H-PIMP

My wife drives an '05 Pilot that just hit 20K miles. We bought it new as a left over in late '05 when the restyled Pilot's had already hit showrooms, so we got a killer deal on it. The car was not a demonstrator either, we drove it off the dealer lot with 8 miles on the odo.

It's the family car, and it sees "fully loaded down" 500+ mile road trips at least three times a year.

Car is equipped with oem 235/70 16 Bridgestone Dueler, which has excellent all around qualities without being a dedicated snow. Much better in wet weather than the GY Integrity according to the Pilot community.

@ 9K miles it got it's 3rd oil change and 1st tire rotation, I noticed lightly accelerated wear on the outer side of the drivers side tires. The car has TPMS so it wasn't an over or under inflation issue. In addition to the TPMS, I make sure all four corners are at 32lb.

@ 15K miles it got it's 5th oil change, 2nd tire rotation and an alignment at the Honda dealership. I requested an alignment because I was still disatisfied with the outer tire wear.

@ just over 20K miles it got it's 7th oil change and 3rd tire rotation. And, now I'm basically left with 4 good tires at 75% inner tread with completely worn outer treads, I mean bald like a slick.

Honda dealer hasn't been any help at all, and now I only have one option. Spring for 4 tires and an alignment

My family and I love the Pilot, it suits our needs perfectly and delivers great road manners coupled with best in class fuel economy.

But this tire wear issue has me pulling my hair out. Any Pilot/MDX owners have similar issues in the past?

nsxtasy

If it were inherent in the design of the car, I would expect the tires on both sides to wear that way, not just the driver's side. (From your post, it sounds like it's only happening on the driver's side, but all four tires are that way due to rotation to the passenger side - correct me if I'm wrong.)

Did your dealer call Techline for the Pilot, to find out whether that's a common problem?

Any chance it could be a suspension problem? Worn bushings are unlikely on a car that new, but maybe something like a slightly bent control arm? You could put it up on a lift for a visual inspection, or even better, pay a body shop with a laser sighting system to measure all the dimensions to make sure everything's in spec.

H-PIMP

You're right about the wear on all 4 tires due to rotation. The passenger side actually wears the tires evenly.

I've asked this question to some people on the Pilot/MDX boards, the only feedback I got was that first year MDX's (2001) had a similar issue that was corrected by HOA on a case by case basis. Not TSB or recall.

I'm going to give 4 new tires and an alignment a shot.

This time I'll have it aligned by highly respected private shop. I'm going to inquire about the laser sighted measurements as well.

And if I find myself replacing 4 perfectly good tires with prematurely worn outer tread at 40K miles, it may be time to start looking for another family hauler.

nsxtasy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by H-PIMP &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">And if I find myself replacing 4 perfectly good tires with prematurely worn outer tread at 40K miles, it may be time to start looking for another family hauler.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That might not be worth it, even if you can't figure out why they're wearing that way. Let's throw around some numbers and you'll see why.

Assume a set of tires costs you $550 including shipping and mounting (based on Tire Rack prices for the Dueler in the size you mention). And let's say that these tires would last, oh, 40K miles if they were wearing properly (that's typical for tires with 300 treadwear), but you're not happy because instead they're only lasting 20K miles due to the uneven treadwear. So what that means is, every 40K miles, you're spending $1100 for two sets of tires instead of $550 for one set. If you trade for a different truck at 40K miles, you might lose $5-10K trading the Pilot on something else new in the same price range. You're doing that to avoid spending an extra $1100 on tires (two extra sets) by keeping it till it's got 120K miles. In this example, it doesn't pay to spend $5-10K more on a different truck in order to save $1100 on tires. Maybe these numbers aren't precise, but I think you can get the idea from them.

Of course, best of all would be if you could figure out why the tires on one side are wearing unevenly, and fix it. Hopefully, you figure that out in the alignment (don't forget to examine the suspension closely when it's on a lift, too).

H-PIMP

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

That might not be worth it, even if you can't figure out why they're wearing that way. Let's throw around some numbers and you'll see why.

Assume a set of tires costs you $550 including shipping and mounting (based on Tire Rack prices for the Dueler in the size you mention). And let's say that these tires would last, oh, 40K miles if they were wearing properly (that's typical for tires with 300 treadwear), but you're not happy because instead they're only lasting 20K miles due to the uneven treadwear. So what that means is, every 40K miles, you're spending $1100 for two sets of tires instead of $550 for one set. If you trade for a different truck at 40K miles, you might lose $5-10K trading the Pilot on something else new in the same price range. You're doing that to avoid spending an extra $1100 on tires (two extra sets) by keeping it till it's got 120K miles. In this example, it doesn't pay to spend $5-10K more on a different truck in order to save $1100 on tires. Maybe these numbers aren't precise, but I think you can get the idea from them.

Of course, best of all would be if you could figure out why the tires on one side are wearing unevenly, and fix it. Hopefully, you figure that out in the alignment (don't forget to examine the suspension closely when it's on a lift, too).
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Believe me, I rarely get emotionally attached to cars. But I'm am very fond of the Pilot we have and can't imagine any vehicle (besides a 2nd gen MDX, mucho $$) that I'd want to replace it with. And when I consider the fact that I bought it as a left-over at $1500 below dealer invoice, it gives me even more of an incentive to keep it. I'm confident that this problem will be corrected.

High speed mount & balance + alignment should do it. I'm going to monitor the tire wear closer this time.

As far as a visual inspection on a lift goes, that's already been done. Everything seems in order, nothing loose or out of place. There is no sag in the cars stance either.

nsxtasy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by H-PIMP &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">High speed mount & balance + alignment should do it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Let us know whether the "before" alignment numbers indicate anything was off...

Adr!an

Tires are one of the things most customers complain of at the dealer... Based on the weight of the Pilot and a 300 treadwear tire 20K miles isnt bad, but its wearing on just the drivers side you said. Remember weight and long distances make the tires wear a bit faster especially highway speeds where they are constantly warm and sticky.

Some cars i have noticed like the ES300 2000+ wear tires on the outside only as if it has a positive camber problem, but its just the car.

Get another alignment done along with new tires and see how it goes this time. But i've seen worse cases than your's so dont feel too bad and good lucky.

old man neri

When you brake without holding on to the steering wheel, does your car pull to one side? If one brake grabs more on one side or if you have one brake that drags all the time it might explain tire wear like that. It's a distant long shot though.

H-PIMP

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by old man neri &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When you brake without holding on to the steering wheel, does your car pull to one side? If one brake grabs more on one side or if you have one brake that drags all the time it might explain tire wear like that. It's a distant long shot though.</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, it doesn't pull at all when braking. I can take my hands off the wheel @ 65mph and the car is dead straight. That's part of what has me puzzled.

Alignment and tires this weekend, then we'll see from there.

TunerN00b

I know that something like 99% of the time, it will be a mechanical issue. However, this should be asked at some point.

Does the car see "spirited" driving on a daily basis? For example, if there is one long, sweeping turn to the right that you take aggressively every morning, but that you don't take as aggressively in the evening (traffic, different route, etc...), then you could just be using the outside shoulder on one side more than the other.

Sorry I can't contribute anything more than a hypothetical circumstance that could possibly explain the wear.

I've worn out tires prematurely due to "excessive" cornering forces resulting in outside shoulder wear. Then again, that was a 1983 Chevy Cavalier that had struts up front, a dead axle in the back (fwd car, wtf?), and a complete lack of swaybars, so really its no wonder that cornering caused the tire wear for me.

91_civic_si

lack of rotates or when you have an alignment problem that tire will always wear that same way even when you have had your alignment fixed.... depends on the tire too check for seperation on that tire..the best thing would be get new tires and an alignment but get it done when you get your tires....always check your air too it could be over inflation or under inflation just keep recomended air pressure on that about 35 or 40 psi....either is okay