominent, there will be some indication of the underlying damage, either through change in high-speed characteristics, vibrations, tyre wear etc and is damage dependent.

In such cases, the best method we have currently is the chassis aligner. It is a machine which can take precise measurements and also correct any error to the set value. So, if serious body repair is done such as repairing the chassis components and related parts, the car is hooked up on the machine bay. The aligner takes current measurements and by using a hydraulic arm, it pulls or adjusts the the position of the components. This is a precise task and that is why we all must hope that our car never ends up onto one of these machines!

Tomy,

I also read the same. For most of the basic cars, only Toe is adjustable.

When I re-checked the report from Hyundai on alignment, they only fix front Toe. No change in Camber and Caster numbers.

Could you verify the toe of your CAR with the specified toe reading in the OWNERS MANUAL?