Is it a problem having a worn tire on one side and a relatively new one one the other side? I bought it this way from the dealer. Being a longtime Subaru owner, I know some all wheel drive system's are sensitive to this and some are not.

 

You are correct. I too was a Subaru owner at one time and you had to buy 4 new tires at a time. Every time. The all wheel drive system can become an issue if the tires are not worn evenly or have an uneven tread wear. I just bought 4 new tires for my AWD R/T DD to replace the cheap factory tires.

If you are in the need for tires, check out the tire buying comments on here.


SF

 

Good question!

 

Not now but good luck on a warrantee claim if it does damage your drive train..

 

I love the dealers, always there to help you out!

 

Dealers. Either they don't know, don't care, or are hoping to snag the multi-thousand dollar repair later.

 

I had a blow out from a road hazard on one tire 2,000 miles from home this fall. Tires were at about 50%. The tire dealer wouldn't even sell me just one tire unless I had it shaved to match the other three. He said I had to get all four which I did. But I've wondered if I really need to get all four.

 

i would suggest always have 4 matched tires on any awd/4wd vehicle, its unnecessary stress on the transfer case to have different sizes(diameters mostly).


even on a 2wd vehicle they will tell you that you need to replace tires in axle pairs, this is because of stress and heat generated by the differential constantly taking up the speed difference its just an unnecessary risk to run them different IMO

 

But unless the vehicle is going perfectly straight isn't the differential getting stress anyway? And how often are you going perfectly straight?

 

I initially had the same thought. The gear train will wear unevenly as, on the average, one wheel will be turning slightly faster all the time.