How long should tires last?

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I have a 2003 Nissan Altima that we leased starting in October, 2003. It has 27,000 miles on it and the tires are nearly BALD. I mentioned it to my service advisor and he seemed to think it was perfectly reasonable to have to replace tires that are only 29 months old.

We have rotated the tires as suggested and I don't go out and skid or do donuts that would take excessive tread off. I am having all four tires replaced tomorrow to the tune of $400+, but I'm not happy about it.

So how long should tires last? Anybody else have factory tires that are dead at 27K?

 

[tar heel]

Our experience has been that the tires that come on cars often drive really well but not for long!

 

[disneynutt1225]

I think on average tires only last around 20K miles. I just had to replace my two front tires because I was a bad girl and didn't rotate them and at 23K they were bald.

 

[Dodie]

I think that typically "original equipment" tires that come on a new vehicle are not of the highest quality and usually need to be replaced after 20-30K. That has always been our experience.

 

[Lisa L from MI]

my 2002 Dodge Ram Quad has 42000 miles on it and the original tires...they aren't "bald" but the tread is pretty worn....but good enough until about the summer....My tires will cost pretty much 300+ each too!!...I am so not looking forward to that purchase!!!

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

I just got new tires for my 1999 Buick Century-car has 72,000 miles on it. They were still the original tires. This is rare the dealer said.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

OK, I am starting to feel a little better about it.

My tires are costing just over $400 for the SET, not apiece. Good thing I don't have a truck or an SUV!

 

[Servants of Evan]

Much of the tire wear is attributed to how the manufacturer has set the car up for handling characteristics. That "tight responsive steering" is assisted by setting a bit of toe-in on the front wheels. It makes turning easier, but greatly increases tire wear as the tires are constantly "scrubbing" the road surface. You can take your car and have a four wheel alignment performed to remove that toe-in and greatly extend the life of your tires. Additionally, it should also be asked: How often do you check the inflation of your tires? Be honest now -- most people simply rely on their mechanic to check inflation and don't bother to do it themselves. Simply losing a few pounds of pressure can significantly increase tire wear and actually overheat the tire until it fails. If you're waiting to check pressures until the next 7,500 mile service, you're doing a great disservice to your tires...

edited to add: My cars have been a Cavalier, Tracer, and Civic and I've never gotten less than 40,000 miles out of a set of tires. My Tracer had original tires rated for 40,000 miles and I wound up getting 64,000 miles from them before replacement -- and they still had enough tread left to be well above the legal limit. Ditto with the replacement set. My Civic had 52,000 before I swapped them out.

 

[2Poodles]

I have a 2003 Town & Country minivan with 24,000 miles on the original tires. I just bought a set of brand new tires on Monday. My previous minivan the original tires lasted about 35,000 miles. I didn't change my driving habits at all.


Mary & the 2Poodles

 

[DVC-Don]

Replaced my truck tires last summer at 30,000 miles. Coulda got some more but I don't like to run thin tires as they hydroplane on wet roads easier.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

In all fairness I don't check the inflation. I have tire pressure indicators on all 4 tire stems - if the pressure drops the indicator turns yellow, then red. As long as the indicator is green I figure I'm good to go!

One of my previous Nissans came with Yokohama tires on it. These are Continental. This is my 3rd lease vehicle and I simply don't remember having to replace the tires on the other cars - all Altimas. It just really irritates me that my wiper blades have outlasted my tires!

I know when DH had his little Ranger truck we had to buy new tires, but we bought the truck used so the tires weren't brand new to begin with.

 

[Christine]

The first set of tires on a new car usually last me about 30,000 miles. If you buy a "top of the line" of your model (like the Camry XLE or the Honda Accord EX-not sure what the equivalent Altima is) they will usually give you the better tires. All the other cars get the 35,000 mile tires. After the first set of tires go, I usually make sure I buy a 75,000 mile (or better) tire.

 

[Servants of Evan]

Neat concept on the indicators, but I wonder how much pressure has to fall before you get your "yellow" alert? Sorry to be obsessive but dad had 45 years in with Firestone & Bridgestone-Firestone before his retirement at age 60. The weekly pressure checks were ingrained into our every day beings... Some people walk by and look at a car and how clean or dirty it is, I check the tire tread and visually size up the inflation.

As an added note, there is a family at my son's daycare which drives a virtually new Ford Freestyle. My wife tells me she likes the blue color -- I point out that the right front tire definately shows signs of abuse from cornering or from misalignment as the outer tread blocks are virtually worn off, but the rest of the tire appears fine... I wonder if there's a support group for people like me?

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

The pressure indicators came with the car. I don't know how low the pressure has to drop before the indicator changes - they don't seem very high tech. I am WORTHLESS when it comes to cars. I wouldn't know how to use a tire gauge even if I carried one in the car.

If we were buying the car I would replace the tires with expensive ones, but in 20 months we are giving the car back to Nissan. It has to have 4 matching tires with tread still on them under the terms of the lease, so that's precisely what they will get when I turn it in! DH wants to replace my car with an Accord, but I am pretty brand loyal to Nissan. Whatever we get I will definitely be discussing the life of the tires with the salesman!

 

[hubby_of_newtodisney]

They should last somewhere between 10 and 60 thousand miles....I'm not being a wise-guy, although that is one of the attributes I point out on my resume!

 

[HayGan]

OK, I am starting to feel a little better about it.

My tires are costing just over $400 for the SET, not apiece. Good thing I don't have a truck or an SUV!

My tires for my Ford Explorer didn't cost much than yours (only about $50).

 

[ZachnElli]

I just had to replace all mine in Jan. at only 22,000 miles. They said that they were worn because it was out of alignment, not true. We have it in regularly and I hate it when it's out of alignment. My dh even asked after they were suppose to align it how off it was and they said it wasn't? My tires were completely bald. I've never had that happen before. I have a Toyota and I've been having all kinds of problems with it lately. My mom's Toyota has exactly 100K more miles on it and she has had no problems! I think I'm the only person to have a Toyota with problems!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

WELL...

I just got back from having the new tires put on and the guy told me something fascinating! Those stupid pressure indicators are designed to keep the tire presure at precisely 32 lbs. There is a release built into them so if the pressure is MORE than 32 the additional air leaks out. BUT the cap of the indicators can crack which means the tires can be leaking air on a continuous basis, even when they aren't supposed to be losing air. Grrr.

Most likely my tires were virtually NEVER at the proper inflation, despite the little cap still showing "green". Great.

Anyway, the tire technician said I should leave off the indicators and just use standard caps on the stems. The new tires have a 50,000 mile warranty on them but we will be turning the car in WAY before then. At least it is out of the way now.

 

[PaulaSue]

OP, Dh sells tires for a living and says on your sports car that is average. He also says it depends on driving condititons and alinement. HTHs

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

PaulaSue -
It's a sedan, actually. I would love to have a sports car, but since I am a nanny for 2 preschoolers that is pretty much out of the question.

I think the factory just puts crummy tires on. In general this car has had more issues than any of my other Nissans. We have had it in twice for pretty major repairs (under warranty). The first one was to replace the fuel pump, the second one was to replace the radiator. I guess I should be glad the tires are the only thing we have had to pay for so far!