I have an '07 Base with about 18, 0000 miles on it. My 2 front tires are both shot. Very unusual tire wear around the outside (not the middle) of both tires. On the inside of the tire I can see the steel belt coming through. Time for a wheel alignment and new tires. Anyone else with the same problem?

 

Did you ever adjust the tire pressures(especially during the change of seasons), and also rotate the tires?

 

Yes, I have always kept the tires inflated per spec.
I been driving a long time and have owned many cars (new and used).
I know unusual tire wear from the usual wear that comes with age and milage. I suspect my Fit may have alignment problems from the factory. I shouldn't need new tires after just 20k miles. The back tires look fine.

 

yes the tires wear really fast...

 

No, you shouldn't. My 07 sport had 35,000 on it and the tires still had a ways to go. Different tires/wheels I realize. Do you rotate them regularly? I do at every oil change. The wear on my fronts is just like my backs.

 

You said nothing about tire rotation. If you haven't rotated your tires, this would be normal wear. Front wheel drive cars wear the fronts faster and on the outsides of these tires (called cornering wear). Tire rotation spreads this wear out to all four tires. The factory Dunlops on my Fit lasted about 40K with regular rotation.

 

sometimes the inflation spec on the door placard really isn't adequate.
I personally keep the tires on my sport at 50psi. Yes, this is high (although within the tire spec) and I'm not recommending you do the same. The door placard is for 32. Maybe try to find a happy medium? Imo when they were at 32 they looked low. After spending about a month with them at 32psi, once I inflated them to 50 I could already see outer sidewall wear.

If you rotate your tires they will all wear at the same rate, however you'll have a bigger bill when the time comes to replace all 4. That's a personal preference.

I'm interested to see how other's compare. To confirm, you:
- keep your tires at 32psi
- don't rotate them?

 

Under the right driving conditions the rear tires on a FWD car can theoretically last the life of the vehicle if the tires are not rotated. However, not rotating the tires and replacing only the front ones when required ignores one important fact about tires => tire rubber deteriorates over time(Yes, even on new aftermarket tires that are just sitting in storage prior to being sold).
Thus, not rotating the tires for the life of a FWD car(10-12 years for example) can easily create a dangerous driving situation during the last few years of the car's life if the original factory rear tires are still installed since they can be cracked and decomposed at that time simply due to ageing. So for safety's sake, it's highly recommended to rotate the tires and replace all 4 at a time to insure that the car gets fresh rubber on all 4 wheels.

 

ski brings up a good point. i have tires that were bought "new" locally but started
to crack at the base of the treads. be tossing those out with the car (other car)
when it's time to sell it. im running a nicer wheelset right now with new tires i
got from tirerack.

especially high performance tires tend to harden in shorter life... like in 3-4yrs use
it doesn't grip nearly as well as it did when i first bought it. tread still 50%+ left.
im sure the store had it on the shelves for a good 6months or so.

from my experience, it's a give and take on rotation.

 

I normally buy my tires from TireRack, and I always check the labeling to make sure the tires are relatively fresh. So far, so good. But if they should ever ship me an old set, then they'll definitely get shipped right back with an RMA stipulating that TireRack covers the return shipping cost.

 

I'm the original poster here. To answer a few questions, no to haven't rotated the tire in the 2 years I've owner the car. I was thinking about it when I first noticed the unusual wear but at that point I figued (as someone here mentioned) why destroy 4 tires. So I've held off on the rotation and will buy 2 new tires and get a wheel alignment. In the future I WILL rotate the tires twice a year with each oil change. I have kept the tires inflated to 32 psi. Yes they do look a little under inflated at that pressure. My car came with Dunlap tires.

 

I have a tire pressure monitor system. I inflate my tires to 35 psi, and reinflate when they reach 32 psi. I rotate regularly (after first 5K miles on the tires and every 10K miles thereafter). My tire wear is even across my tires. The factory Dunlops lasted me 40K miles with even tread wear.

 

If you replace only two tires keep the new ones on the rear for safety, to prevent fishtailing and hydroplaning. Watch this video. http://www.michelinman.com/tire-care...artire-change/

 

Interesting video, thanks!

 

good video =)

 

Dunlop SP31s suck. That's the simple answer.

Can't wait until they finally wear out and I replace the tires on this thing.

 

OK that's true but many fitfreaks have gotten 30K out of them. My fit only has 10K but the Dunlops look like they've sat in the showroom. NO MATTER WHAT you must rotate your tires regularly! The irregular wear and 18K says something's wrong. Bug the Honda people about this!

 

Well my first set of front tires was wearing too fast. Just after about 17.000km (about 10563miles) and a little over one year, I discovered heavy wear on just the inside of the front tires. Went to the dealer and they got a look at it and found out that the alignment was off.

The dealer also said the front steering mechanism can easy be damaged, but you will notice that as not the same weare on left and right tires.

But as the other says you should rotate the tires. I do it twice a year it since I change to winter tires from mid october to 1st may.

If this is the only set you have used for the 18.000 miles (about 28.962km) you have gone with your car it sound more like normal tirewear.

 

Yep, 18,000 miles, original tires, never rotated them and they look very bad. So you’re saying this is normal wear given the history of the tire? My wife has an Accord that we bought the same day as the Fit. I never rotated the tires on that car either (although I plan to now). and they look fine. I hate to hassle with the dealer about this but now I wonder if there is something wrong from the factory.

 

if you never had them rotated, does it follow that you never got a wheel alignment either?