While checking air in tires, I noticed significant tire wear, especially the right front. The first 20% of the outer portion of tire was worn nearly bald on the right front, though not nearly as bad on left front. The wear is consistent with an alignment issue / too much camber. I took it to local VW service and they claim this is normal wear because VW spec has them set the camber this way, which puts the load of the car on a small surface area which lowers the rolling resistance which effects miles per KWH. According to them, I will have to buy new front tires every 10-15 thousand miles which is insanity.
This kind of nonsense should be disclosed up front when buying a car so folks are aware of the increased cost of driving this car. Personally, I feel setting the car up this way also is unsafe, as it impacts stopping, acceleration and places the load of the car on a small area which could lead to tire failure... Remember the Ford Explorer catastrophe?
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While checking air in tires, I noticed significant tire wear, especially the right front. The first 20% of the outer portion of tire was worn nearly bald on the right front, though not nearly as bad on left front. The wear is consistent with an alignment issue / too much camber. I took it to local VW service and they claim this is normal wear because VW spec has them set the camber this way, which puts the load of the car on a small surface area which lowers the rolling resistance which effects miles per KWH. According to them, I will have to buy new front tires every 10-15 thousand miles which is insanity.
This kind of nonsense should be disclosed up front when buying a car so folks are aware of the increased cost of driving this car. Personally, I feel setting the car up this way also is unsafe, as it impacts stopping, acceleration and places the load of the car on a small area which could lead to tire failure... Remember the Ford Explorer catastrophe?
- Andrew S., Scottsdale, US