Toyota Corolla Wearing Out Tires

Repair Advice for a 1999 Corolla That Has Unusual Rear Tire Wear

Jan 22, 2008

Auto repair expert Vince Ciulla looks at a 1999 Toyota Corolla that has unusual rear tire wear and gives advice on how to deal with it.

This weekly Q&A session answers your questions about cars and trucks. This week explores a 1999 Toyota Corolla that has unusual rear tire wear.

Question: Toyota Corolla Wearing Out Tires

My wife's 1999 Toyota Corolla wore out the rear tires in about 20,000 miles. I had read that rear tires would last for a long, long time if you just left them alone. The dealer said, "You should have rotated them". From then on, we've rotated them but it just means they all wear quicker. What could be causing this? Is it a problem with this model car? Was there a recall we missed?

Answer:

There are no Technical Service Bulletins (TSB) on this problem and there were no recalls either. And this model is not usually prone to abnormal rear tire wear. And you do need to rotate the rear tires in the modified "X" pattern. The type of wear the tires are showing, How To Read Tire Wear, can give a pretty good idea of what is wrong. The rear suspension has provisions for some alignment adjustment. Rear toe is adjustable. If the rear camber or castor is out of alignment, that is an indication of rear suspension damage.

The rear camber can be measured without having to put the car on an alignment machine. The camber gauge attached to the center hub will quickly tell you if the rear camber is out of specification. Rear camber should be -0.92° +/- 0.75° with less than 0.75° left/right difference. Shoot for -1.0°.

Toe in/out is how much the wheels point in or out. Camber is how much the tops of the tires lean in/out. Negative camber indicates the top of the tire is further inside than the bottom and positive camber indicates the tire is further out at the top than the bottom. See Wheel Alignment for more information on wheel alignments.

So, at this point what you will need to do is take you car to a shop that has a frame machine and have the 4 wheels' alignment checked and have the frame and body checked to make sure it is square and true. This vehicle has unibody construction which is more susceptible to twisting and bending than a vehicle with a standard frame.

That's all for this week. Feel free to browse the archives for past topics and other resources. And, as always, if you are stuck and need an immediate answer you can always call Vince on the phone.

The copyright of the article Toyota Corolla Wearing Out Tires in Auto Tech & Repair is owned by Vincent Ciulla. Permission to republish Toyota Corolla Wearing Out Tires in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.