Wheels/Tyres: XC90 excessive Front near side tyre wear 6k miles

[butlerwhite]

Hi All.

My XC90 (Oct 06) is with Stratstone volvo, Birmingham CC this morning checking out a problem with the front tyre.

The vehicle, 8/9 months old only has 6800 miles on the clock and the front near side of the tyre is worn past the warning marks.

Volvo phoned me up within 30 mins of dropping it off to inform me I needed a new front tyre, (**no sh*t sherlock**) of course I need one but there is obviously a fault / problem that is causing a the car tyre to go bald after just 6k.

They phoned me up 5 minutes later and told me there was a problem with the track rod end, it had some play in it.
They insisted that I had to pay for a new tyre myself. I refused to accept this, they have told me there is a fault with the track rod end, if a fault with the vehicle has caused the excessive wear then why should I have to pay £195+ VAT (there quote) for a new tyre.

I was then told that track rod end did not cause the tyre wear, the TRE would have cause the tyre to bald on the other side, which bas hardly any wear on it so again I disagree.

I'm then told than my vehicle needs 4 wheel alignment, it will be done under warranty but I had topay for the tyre still, I asked why it would whis, they said because the car is not driving straight and causing the tyre to go bald. So again, a fault with the car is causing the excessive tyre wear, why should I have to pay.

I was then put through to the service manager who told me he would speak to volvo for me but could not promise anything.

So, I see there are plenty of other posts about tyre wear and tear but they seem to behave done a lot more, 13k 18k + and i'd also expect to pay if id done that much mileage but 6k is not acceptable.

Does anyone else know of a problem or experienced any issues with this excessive tyre wear.

I'm also VERY disappointed with Stratstone volvo in Birmingham who just seem to be fobbing me off and don't seem to care.

In two years I've paid them £16K for my S40 and £38k for the XC90, now when I need them to sort a problem out they are not giving me any support.

thanks
Lee

[sexysuv69]

My XC90 front tyre was given another month of use as there was excessive wear on the outer aspect of the front tyres.
The dealer said it was causing the wind noise coming from near the top left
(passenger side) window. They did the diagonal swap and wheel balancing and charged me the equivalent of 25 GBP.
Did the wind noise disappear? NO!!!!! So maybe I should ask for a refund, wrong diagnosis, wrong treatment at my expense. Vehicle still under warranty!

Wonder if the Volvo makers read this...forum....?

[butlerwhite]

I doubt if Volvo read this forum much.

I won't be giving up without a fight, the service manager basically told me the vehicle is setup in a way where the front near side tyres always wear first.

When I asked him to confirm that volvo are selling cars that are made in a way that force you replace the one tyre every 6k he had no answer only he would speak to volvo on my behalf.

My S40 never had the problem and I don't believe for one minute that they are telling the truth.
But, if they don't do a U turn and sort out the problem then they just lost a future customer of stratstone and volvo.

ta
Lee

[RoyMacDonald]

email Volvo customer services and see what they say.

I do have some sympathy for the garage and Volvo though, because how do they know what wheel imacts the car has been subjected to. This is the UK after all. The country reputed to have the worst roads in Europe, Mercedes say nearly all their suspension warrenty claims are from the UK!

Wheels going out of alignment isn't a problem new to the XC90.

[butlerwhite]

Originally Posted by RoyMacDonald

email Volvo customer services and see what they say.

I do have some sympathy for the garage and Volvo though, because how do they know what wheel imacts the car has been subjected to. This is the UK after all. The country reputed to have the worst roads in Europe, Mercedes say nearly all their suspension warrenty claims are from the UK!

Wheels going out of alignment isn't a problem new to the XC90.

But it is a problem!! and if it's a problem that resulted in a tyre wearing out after 6k then surely volvo are responsible.

I've spoken to Volvo warranty and they are offering to pay 60% of the cost of the new tyre, £120 and I pay £75+VAT.

I'm not sure how much weight your argument carries as were talking about a £38k off road 4x4 vehicle.

how can a few bumbs and lumps n holes in a road cause this to happen? Maybe on an S40 or V50 etc then this might have a point but not on the XC90.

If it's any fault of my driving then i'm sure there would be some signs on at least one of the other 3 tyres.


I'm off to speak to them.

Ta
Lee

[Multiplex]

How is the dealer to know you have not hit a pot hole and caused damage to the suspension/steering? It’s your word against theirs.

I think suspension geometry is only covered for 3 months under warranty.

[ianu]

Hi Lee,
I'm inclined to agree with you 6k mles is really not acceptable for a car this young.
I think the honesty in most of us will instinctively know if there was ever a moment when we hit a hole or something and thought "ouch - that must have hurt something" - but also agree for this type of car the avarage hammering that it endures on the Great British road shouldn't put it out to this extent (I'm sure you know the routes you travel regularly and if there was a chance they'd be responsible).
I'm very very lucky - I changed my first set of tyres at 42k miles (yep 42K). I watch them like a hawk as there is so much evidence in this forum of people having major issues with alignment - not only in this country (Volvo-forums.com in the States also has plenty of evidence).
It's ultimately your call - but if the dealer is prepared to start meeting you more than half way - I'd keep trying. Whatever you go with I'd be looking for some fairly tight conditions regarding the replacement tyre - the last thing you want is the same again but on the other side at 12k miles.
I've always had superb service from Motorworld Oxford - so I sympathise with you Lee.

Cheers
Ian.
PS I deliberately went for 17" rims over the 18" - look great and tyres appear to be wearing evenly all round again - heres to another 42k - 18k and counting...

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by butlerwhite

But it is a problem!! and if it's a problem that resulted in a tyre wearing out after 6k then surely volvo are responsible.

I've spoken to Volvo warranty and they are offering to pay 60% of the cost of the new tyre, £120 and I pay £75+VAT.

I'm not sure how much weight your argument carries as were talking about a £38k off road 4x4 vehicle.

how can a few bumbs and lumps n holes in a road cause this to happen? Maybe on an S40 or V50 etc then this might have a point but not on the XC90.

If it's any fault of my driving then i'm sure there would be some signs on at least one of the other 3 tyres.


I'm off to speak to them.

Ta
Lee

Don't get me wrong Lee. I'm not saying it's acceptable for Volvo to walk away, it should be able to take more punishment than the average car, but it isn't a full on 4x4 like the Defender it's what's termed a crossover vehicle.

With British roads I don't think anyones driving has to be at fault, you can probably get a more severe imact on the average London road than on an offroad track where you are expecting and looking out for obstacles and so going slowly. Who hasn't been caught out by horrendous potholes or badly out of design tolerance main road speed humps?

I think Volvo's offer seems reasonable given the car is 9 months old and the amount of wear the Conti's give, but it's not my car, or money of course so I can understand if you don't agree.

You might want to check out the new thread about the kind of wear the Nokian WR tyres have been giving. 39,0000 + and still loads of tread.....

I do wonder as well how good the dealer Quality Assurance Inspection, was as I would expect it to pick up an alignment problem. Trouble is my main dealer experiences have left me scarred for life. Still love the cars though.

[Steve940estate]

Hello
Just reading this I can't see how any track rod end could wear out in such a short time with out either being faulty from new or being subject to a very large impact. To do that much damage it would have probably wrecked the wheel as well.
I do agree that if misused tyres will wear out in no time but just one !
My mother bought a new Fiesta and the front tyre wore out very quickly. When the tracking was checked it was miles out. This tyre was on the drivers side and the problem was that the tracking had never been right when the car was built.

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by Steve940estate

Hello
Just reading this I can't see how any track rod end could wear out in such a short time with out either being faulty from new or being subject to a very large impact. To do that much damage it would have probably wrecked the wheel as well.
I do agree that if misused tyres will wear out in no time but just one !
My mother bought a new Fiesta and the front tyre wore out very quickly. When the tracking was checked it was miles out. This tyre was on the drivers side and the problem was that the tracking had never been right when the car was built.

Havn't they accepted responsibility for the track rod end Steve? I was under the impression they had. You did say they had offered 60% of the cost of a tyre and you had done 6,000 miles and given what people say they get out of the Conti's does't seem too bad, but only you know how hard you corner, accelerate etc, just bear in mind that Conti's can wear out very quickly if used hard. They are a high performace soft compound tyre on a very heavy car. If you'r a gentle driver ask for what you think is fair.