Can new tires throw a car out of alignment?
Asked by Mark Nov 08, 2020 at 05:46 AM about the 2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS FWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
04 Monte Carlo SS nonSC. At 136k bought another set of tires, was wearing
good so put the front on the back, new ones on front. 6,000 miles later, blow
out. Both inner treads are down to wire, outsides like new. I have not
wrecked, hit pot holes or anything. As I said, the old fronts were good
enough to put on the rear. Tire dealer wont warranty, says it went out of
alignment when the new tires were installed. No pulling. steering wheel
straight. no wobbling, but yet they wore out on the insides in 6k miles. Any
ideas?
5 Answers
Replacing tires will not give you an out of alignment condition. If you didn't hit any potholes and not wreaked, the wear on the inside of the tire was from either the toe or camber changed from wearing of the suspension or steering components. How old are the struts, ball joints, and tie rod ends? Original parts yet? When you install new tires this time, have an alignment done and ask the shop to check the reason for the wear. I think they will find some worn parts. Good Luck.
TDolby is right. Plus new tires always go on the back of the vehicle. The tire shop should have known that and recommended it. They should have also, at the very least, recommended the alignment be checked when you bought the tires. If you had any front end work done since you bought the new tires an alignment should have been done again. Hope that helps! Jim
Js08016....I prefer my new tires on the front personally....if my rear tires lose traction, I want my front tires to pull me where I want to go
That may be your preference but it's an unsafe preference. In bad weather the rear tires must displace the water already on the road plus the water that's displaced by the front tires. The front tires only have to displace the water that's on the road. There's a much greater risk of hydroplaning into a crash with poor tires on the rear. Do further research and you'll see what I mean. Jim
Slick tires on the rear leads to swapping ends when you brake or go around corners.
