Alright. My back 2 tires on my 07 altima have a noticeable uneven tire wear on the rear 2 tires. Each tire has a wavy worn down inner part of the tire. Tire Kingdom pointed this out to me and torl me I need to get my struts replaced for warranty from the dealer and that they were bad. (Keeping in mind that ever since I've had the car I've been responsible with my rotation and alignment).

Well, I get a call from the dealer saying that they heard a clanking noise in the rear right, so they will replace the rear right strut. They said as for the tire wear, that it possibly an alignment or rotation error and that STRUTS CANNOT CAUSE ABNORMAL TIRE WEAR . LOLOL.

So my two questions are... how do I convince them that my struts are bad? and shouldn't they replace them in pairs?

8/6/2010 8:08:58 AM

I'm not a suspension expert and I've never experienced this problem but I've heard many many times that worn out struts/shocks can cause irregular tire wear.

If you have been responsible with your rotation and alignment then give the dealership documented proof (receipts and whatnot) showing that it's not the alignment.

Also, rotation error? I can't believe somebody would claim that with a straight face.

8/6/2010 8:44:34 AM

Well, it was a phone call, so he could have had the funny face going on

8/6/2010 9:05:26 AM

bad rear struts can cause tire wear, but it is bumpy, not inner edge wear. Inner edge wear is caused by bad alignment in most cases. If they replace one strut, then they should replace both.

8/6/2010 10:09:23 AM

nmsj

8/6/2010 10:31:27 AM

who did your alignment?

8/6/2010 1:07:37 PM

^Tire place.

It's probably bad alignment, I think you guys are right. They are gonna replace a strut because of a noise, but I assume that only one will need replaced.

Also, will tire places really squirt oil on a strut to show you it's "leaking". Sneeky people.

8/6/2010 1:16:06 PM

Sure they will, but then they'll offer to replace them for you for a large fee, not suggest you go off to magic fairly land for a free replacement. So in this case, its unlikely they did so.

8/6/2010 6:34:25 PM

Yeah, the alignment has been an issue on several nissans. The Z (and frontier I believe?) cause feathering. Theyre just super sensitive to alignment, and some of the stock tire choices dont help.

8/6/2010 6:47:41 PM

^^ well, they learned after they showed me that I had a warranty at a dealer. I'm thinking it was just alignment / rotation. No idea how often the person before me did it. I'll get one strut replaced and ride off into the sunset!

8/7/2010 1:52:40 AM

Ok, so they are replacing a rear strut, but only going to align that one tire. Should I press them to do a full alignment on the car?

8/13/2010 1:43:22 PM

if they won't, you're gonna need to have a full alignment done somewhere anyway

8/13/2010 2:23:50 PM