[G4bird]

Hello,

Havent been here in a while. Did the standard search, but didn't find an answer.

I bought my '11 EXt in March 2011. Right off the bat, I had the left pull issue. Took a few trips to the dealer and got it corrected. They had to adjust the mid body to get enough adjustment. Now I'm coming up on 40K and have uneven tire wear on both tires. I've declined the rotations because when we did, the car started pulling again. Question is: Since this is a well documented issue with the car, do I have any recourse with KIA to either rotate the tires and realign the car or replace the two fronts?

Any input will be appreciated. Thanks.

Right front.

Left front.

 

[buruko]

The dealership will most likely not cover the tires, you would have to argue that the left pull issue was never corrected or verify that the alignment done to correct the issue was at fault for the uneven wear on tires. Otherwise they will send you to the manufacturer which will only blame the car and/or regular wear through use.

Warranty on the Nexen's is only 40k in itself I do believe.

 

[Codger]

Since the pull returns when you rotate the tires, that says that conicity (cross-sectional defects in a tire's shape) is the major contributor to pull. Nexans are famous for that.
If by 'moving the mid-body' you mean they moved the front sub-frame, that's what it took to get more castor adjustment in mine and solved the pull-along with a new set of Michelins.
Don't skimp on tires when the geometry's right.

 

[cwoptima11]

Not rotating tires is on you, not KIA or Nexen - period. Sorry.

Rotating tires are a vital piece of maintaining them, along with your car. Did the left pull have something to do with the wear? probably - but your stated decision to not rotate shortened the life for sure.

 

[cobra259]

You need new tires plain and simple...as cwoptima stated: you choose for good or bad reasons, NOT to rotate. Kia is not going to give you new tires for free. When you do buy new tires stay away from nexens.

 

[conwelpic]

40k on OEM tires is not bad anyway even without problems, but the tires are warranted separate so check your owners manual for the tires regarding any warranty, but even if there is any pro-rated charge it wouldn't be worth it as you are only going back to same make of tire.

 

[CMG241]

I have same tires with near 40k, be happy with the miles you got out of yours. mine look much more worn

 

[osbornk]

For not being rotated, your tires are remarkably good. You don't have a problem. Rotation would have evened out the wear. I have 27,000 miles on mine and I don't they will be that good at 40K (and I have rotated them). Driving habits also have a marked impact on the way tires wear.

 

[G4bird]

Thanks for the replies...new tires it is.

 

[jsolo_sx2011]

Wow.. Here we are 24 months later still talking about left pull issues. My concern for the OP is that when he does install new tires, will the car drive straight or pull/drift? Sounds like the alignment was setup to compensate for the tires.

40K is very reasonable to get from OE tires IMO too.

 

[Wry 'Cuda]

Looks like tyres should have been replaced 5,000 miles before. However even 35,000 miles (55,000km) isn't bad for "ordinary" tyres on the front. We only had 25,000km on the front of our Cerato before ditching the Nexens.

I'm not enthusiastic about tyre rotation. In the present case, you would only have spread the wear due to a (probably) poorly aligned suspension. I swap around tyres about every 20,000 km, usually keeping them rotating in the same direction. Tyres on our Mazda 6 are Michelin Energy XM1+ and they're are about ½ worn at 40,000 km. (Initial tread depth 6mm above TWI, now at 3.5mm above TWI).

 

[Arctic]

Wow.. Here we are 24 months later still talking about left pull issues. My concern for the OP is that when he does install new tires, will the car drive straight or pull/drift? Sounds like the alignment was setup to compensate for the tires.

40K is very reasonable to get from OE tires IMO too.

I can chime in one this one as I had the left pull from the get go, and eventually KIA was able to sort it out (this was back in March-April 2011) as I purchased the car in February of 2011. Anyway, always in the back of my mind was the rearing of the ugly head if you will, when the time came to purchase new tires. Well, did same two months ago at 50,000 miles. Guess what, the left pull is back. Since I did not pay for an alignment when the new tires went on (Big-O/Discount Tire Vendor) purchase/install. I went to Kia to have an alignment done, consciencous of my left pull. $100 later, still have the left pull. I need to once again follow the procedure in the Kia Warranty Manual where it lists the proper address to write to, just like I did a couple years ago. I have not had the time or wherewithall if you will to do same as of yet, but the left pull annoyance persists, and it's just a matter of time for me. Forget going straight to the dealership for this problem, one risks just wasting their time.

 

[Arctic]

On a positive note, these BFG tires in a 235 width are the sheet. Can take a sharp right or left turn at 35 and have not found the limits. Car seems earily balanced and compliant doing same on smooth level roadway. My fear is a false sense of security, as in push to much and the car will snap, instead of a more linear front end push nearing limits, the thing will just snap slide front end first as if on snow. Not in any hurry to see the limits of these tires. 3 MPG less with them, so happy to get something. Even highway stability is so much nicer, even with the left pull annoyance.

 

[Codger]

That's a great report Arctic, and you're right to be cautious about the limit. Gotta work up to it.
Having said that, I'd find an empty stadium parking lot or a campus (isn't CA full of them??) and probe in a step-by-step manner. Do a skid pad and transient cone course if you're organized enough. Maybe even an autocross-just for your own yardstick.