Rear tires are wearing - what should I do? (Split thread)

[Dirk Diggler]

Seriously F@#* Mitsubishi Corporate. These are my independent tested specs that just got an hour ago. They said, I need a new axle or just plan on replacing tires every 10k miles. I next go over to the dealership. They say Im not covered under warranty because a rear axle is only covered under 12k miles "adjustments" and that everything will be out of pocket. In trying to placate me I suppose the technician said my rear left is only just barely out of spec and not too worry about it. I said Ill worry about having to buy near rear tires every 18 months which he countered with "theyre little tires, they wear out fast, same with brakes." I asked what about putting 175 65 R14 on all four to save me money. The technician of course, advised against it saying it'll mess with my handling and breaking etc. Worse part is Im going to have to go thru this all over again with my fiancee's G4. We bought it at 30k miles and had to fight to get 2 new rear wheels, not knowing the axel issue. I love my Mirage but this whole experience has soured everything. Looks like cheap Federals 175 getting replaced every year for me! Thanks Mitsubishi!

[inuvik]

Seriously F@#* Mitsubishi Corporate. These are my independent tested specs that just got an hour ago. They said, I need a new axle or just plan on replacing tires every 10k miles. I next go over to the dealership. They say Im not covered under warranty because a rear axle is only covered under 12k miles "adjustments" and that everything will be out of pocket. In trying to placate me I suppose the technician said my rear left is only just barely out of spec and not too worry about it. I said Ill worry about having to buy near rear tires every 18 months which he countered with "theyre little tires, they wear out fast, same with brakes." I asked what about putting 175 65 R14 on all four to save me money. The technician of course, advised against it saying it'll mess with my handling and breaking etc. Worse part is Im going to have to go thru this all over again with my fiancee's G4. We bought it at 30k miles and had to fight to get 2 new rear wheels, not knowing the axel issue. I love my Mirage but this whole experience has soured everything. Looks like cheap Federals 175 getting replaced every year for me! Thanks Mitsubishi!

As long as you are under 60K miles then it's a covered item as a second owner. Search the forum for the relevant threads. You can get this covered under warranty if you are under 60K, it's just going to take a little work.

[Dirk Diggler]

How? The dealership said Mitsu Corp wont do it. Said it might of got bent early and theres no way I can prove otherwise. Can anyone recommend cheap tires to put on the rear?

[Marklovski]

Keep on pressing them how this is a known common issue with many Mirages in the USA. If that doesn't work then use Lemon Law against them and say they sold you a damaged/broke car.

Edit: For Lemon law argument say it was probably out of alignment and then you only noticed it when it had already started to eat the tires.

[Top_Fuel]

Both of your rear tires are "toed-in"...meaning that if you looked at your car from above, both rear wheels are pointing inward...




Now...the way I am reading your numbers, your rear axle appears to be within Mitsubishi's specs.
Your left rear is 0.28 degrees...but that's the outside range of the specification.




Your rear alignment numbers aren't exactly ideal, but they aren't as bad as some we have seen.

One side of my rear axle is .23 degrees. That's very close to what you have on both sides. I keep my tires slightly over-inflated AND (more importantly) I rotate them consistently every 5,000 miles. I am approaching 70,000 miles on one set of tires (no...they aren't Enasaves) and I have pretty even wear on all of my tires right now.

How often do you rotate your tires?

[Dirk Diggler]

First off thank you for a detailed response! What a great community, I mean it! My tires were rotated last on March 5 2019 at the dealership, about a 1000 miles ago. Are you saying this something I can live with? Rotate every 5k miles and get new tires every couple of years Im guessing is the best I can do. Basically its a bad rear axle but not too bad?

[Dirk Diggler]

And will it damage my vehicle putting on 175 65 R14s?

[Fummins]

We run 185 60' on our cars when the dunlop's wear out. They fit the stock wheel and don't rub on anything. I wouldn't go any wider than that with such a narrow wheel. They are a bit heavier than the stock tires so mileage probably suffers a little but they seem to last way longer. Other's have used 175/70 I believe?

[Top_Fuel]

Basically its a bad rear axle but not too bad?

Well...it's not the best axle out there...let's put it that way. In an ideal world, you would not want the rear toe settings to be what you have. However, your measurements are within the specifications given by Mitsubishi. So yeah...you pretty much have to live with it.

If you don't watch your tire pressures and you never rotate your tires (which is probably what most people do), then you may notice some odd wear patterns forming on your rear tires over time. Keeping up with tire rotations and making sure your front end is aligned properly (which yours is) will minimize any funky wear issues. Like I said, my axle is almost exactly like yours on one side and I'm living with it (like I have a choice, right?).

You can definitely switch to a different size tire without any problems (as long as it fits on a 4.5" wide wheel like Fummins mentioned). Just rotate them and watch the tire pressures and you should be OK.

[Dirk Diggler]

What about the parts guy saying anything but 165 65 R14 will ruin my brakes? Just trying to sale Dunlops out of the dealership? 185s look good, I just like the price selection on the 175s. There's been some back and fourth literature on here on the viability 175 65 R14s. I guess theres only one way to truly find out. Once again Top Fuel, Fummins, Cobra, Eggman, thank you immensely for the sage wisdom!