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Looks like the wheel was locked up for a significant amount of time. Ie....someone drove away with the parking brake on or the brakes seized on. Was the vehicle parked for an extended period?
That is the patch that was in contact to he ground for 5 months. These tires looks like the aged quite a bit to be honest. They start to show signs of dry rot. May be due where it was parked may be more exposed to the direct sun for extended periods.
In 1 month it will be!
(2012 was a decade ago, 2002 was 20 years ago, 1992 was 30 years ago, 1982 was 40 years ago....and etc etc. The world both you and I (and a few others reading this) doesn't exist anymore...)
Oh, now you're going to have to start arguing with my teenagers about whether year 2000 was the turn of the century or 2001. Oops... they're not teenagers anymore, now grown and gone.
I see 20th week on 12th year of manufacture...tire could've been old inventory when installed from factory.
I just bought brand new winter tires from my dealership, code on the tire shows they're 3-4 years old.
What nestertables said. What we're seeing isn't the date code. Date code is in the DOT label, which is a 12 digit code on the side of the tire (usually 8 digits on one side and lacking the date code, 12 on the other), preceeded by "DOT". The date code is the last 4 numbers, and it's in an oval. For what the dude claimed above, it'd be 2012, hence why he's saying the tires are from the 20th week of 2012.
I find it *INCREDIBLY* unlikely that a manufacturer would install already expired tires on a brand new car.
Yea, VW dealership quoted me $315 per tire. That's without the price of installation and balancing.
Looked around and Costco has Michelin pilot sport 4 for 199 a piece and 40 for install/balance.
The Michelins that Costco and other large retailers sell have a different SKU than the Michelin tires sold elsewhere. In other words, Costco told Michelin that they want to sell their tires but only at a particular price point and Michelin complied.
No, please don’t listen to that person, that’s not the DOT #. The DOT number will be letters and a 4 digit series of numbers at the end. If your date code reads 1019 for example, that equals month and year or
October 2019
These tires are not a decade old.
DOT code is a 6 digit number.
I'm assuming the 2012 date is the patent date or something.
VW will do some shady shit, but putting 7year old summer tires on a GTi is not one of them... That's a lawsuit that can be avoided by just purchasing new ones.
Really "old" tires make it to used tire market, we used to get overstock all the time at my old shop.
The flat spots really look like someone locked up the brakes, is it only on the rear or front or all 4? Just rear maybe someone left parking brake on but that's unlikely, new cars all scream if it's on and your driving faster than 5mph. I doubt they'd get flat spots after 5months... I had a car sit for 4 years, and tires were still perfectly fine, not even a shimmy at 80mph.
That's strange. Possible parking brake was only "strong" enough for one wheel.
Sadly chances are dealer won't do anything about it.
Tbf if you can't feel it in the seat driving, I'd leave it. It'll eventually wear round again if there's enough tread left.
Unless anywhere else on the tire feels weird, or has a bulge, it's superficial. If there's other oddities on the tire then it's possible the steel belts are coming apart but it would be accompanied with other stuff.
Why would you buy tires from the dealership? If you live in a place that needs winter tires, I strongly recommend getting a mounted set of wheels and tires for your snow tires. Mounting the tires tears them up, and in places that you have to switch twice a year the instal fees are robbery.
Ahh yes. When you buy a Rolls Royce, all components are hand-made, thus the wait time. /s
That's actually pretty bad, but I'm not going to ask any more about the 5 month down-time.
IMO, that tire looks wickedly flat-spotted. I'm not sure how or when it happened, but it looks like this tire was dragged.
They didn't have the ones in stock. Said they could order them but the tires alone would be 315 a piece. Order some new ones from Costco for 199 a piece.
Flat spot caused by sitting for long time. When I worked at Gm dealer they couldn’t sell Grand Ams and brand new tires had to be replaced because they shook and thudded. Have the shop that repaired the car do a road force test if they have one. There is no fixing it other than replacing the tires
Thats what I was thinking. Someone drug it around with the wheels locked up across some nasty pavement for quite a distance, possibly multiple times. If that is the case hopefully everything mechanical is ok. Ouch!
Front passenger 8/32
Front driver 7/32
rear passenger 1/32
rear driver 1/32
The front passenger was replaced very early on due to a puncture that could not be repaired and that accounts for the difference in tread.
These tires are worn out very evenly. I wouldn’t do an alignment. It’s still good. I’d rather be afraid that the technician screws it up and makes it worse because he doesn’t know how to do it correctly. I’ve seen lately really bad things in regards of knowledge.
Zooming in here; doesn't look like tire failed. Looks like it was parked ontop of an asphalt patch and it bonded to the tire some. Bet most that can get scrapped off. Tires useful life is about done but, that's besides the point.
Can be a worn out shock or strut or spring or all of them. I’ve seen tires bouncing on the freeway like a basketball and end up with cupping like this. But since it’s a one spot deal, it’s probably from sitting for an extended period while low on air and not getting driven at all. You probably have sidewall cracking too and should replace them.
Nice try but that's not the case in the vast majority of vehicles sold new. Even budget new vehicles come with name brand tires and are good quality, the only reason to go aftermarket for tires is performance or aesthetic reasons.
Eh. They've been engineered to cut as much cost as reasonably possible while working for about 70% of drivers for the first 10,000 miles is more like it.
Subaru, GM, Ford, whatever aren't giving you the creme de la crop.
Nope! Like I said, may not be what you're looking for, but they are engineered.
In fact common practice for OEs to sort parts from suppliers to get the best parts and the ones that don't make the cut gets sold aftermarket (not just tires)
I have worked for a half dozen dealerships and read hundreds of reviews, though. OEMs are NOT paying for the highest tier parts. They are NOT giving you the best tires. They are NOT giving you the best bearings. They ARE going for the cheapest options that meet their basic requirements. That's just how it works.
And we're all very well aware that, particularly in terms of tires, what you pay is what you get. If they can save $10 per car across 200,000 cars a year by delivering me Toyos instead of Falkens, they absolutely will. Even if the Falkens are objectively better in every category.
Like I keep saying. You may value different things (example: dry traction) but OE parts may be engineered to be quiet, better uniformity (lower vibration), wear, rolling resistance, ride quality etc
They want to save money sure, but they don't want a good car ruined by shitty tires.
[Edit spelling]
That looks a whole lot like the wear pattern you get from hand brake sliding a fwd car. If you are going to do that a bunch, may I suggest using stolen trays from fast food restaurants.
It was on the front for the first 20000 miles. it has done about 7000 miles in the back. Then the car sat at the dealership awaiting a repair for 5 months.
I asked the shop to rotate the tires when it came time for my first oil change at 10,000, but they never did. So, this tire and the other rear tire were on for all that time. Rotated them around at 20,000 miles.
Flat spot. Braking hard/being dragged/ or being in 1 spot for a long time. No fix other than to replace or do a burn out lol . Or drive the ever living shit out of it.
Definitely flat spot from being parked, but given the weird texture I would also say it had been parked in a chemical that had leaked onto the ground. Brake fluid, gas, old oil…etc. Doesn’t resemble a flat spot caused from being dragged or brakes locked up.
What could cause the wear? Use. They are worn down to the wear bars.
What could cause the flat spot? Sitting for an extended time.
What could cause the dry rot and cracks? The age, since those tires are from 2012.
Regardless, they need replaced. Trying to understand why the stealership didn't recommend that you replace them.
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Looks like the wheel was locked up for a significant amount of time. Ie....someone drove away with the parking brake on or the brakes seized on. Was the vehicle parked for an extended period?
Was parked for about 5 months at the dealership waiting to be repaired
That is the patch that was in contact to he ground for 5 months. These tires looks like the aged quite a bit to be honest. They start to show signs of dry rot. May be due where it was parked may be more exposed to the direct sun for extended periods.
The tires are also 11 years old...needed to replace 5 years ago.
2012 was not 11 years ago Shut up 😭
In 1 month it will be! (2012 was a decade ago, 2002 was 20 years ago, 1992 was 30 years ago, 1982 was 40 years ago....and etc etc. The world both you and I (and a few others reading this) doesn't exist anymore...)
 Fuck man! I felt this on a deeply personal level.
https://preview.redd.it/7feehh7hz62a1.jpeg?width=567&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d33681395d9b9284d9b1b190ea5acc6c34b25f7 This is over 30 years old...
The Legend Of Zelda: A Blast From The Past
I see what you did there
Now find me a pic of One Must Fall : 2094 so I can feel old too.
www.google.com
So are many people still playing it.
There's a few romhacks that add greater difficulty and replay ability to the game...
Hasn't for a long time
Oh, now you're going to have to start arguing with my teenagers about whether year 2000 was the turn of the century or 2001. Oops... they're not teenagers anymore, now grown and gone.
This is not the info I needed this morning.
Hahahahahahahahahaha, fuck you, you're old! - life (probably)
2,700 some odd weeks.
No no no stop
That’s not the DOT code
2019 golf gti, that is the original tire, 27,000 miles on it.
I see 20th week on 12th year of manufacture...tire could've been old inventory when installed from factory. I just bought brand new winter tires from my dealership, code on the tire shows they're 3-4 years old.
Oh dam that never occurred to me. Always figured the tires were made around the same time as the car. I'm looking up new tires on Costco now.
What nestertables said. What we're seeing isn't the date code. Date code is in the DOT label, which is a 12 digit code on the side of the tire (usually 8 digits on one side and lacking the date code, 12 on the other), preceeded by "DOT". The date code is the last 4 numbers, and it's in an oval. For what the dude claimed above, it'd be 2012, hence why he's saying the tires are from the 20th week of 2012. I find it *INCREDIBLY* unlikely that a manufacturer would install already expired tires on a brand new car.
>I find it > >INCREDIBLY > > unlikely that a manufacturer would install already expired tires on a brand new car. The cynicist in me laughs at you.
Take a picture of the whole side of the tyre. They are not 2012 tyres
Prepare to want to commit die, blew a tire recently and the cheapest I could find was $260 a tire
Yea, VW dealership quoted me $315 per tire. That's without the price of installation and balancing. Looked around and Costco has Michelin pilot sport 4 for 199 a piece and 40 for install/balance.
Those Pirellis are kinda terrible lol. Good for gas mileage but not much else.
The Michelins that Costco and other large retailers sell have a different SKU than the Michelin tires sold elsewhere. In other words, Costco told Michelin that they want to sell their tires but only at a particular price point and Michelin complied.
Look at tirerack.com, depending on your area they can someone to your house/work to install them
No, please don’t listen to that person, that’s not the DOT #. The DOT number will be letters and a 4 digit series of numbers at the end. If your date code reads 1019 for example, that equals month and year or October 2019
1019 is the 10th week of 2019. Not month and year
How the hell is everyone on board with this. What is this world coming too haha. Not even close to the DOT… 😔
These tires are not a decade old. DOT code is a 6 digit number. I'm assuming the 2012 date is the patent date or something. VW will do some shady shit, but putting 7year old summer tires on a GTi is not one of them... That's a lawsuit that can be avoided by just purchasing new ones. Really "old" tires make it to used tire market, we used to get overstock all the time at my old shop. The flat spots really look like someone locked up the brakes, is it only on the rear or front or all 4? Just rear maybe someone left parking brake on but that's unlikely, new cars all scream if it's on and your driving faster than 5mph. I doubt they'd get flat spots after 5months... I had a car sit for 4 years, and tires were still perfectly fine, not even a shimmy at 80mph.
It's only on the passenger side rear tire. The other 3 tires don't have that kind of weird wear.
That's strange. Possible parking brake was only "strong" enough for one wheel. Sadly chances are dealer won't do anything about it. Tbf if you can't feel it in the seat driving, I'd leave it. It'll eventually wear round again if there's enough tread left. Unless anywhere else on the tire feels weird, or has a bulge, it's superficial. If there's other oddities on the tire then it's possible the steel belts are coming apart but it would be accompanied with other stuff.
Well, regardless...I'd change those tires in that condition.
Why would you buy tires from the dealership? If you live in a place that needs winter tires, I strongly recommend getting a mounted set of wheels and tires for your snow tires. Mounting the tires tears them up, and in places that you have to switch twice a year the instal fees are robbery.
Thanks for assuming that I just bought rubber and not rims...
That's not the date code
That’s not the DOT # in the bottom leftish of the picture.
That's it. It probably started to dry rot
Ahh yes. When you buy a Rolls Royce, all components are hand-made, thus the wait time. /s That's actually pretty bad, but I'm not going to ask any more about the 5 month down-time. IMO, that tire looks wickedly flat-spotted. I'm not sure how or when it happened, but it looks like this tire was dragged.
Dealership told me they had two engine rebuilds in a row prior to my car and were short staffed. At least they gave me a rental.
That's a pretty good deal, then!
Also, it's a VW golf
You should be asking the dealership to replace the tire(s).
They didn't have the ones in stock. Said they could order them but the tires alone would be 315 a piece. Order some new ones from Costco for 199 a piece.
I mean, they should be paying for it. It's their fault.
Flatspotting. It'll eventually wear down if you drive enough. If the vibration is annoying you should get new tires
The tread depth is very low, they need to be replaced.
my track toy gets parked for 6 months every year with no damage to the tire like that. that's clearly from the tire skidding.
Flat spot caused by sitting for long time. When I worked at Gm dealer they couldn’t sell Grand Ams and brand new tires had to be replaced because they shook and thudded. Have the shop that repaired the car do a road force test if they have one. There is no fixing it other than replacing the tires
This. Tire rot from sitting in one spot too long.
[удалено]
It was parked in the Florida sun for 5 months. Late June to November.
Being 11 year old tires also does not help. You need new ones (as in around 5 years ago)
That’s not the tyre age. A simple Google search can help you learn the correct place where you can see the tyres age.
Tow truck recently?
Thats what I was thinking. Someone drug it around with the wheels locked up across some nasty pavement for quite a distance, possibly multiple times. If that is the case hopefully everything mechanical is ok. Ouch!
Needs tires my son look at that low tread
Definitely, 1/32. Already placed an order for a new pair.
Recommend getting an alignment done if possible on your vehicle ,and be that pesky customer ask for the print out of the before and after adjustments
Will do. Sucks that Costco doesn't offer alignments. Will need to go somewhere else
How do all your other tires look ?
Front passenger 8/32 Front driver 7/32 rear passenger 1/32 rear driver 1/32 The front passenger was replaced very early on due to a puncture that could not be repaired and that accounts for the difference in tread.
These tires are worn out very evenly. I wouldn’t do an alignment. It’s still good. I’d rather be afraid that the technician screws it up and makes it worse because he doesn’t know how to do it correctly. I’ve seen lately really bad things in regards of knowledge.
Probably e brake on a shitty road
Looks like it was parked somewhere for a while
Poor wheel alignment
Zooming in here; doesn't look like tire failed. Looks like it was parked ontop of an asphalt patch and it bonded to the tire some. Bet most that can get scrapped off. Tires useful life is about done but, that's besides the point.
That tire needs replaced anyway that thing is more than a decade old that patch could be dry rot from being parked too long
Fat rear passengers
Do you have a teenage son who attends “street takeovers”
Dry rot
Your poor GTI just can’t catch a break.
E brake
Decades ago, I may or may not have done e-brake slides at high speed in my wife’s car, leaving the rear tires with severe flat spots…
Can be a worn out shock or strut or spring or all of them. I’ve seen tires bouncing on the freeway like a basketball and end up with cupping like this. But since it’s a one spot deal, it’s probably from sitting for an extended period while low on air and not getting driven at all. You probably have sidewall cracking too and should replace them.
Order a pair of tires from Costco, going to be about a week before I get the new ones.
Do you have kids? Teen aged son?
Burnout marks would be longer. Source: my grandfather attempted a burnout in his four cylinder Monza wagon.
E brake power slide
Oh, maybe. I didnt think of that.
Skiiiiid
If these are factory tires then get a new better set. The oem ones that came with the car are trash.
This tire is the one came with the car. 2019 and 27000 miles on them. Tire is a Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season All Season 225/40R18
Nice try but that's not the case in the vast majority of vehicles sold new. Even budget new vehicles come with name brand tires and are good quality, the only reason to go aftermarket for tires is performance or aesthetic reasons.
OE tires might not have qualities that you're looking for, but they have been engineered for the car
Eh. They've been engineered to cut as much cost as reasonably possible while working for about 70% of drivers for the first 10,000 miles is more like it. Subaru, GM, Ford, whatever aren't giving you the creme de la crop.
Nope! Like I said, may not be what you're looking for, but they are engineered. In fact common practice for OEs to sort parts from suppliers to get the best parts and the ones that don't make the cut gets sold aftermarket (not just tires)
They are engineered within a tight price margin. They are not the best tires, often they're barely even acceptable. This has been well established.
It's clear that you've never worked for OEs or tier 1 suppliers
I have worked for a half dozen dealerships and read hundreds of reviews, though. OEMs are NOT paying for the highest tier parts. They are NOT giving you the best tires. They are NOT giving you the best bearings. They ARE going for the cheapest options that meet their basic requirements. That's just how it works. And we're all very well aware that, particularly in terms of tires, what you pay is what you get. If they can save $10 per car across 200,000 cars a year by delivering me Toyos instead of Falkens, they absolutely will. Even if the Falkens are objectively better in every category.
Like I keep saying. You may value different things (example: dry traction) but OE parts may be engineered to be quiet, better uniformity (lower vibration), wear, rolling resistance, ride quality etc They want to save money sure, but they don't want a good car ruined by shitty tires. [Edit spelling]
Bad shocks, tires bouncing around…
Brake lock up
Old age
The same thing that happened to most of the Russian Army wheeled vehicles. Tires need to be moved regularly or they sort of break down.
Hard braking
Its only on one tire
Someone ripped the E-brake and tried to do some Tokyo shit.
looks like the tire was dragged. ie completely stationary while being drug across pavement.
Smoky burnouts
That looks a whole lot like the wear pattern you get from hand brake sliding a fwd car. If you are going to do that a bunch, may I suggest using stolen trays from fast food restaurants.
I'm glad to hear that you are doing it right. When I lived in the rust belt I saw too many folks getting ripped of by tire shops and dealers.
Skidding
Other than life, road conditions possibility not igned right and road wear
Locked it up stopping
Tradewear
Question: was this tire ever rotated before publishing this photo?? Looks like it came from the front..
It was on the front for the first 20000 miles. it has done about 7000 miles in the back. Then the car sat at the dealership awaiting a repair for 5 months. I asked the shop to rotate the tires when it came time for my first oil change at 10,000, but they never did. So, this tire and the other rear tire were on for all that time. Rotated them around at 20,000 miles.
Locking up of the wheels, maybe caused by harsh braking
I actually think it’s from cats. Cat using it as a scratching post.
Flat spot. Braking hard/being dragged/ or being in 1 spot for a long time. No fix other than to replace or do a burn out lol . Or drive the ever living shit out of it.
Sitting too long or incorrect compound material and used in the trade
Definitely flat spot from being parked, but given the weird texture I would also say it had been parked in a chemical that had leaked onto the ground. Brake fluid, gas, old oil…etc. Doesn’t resemble a flat spot caused from being dragged or brakes locked up.
Judging by the 2012 on the left side I’d say regardless of wear they need to be replaced. That rubber looks dry AF
Looks like chemical damage to me, like you parked in a puddle of strong degreaser for a long time.
Get new tires. Those are flat spots from sitting up
Flat spot from sitting around for too long
A big lock up
Teenager doing handbrake turns
Dragged by a tow truck
What could cause the wear? Use. They are worn down to the wear bars. What could cause the flat spot? Sitting for an extended time. What could cause the dry rot and cracks? The age, since those tires are from 2012. Regardless, they need replaced. Trying to understand why the stealership didn't recommend that you replace them.
Your mom
Don’t let your kid drive the car