2014 Toyota Corolla 1.8 CVT Exclusive Tyre Wear Problem

[singhms]

Hello,

I am writing from South Africa. I own from brand new a 2014 Toyota Corolla 1.8 CVT Exclusive which is the top of the range model for our market.

I am having a problem with irregular tyre wear and would like to know if anyone else is having the same and has found a solution.

I do regular rotation, balancing and alignment of all four tyres.

The problem is basically cupping\uneven wear of the rear tyres on the inside edge (exactly the same on both rear tyres)

At around 45 000km \ 28 000miles I started getting a humming noise on the tyres which I put down to road surface noise.

This week I took my car in for rotation, balancing and alignment at 58 000km \ 36 000miles were the fitter showed me the rear tyres are cupping\uneven wear on the inside edge which explained the noise explained above.

The fitter said it could be shocks which we checked and they seem fine as the car is also relatively new. The manager said it could be the tyre quality. They are Continental 205\55\16 as from new.

Any ideas, has anyone experienced similar, could this also be a design issue on the car itself as I hardly have anyone that sits in the back of the car (rear weight issue) its mostly myself.

Your input is welcomed and appreciated. As I would like to have a better understanding before I bring this up with the dealership at my next service in a few weeks time.

Thanks.

 

[jolly]

If alignment is OK, another possibility is unproper inflation. May depend on the type of road but most likely poor tire quality.
Unlikely a design issue, as they sell millions of those and no trend/surge in complaints has appeared.

 

[ToyBoy]

I agree with "jolly". If rotations are regular and alignment is ok along with suspension then that just leaves improper inflation . Are you going with 32psi as advised by Toyota . The sticker is on the drivers door frame. The psi figures on the tire itself will have the highest psi reading you could use in the tire but that is not recommened. My 2014 has the Michellan tires and the wear is very even at 32k miles.

 

[singhms]

Hi Guys, thanks for the replies. Tyre pressure is checked regularly as well. at 32psi or in South Africa 2.2 - 2.3 bar.

I am leaning towards the tyre quality\batch at the moment. As I follow the same maintenance on my other cars with different tyres and no problems.

 

[singhms]

Hi Guys, thanks for the replies. Tyre pressure is checked regularly as well. at 32psi or in South Africa 2.2 - 2.3 bar.

I am leaning towards the tyre quality\batch at the moment. As I follow the same maintenance on my other cars with different tyres and no problems.

 

[Thylan]

Hi Guys

I have a 2014 Toyota Corolla 1.4D Prestige and I am also having the same problem. The vehicles mileage is 37000km and the inner of my tyres have flat spots. I lodged a compliant with Toyota SA because I hear this issue is very common with this model

 

[Floridapizzaman]

My spidey sense goes up when I hear the 'alignment' is ok. Was a 2 wheel alignment or 4 wheel alignment
check done? The latest Corolla is a solid rear axle (not independent) so typically a service check will be a 2 wheel only.

I've been down this path before. Cupping on the rear tires can be a camber or more likely toe is out of spec. I had factory shims installed on my rear axle in a 1987 fwd Chrysler to resolve mild feathering. A 1984 Buick had severe cupping on right rear only. No accident damage, came from factory that way. I bought a lot of rear tires for that car as I was told there was no external remedy. Tire brand was irrelevant.

I suspect a tool calibration issue at the factory allowing certain cars to escape detection as it is infrequent. Or it could be a tire sensitivity issue too. But I would start by ruling out rear axle alignment as the root cause. A competent shop or dealer can help with this.

On a very far out chance, are your brakes working smoothly? I have had a caliper/transfer film issue mimic an alignment issue by grabbing the rotor at a frequency which visibly cupped the tire. Alignment was fine, and only occurred on 1 tire. Changed rotor and fresh pads...resolved 100%.

 

[Floridapizzaman]

Hello,

I am writing from South Africa. I own from brand new a 2014 Toyota Corolla 1.8 CVT Exclusive which is the top of the range model for our market.

I am having a problem with irregular tyre wear and would like to know if anyone else is having the same and has found a solution.

I do regular rotation, balancing and alignment of all four tyres.

The problem is basically cupping\uneven wear of the rear tyres on the inside edge (exactly the same on both rear tyres)

At around 45 000km \ 28 000miles I started getting a humming noise on the tyres which I put down to road surface noise.

This week I took my car in for rotation, balancing and alignment at 58 000km \ 36 000miles were the fitter showed me the rear tyres are cupping\uneven wear on the inside edge which explained the noise explained above.

The fitter said it could be shocks which we checked and they seem fine as the car is also relatively new. The manager said it could be the tyre quality. They are Continental 205\55\16 as from new.

Any ideas, has anyone experienced similar, could this also be a design issue on the car itself as I hardly have anyone that sits in the back of the car (rear weight issue) its mostly myself.

Your input is welcomed and appreciated. As I would like to have a better understanding before I bring this up with the dealership at my next service in a few weeks time.

Thanks.

What do the front tires look like now?

Is there any evidence of previous inside edge cupping on front tires?

Is the cupping problem and noise isolated to just the rear tires?

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

The latest Corolla is a solid rear axle (not independent) so typically a service check will be a 2 wheel only.

The Corolla isn't a solid rear axle. It's a semi-independent torsion beam.

Solid Rear Axle is on RWD or AWD cars.

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

Sounds like poor tire quality. If the mechanic was competent in balancing the tires and the pressure was checked regularly, then that is the most likely cause.

Bad shocks can also cause cupping, but the odds of both rear shocks on a 2 year old car being trash is a very, very, very low number.

 

[Floridapizzaman]

Corolla isn't a solid rear axle.


The Corolla isn't a solid rear axle. It's a semi-independent torsion beam.

Solid Rear Axle is on RWD or AWD cars.

I knew that would come back at me.....wrong terminology on my part. Intent was to point out corolla is not an independent rear suspension in which precise alignment adjustment is available.

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

No worries, but really, any car can use a four-wheel alignment no matter what configuration it is. Doing a two wheel is fine if you hit something on the freeway, but when I do tires I always do a four-wheel.

I'm wondering if it is just poor tire craftsmanship. I've seen my share of defective tires.

 

[Floridapizzaman]

No worries, but really, any car can use a four-wheel alignment no matter what configuration it is. Doing a two wheel is fine if you hit something on the freeway, but when I do tires I always do a four-wheel.

I'm wondering if it is just poor tire craftsmanship. I've seen my share of defective tires.

Yea, bad tires is most likely. I just like to throw out my personal experiences; it usually isn't gonna be the exact solution for someone else, but perhaps a light bulb will go off for someone and help lead them to their solution.

It's also tough to armchair diagnose a problem 100% first pass as you only get clues depending on how specific and how well the poster writes or communicates key symptoms...and my fave is the old omission trick.
The one key piece of info you need is either forgotten or left out as it wasn't deemed 'important'...smh.
I know nothing about the SA tire market so maybe tire problems are more common there than stateside.

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

Yea, bad tires is most likely. I just like to throw out my personal experiences; it usually isn't gonna be the exact solution for someone else, but perhaps a light bulb will go off for someone and help lead them to their solution.

It's also tough to armchair diagnose a problem 100% first pass as you only get clues depending on how specific and how well the poster writes or communicates key symptoms...and my fave is the old omission trick.
The one key piece of info you need is either forgotten or left out as it wasn't deemed 'important'...smh.
I know nothing about the SA tire market so maybe tire problems are more common there than stateside.

I used to go into car chat in AOL back when that was a thing. A guy came in with issues about his car and we were talking about it in IM. I told him it sounded like his input shaft bearing on the transmission was dying. About two weeks later he e-mailed me with pictures of his input shaft bearing torn to hell and thanked me for helping him out. It was a good feeling.

 

[Floridapizzaman]

I used to go into car chat in AOL back when that was a thing. A guy came in with issues about his car and we were talking about it in IM. I told him it sounded like his input shaft bearing on the transmission was dying. About two weeks later he e-mailed me with pictures of his input shaft bearing torn to hell and thanked me for helping him out. It was a good feeling.

It's nice to be spot on and get a "win". Did you get paid? Lol. Oh yea, aol was before PayPal donate buttons...

 

[ToyBoy]

Singhms , what brand of tires are on your car? As I posted earlier I have the Michellans and they are wearing fine. I`m just wondering if its a specific brand that is doing this.

 

[ToyBoy]

Woops , sorry . I just re-read the posting and see they are Continentals. I`ve never had Continentals on any car so I can`t offer any reviews on the brand.

 

[singhms]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the replies, sorry for my late reply was out of town.

@Thylan did you get any feedback from Toyota SA and what email address\contact number did you use to log the complaint? and do you have any braking noises when in reverse?

@Floridapizzaman you may be onto something, my brakes make a funny noise only when reversing the car...

@Donabed Kopoian I have been to 2 alignment centres and both say the same front alignment only - not sure how this works to be honest as to explain otherwise to them would be a mission on its own. I do get reports afterwards thou and everything is correct on the report...

Thanks again, will speak to the dealer tomorrow when the car goes in for a service