Tires: Michelin Primacy MXV4, michelin primacy mxv4, 2003 toyota avalon

Question
My wife has a 2003 Toyota Avalon. We have about 4/32 or 5/32 tread left on her Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires (205/60/R16). The dealer is telling us we should replace them. The car has 82,000 miles. We only seem to get about 25,000 miles on a set of these Michelins (this is the second set we've had after the originals). It seems to me that we should be getting more miles out of these tires. My wife is a conservative driver and puts on about 8000 miles a year on the car. My questions: would you replace these tires with the amount of tread I mentioned? Is it unusual to get so little miles out of these tires? We live in NJ, so all weather performance is needed. We plan to keep the car another 2 years or so. Would you go for another set of MXV4s or is there something better (and perhaps less expensive) given we will likely put on less than 20 miles on them?

Answer
Dave,

Many folks recommend replacing all season tires at 5/32nds if winter traction is an issue - which you've said it is.

Wear?  Most tire wear occurs when the vehicle is turning - and I'm guessing your wife drives mostly around town - lots of turns - and not so much in a straight line.  So it would not be unusual to experience low mileage out of tires.

And lastly, my expertise is in the engineering of tires, not the particulars about make and model, so I can't help you with tire selection.  But your local retailer can!