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Inside tire wear on 2013 Avalanche... no help from GM

utahpablo

Full Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2011
Messages
220
This is the 2nd issue with my 2013 Avalanche, just turned 31,000 miles from new, looking at my tires today after cleaning the truck and noticed all four tires are wearing at the inside tread down to 3/32, the outside tread is at 5/32 and the center is at 8/32. I have always rotated the tires at 5,000 miles, and have always kept the air pressure at 35 - 37 psi. The tires are the stock 275/55/20 in Bridgestone Dueler H/L. Truck has always driven straight without veering left or right. So I call my dealer today only to hear the so called "bumper to bumper" doesn't cover misalignment, & that , like the paint warranty is only for the first 12 mo or 12K miles. So off to the alignment shop this week.....anyone else seeing this issue with their 20 size tires on their Avalanche?
 
Not much help from my end other than today, while at my dealer, a 2013 Escalade version of the Tahoe came in while I was talking with my GoodWrench guy. He was doing a visual inspection and noticed some oddities with he left front tire, so he turn the wheel to the left to see it better. As you described your tires, this was to as the right side also. I don't now if the backs were the same or not and I have no idea of the tire pressure.

Over all, the vehicle was as clean as my 2013 Avalanche.

Good luck.

I've owned 3 Avalanches now and never had an issue with alignment. I was the first owner for #1 & #2 and the only for #3. All were #1 & #2 were Z71 4x4.
 
I'm guessing you are running them at Max pressure.
 
I've experienced the exact same problem.... My tires are worn to about the same degree as yours, except I've only got a little more than 25k miles on mine....

I even had one tire replaced last december because it had worn almost flat on the inside, and picked up a gravel that put a hole in it...

They dealer said the alignment was within spec and it has never driven weird in any way.

I noticed another 2013 with the same tires on 22in wheels that were worn to a similar degree this past weekend, however he had over 50k on his AV...

I feel your pain, I really do. The dealer says nothing is wrong, and that I take corners too quickly causing the edges of the tires to wear out quicker..

I drove my 02 in a similar fashion as my 13 (actually I was a bit more careless with the 02) and never had a tire wear issue..

I will definitely not replace the tires with the same kind when it comes time (they might make it another 10k miles...)  :E:
 
MS03 2500 said:
I'm guessing you are running them at Max pressure.

I have had the same issue and mine haven't been ran at more than 34lbs since we have had the truck.

And what does running at max psi have to do with it? If you run in the range of rated PSI then they should perform within the specifications.

I could see if you ran them under rated capacity and the side walls had a bit more give, and the truck leaned more into the corners on the edges of the tread. 
 
4x4dreamer said:
I have had the same issue and mine haven't been ran at more than 34lbs since we have had the truck

Hey sir look at the tire and see what the Max pressure is
 
I'll let you know if your stock rims are not at least 8 inches wide that may be your problem
 
I am not sure what the camber angle is for our trucks but they sometimes have it so the tire leans a bit to help with steering etc... this can cause the inside edge to wear sooner and if you rotate then they would wear evenly like that after the tires have had roughly equal time on front and rear.
 
Symptoms seem to make it appear that the your tires are riding on their inside edges. The first thing I'd do is confirm this by doing a chalk test.
 
utahpablo said:
all four tires are wearing at the inside tread down to 3/32, the outside tread is at 5/32 and the center is at 8/32.

I have a 2013 LTZ with the stock and original 20" Bridgestones but there is no uneven wear like you describe at 43,000+ miles. In fact the Duelers are holding up very well for me.

I don't suppose you do much towing or hauling?

Let us know what the alignment shop finds.
 
MS03 2500 said:
I'm guessing you are running them at Max pressure.

Wouldn't running at Max pressure cause the inside and outside edges ride up (less contact with the road) and the wear would be more towards the center of the tire(s)???
 
A little light reading....http://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/drivers-ed/tire-tread-wear-causes

In any case, I'd do the chalk test to see how the Avy is riding on the tires.  I suspect that you'll see what you'd expect.  It's entirely possible that all four ends were misadjusted for camber from the factory.  Although I'm not even sure that you can adjust the camber on the back end.  I didn't take a really good look at the back end yet.  Don't want to assume anything.
 
That's really strange.  Do you drive with the bed loaded or a trailer?  If not I'm guessing you do commute on local roads with a lot of turns.
 
utahpablo said:
This is the 2nd issue with my 2013 Avalanche, just turned 31,000 miles from new, looking at my tires today after cleaning the truck and noticed all four tires are wearing at the inside tread down to 3/32, the outside tread is at 5/32 and the center is at 8/32. I have always rotated the tires at 5,000 miles, and have always kept the air pressure at 35 - 37 psi. The tires are the stock 275/55/20 in Bridgestone Dueler H/L. Truck has always driven straight without veering left or right. So I call my dealer today only to hear the so called "bumper to bumper" doesn't cover misalignment, & that , like the paint warranty is only for the first 12 mo or 12K miles. So off to the alignment shop this week.....anyone else seeing this issue with their 20 size tires on their Avalanche?


What's the load range and the max PSI on those.

The tread depth readings point towards under inflation since its wearing on both the inside and outside and less in the middle.
 
MS03 2500 said:
I'll let you know if your stock rims are not at least 8 inches wide that may be your problem
    My Rims are the factory stock 20" 5 spoke alloy wheels with the stock 275/55/20 Bridgestones, the tires have always been inflated from day 1 to 35 - 37 psi ( the factory door sticker psi for the tires is 32 psi cold ) so if anything the center tread should be more worn than the inner or outer tread right? Never towed anything with it yet, no heavy loads ever. Always rotated at 5k from new. The 30K on the truck is non abused mostly freeway, mostly straight line miles.  But yes off to alignment shop in the morning to get it checked out. Thank you all for your quick replies, but damn mad really, as my 2003 Ave had no tire issues ever ( two sets of tires, first replacement at 68K of the factory Goodyears and replaced with Goodyears ) in it's 129K miles before I sold her for the 2013, should have just kept her. Chevy Customer Care told me to re-read the warranty and sure enough, Page 12: no alignment coverage after 7,500 mlies, listed as a Periodic Maintenance item like brake pads. But this had to be a build issue as I have never hit a curb or pothole in the three years I've had the truck...I'll let you guys know what the shop says later tomorrow after I get it back, but the 2013 Avalanche does not pull left or right at all, even let it drive hands free like a Google Car for a few miles just today to show the wife. Puzzled, but will not use the Bridgestones when they do need replacing, anyone have a better tire they like on the last gens?
 
utahpablo said:
let it drive hands free like a Google Car for a few miles just today to show the wife. Puzzled, but will not use the Bridgestones when they do need replacing, anyone have a better tire they like on the last gens?

If you can drive for miles with your hands off of the wheel you may have excessive toe in which will accelerate tire wear.  I wouldn't be dissing the Bridgestones until you see where your alignment is at.
 
enoniam said:
If you can drive for miles with your hands off of the wheel you may have excessive toe in which will accelerate tire wear.  I wouldn't be dissing the Bridgestones until you see where your alignment is at.

I disagree.  The rears shouldn't show that type of wear. No load pulling, excessive/aggressive turning and no accidents, proper inflation = bad tires or wrong tires for the truck. I would go with Continentals 1st and Michelin 2nd.  I think your alignment will come back spot on.  Turns or under inflated tire will do that (but you said 35psi which is fine).
 
Linescreamer said:
I disagree.  The rears shouldn't show that type of wear. No load pulling, excessive/aggressive turning and no accidents, proper inflation = bad tires or wrong tires for the truck.

He stated the tires have been rotated every 5000 miles.  In that case they've seen 15,000 miles in the front, versus 16,000 miles on the ones currently on the front.  And other than the last 1000 miles, they've seen the latest miles on the front.

How can they be the wrong tires for the truck?  They are what Chevy put on it.
 
I see what your thinking is but, the rear should have evened out the wear pattern.  Hey, anything is possible.  Chevy could have put cheaper/under rated tires on as OEM.  It wouldn't be the first time.
 
Ok Guys, the Alignment Verdict is in.....too much "toe out". Had to ask the tech twice on that one. The tech also looked over my tires and said he could see I have been rotating as all four were exactly the same wear. And even though the Avalanche wasn't pulling left or right while I've been driving, he suggested the alignment needs to be checked sooner as he has seen more than just mine coming in with worn tires like this. So for you all with a still low mile Avalanche? Be forwarned.  Maybe that's why GM has that little gem of information as to alignments only being covered upto 7,500 miles from new in the warranty book ( do "they" know something? ) He also said that now because that wear pattern is already there on all four, that they will still wear out much sooner than rated, although now with the adjustment, a slower death to the tires. The last Rotation was done with oil change at just under 30,000 at my local Chevy dealer where I bought the truck and they never said a thing. So now I'll run the tires with a few pounds more psi ( 37-38 ) to try to wear the center tread more even overtime, but I'll be lucky to see 50,000 with this set.....so yes not Bridgstones Duelers fault, it was Chevy when the built it as I've never hit anything, not even a curb in three years of ownership. Love My Avalanche, just hate this deal, but another set of tires in a year or two will make me forget ( but I'll keep a watchful eye on my alignment from now on ) Thanks again for all your input guys (y)
 
Interesting what the said utahpablo.

I could not find anything about them other than there were a few complaints about dry rot and blowouts.
 
OK, that's what had me confused.  I was under the impression that the unusual wear was occurring on all four tires at once, when what was actually happening was that the unusual wear was occurring while the tires were on the front end.
 
So was I. I could not find the specifics of the tire like how many sidewall plies.
 
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