QuestionQUESTION: 2001 Hyundai Elantra with 98,000 miles, Car runs great except for unusual tire wear pattern on left rear of 4 tires look almost brand new, left rear is almost bald on outside and inside tread still fairly new! Car also has slight shimmy at low and high speeds (can see in steering wheel), so question is: buy a new tire to match other 3 (Douglas tires, not best quality, but so far so good)and get toe in on the rear checked? I think this model Elantra is 4 wheel adjustable, right?
ANSWER: John,
The obvious first step is to get an alignment - the LR has a problem the other positions don't.
Then you need to have someone look at all 4 tires to give you the best advice - but I'm thinking you'll have to replace the 1 tire.
BTW - all vehicle can be adjusted for alignment. It's just that some do not have provisions from the factory. In these cases, eccentric bolts, camber kits, or just plain every day bending might be needed.
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QUESTION: And would this also be the cause of the vibration or "shimmy" that I can feel and see in the steering wheel (not to mention the whole car) just a low intensity vibration or could the rotors or a wheel be bent? Or could a belt be broken in a tire? If a belt is broken or separated in a different tire, would probably purchase different tires "from an online source" a little better quality and then get alignment done! Just hate to spend where I don't have to, as do we all!
AnswerJohn,
Possibly. Misalignment can cause irregular wear and that would cause a noise or a vibration.
But it is also possible that something else is causing what you are experiencing.
The first step would be to do the alignment and then replace the tire and see if the vibration is gone.
