Pulls Left: Dealer Says Tire is to Blame; not an Alignment Problem

[Ct. Ken V]

Hi, Godiva,

It does download when I click on the link, but when I open it I get a "PDF"-type box (like I usually do) that says Adobe reader (in the top border) but with a big white box in the middle of it that has an error message in it that says "file can't be found". Have you tried to click on his PDF attachment, & if you did, could you see the contents of the TSB?

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

[bruceha_2000]

Originally Posted by a priori

Next: Can anyone recommend a Goodyear replacement other than the Integrities? I think I may want to replace with TripleTreds. Of course, I could go outside Goodyear for Nokias or Michelin Hydroedges, but that really means all four tires on my nickel, doesn't it!

I like my TripleTreds. They ARE noisier than the Integrity but they have much better grip and worked well year round including a 28" snowfall in 24 hours that the plows could not keep up with when they had about 35K miles of wear. When they hit 50K miles last fall, I got Hakkappelita RSi for the winter (on basic steel wheels) and will use the TTs until they have no more life for summer driving.

HOWEVER, Do not have the Integrity tires on 2 or 3 'corners' and something else on the others. If not exactly the same tire, they must match pretty close and anything you would WANT to buy won't be the 'same' as the Integrity. If they are willing to replace one or 2 Integrity tires (I'm SURE they won't do all of them UNLESS they can all be shown to be bad), you might want to drive them to 'end of life' before shelling out for new tires all around.

[a priori]

Originally Posted by galaxee

they might try removing the tire and mounting the other way on the rim first to see if that fixes it. sometimes it does. otherwise, they will probably only replace the one tire if it's under warranty.

Replace just one Integrity? After 16,000 miles? When they last 25,000 to 30,000 miles?

This doesn't really sound like much of a help to me -- except that it should remove the left pull, of course!

[a priori]

Originally Posted by dogfriend

There is a TSB on this, which I found when researching alignment issues.

A great help! Thank you, Dogfriend.

I won't pretend to understand it all, but at least I can see the manner of their diagnostic approach.

[JimboK]

Originally Posted by a priori

If I go to Goodyear, my assumption is that they would have agreed there is one tire with a problem. My next assumption is that they would be willing to replace in pairs, as opposed to one tire or four tires. Is this a fair set of assumptions?

Sorry I missed this earlier. As others have suggested, you can expect just one tire to be replaced under the warranty.

Ideally, the two tires on the same axle should have relatively equal tread depth. (Do you know the depth on yours?) Of course, a new tire matched with one nearly new should be fine. A new tire paired with one with barely legal tread depth could create handling or braking problems. You're probably somewhere in between.

Here's another idea: Replace the other one on your nickel and use the old one as another spare. Story: The donut spare and an unrepairable road hazard last summer forced me to buy tires before I was ready. The Integritys had 27K on them, still legal, but I was planning to replace them before winter. When I awoke one Saturday morning to a flat, I had to scramble to find a complete set of tires that day. Replacing only one was not an option due to the tread wear. Michelin Hydroedges were among the tire models I was considering, though they probably wouldn't have been my first choice. But they were the only ones I could get that day. The others would have taken a week or two for dealers to order, and I couldn't be running on the donut that long. If I had had a full size spare I could have taken my time.

So when I replaced them I kept one of the old ones for this purpose. My plan was to buy a used steel wheel (I think a Corolla wheel fits), have the tire mounted on that, and keep it in my storage shed. If I have a flat around town I can slap the donut spare on long enough to get home. (Won't help on extended road trips, but they are pretty infrequent.) Then I can run with the full-sized spare for weeks if I have to, and I'm not forced into immediate action; I can get repairs or replacements on my terms. (I confess that I have procrastinated badly on this -- the tire still sits in storage without a wheel. Does me a lot of good, huh?)

[a priori]

Originally Posted by JimboK

Sorry I missed this earlier. As others have suggested, you can expect just one tire to be replaced under the warranty.

Ideally, the two tires on the same axle should have relatively equal tread depth. (Do you know the depth on yours?) Of course, a new tire matched with one nearly new should be fine. A new tire paired with one with barely legal tread depth could create handling or braking problems. You're probably somewhere in between.

I think I am somewhere right in between. I have just over 16,000 miles on the tires. They should be fine for another year or more. I could get one under the warranty and buy one, but wouldn't the two tires have to be pretty similar to the Integrities. Meaning: Could I get TripleTreds to put on the back and keep the Integrities on the front?

Originally Posted by JimboK

Here's another idea: Replace the other one on your nickel and use the old one as another spare.

That sounds like a very smart move. I think I'll keep the one for that purpose. Maybe I'll work a little harder to find the "spare" wheel for mounting purposes.

[dogfriend]

Originally Posted by Ct. Ken V

Hi, dogfriend,

When trying to open your TSB attachment, I keep getting the message "flie not found". Can you provide a link instead?

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

Hi Ken

Were you able to figure this out? I would have responded earlier, but I'm in a primitive land where WiFi is very hard to find. I think its called Oregon by the natives.

I placed a copy of the TSB here: .Mac - iDisk

Click the arrow on the right side to download the TSB

[JimboK]

Originally Posted by a priori

ICould I get TripleTreds to put on the back and keep the Integrities on the front?

I'm not very familiar with the Triple Treds. If you have a reputable Goodyear dealer locally, maybe they can help guide your decision.

Here is an excerpt from an article from TireRack.com that discusses mixing tires:

The best choice is to select the exact tire currently on the vehicle. This assures that the tire's physical dimensions, internal construction, tread design and tread compound are equal to the tires being replaced.

The second option is to choose equivalent tires from the same tire performance category that share the same speed rating, handling and traction characteristics of the original tires. While this isn't as desirable as selecting the exact tire currently on the vehicle, it can become necessary when the original tires are no longer available.

Either way, not an optimal solution. Having said that, I would be comfortable exercising the second option for myself.

[dogfriend]

Originally Posted by a priori

I Could I get TripleTreds to put on the back and keep the Integrities on the front?

I had a non repairable nail puncture in one of the the GY Integrates (spell check suggestion) at 15k miles. I did not want to replace one tire (been there, done that, bad idea) but didn't want to replace all four either. So I bought two Michelin Destiny (X radial) put those on the rear, and put the best two GY on the front. I'm planning to keep the GY on the front until I wear them down to nubs or winter (whichever comes first) and then get another set of Michelins to match the ones on the rear.

No problems with different brands as long as they are the same size and matched in pairs on front or rear axle.