Subaru Forester Tires

[Ben]

Alright. I’m going to be straightforward about this. About 4 months ago I got the tires changed on my 2011 Subaru Forester. About 5 days ago I ran over a curb and blew one of the tires. I took it to the dealer to get fixed, and they said that they had to replace all four because the wear was such that it would “accelerate wear and decrease life” of the differential. I’m calling BS on this, partly because it’s rediculous, the old tires were practically un-worn, and partly because a new set of tires is $900 and I have a feeling Subaru is getting a pretty nice cut of that. What do you guys think?

Also, this is AWD.

Topic

[Dave]

They want to replace all four because of the AWD (all brands of tires will be a little different in actual size even if it is the same numerical size). That and they might not be able to get the same tire.
You are kind of right that changing one tire shouldn’t matter that much. I have seen worse at work, some customers think that they can put any tires on their vehicle as long as the rim size is the same.

[college man]

Go back to the place you got the tires from to see
if they can get you one of the same tires you bought.

[Jeff Ketchem]

I’m going to agree and disagree at the same time, but I’ll explain why. Full time awd (and 4wd) vehicles can be affected by differences in tire diameter. There was one vehicle in particular that had a service bulletin that a difference of only 2/32nds of and inch of tire wear would make a difference. That vehicle was something like a CRV or RAV4 or a Subaru, I can’t remember which vehicle it was honestly but it was one of the smaller awd vehicles. That being said depending on what tire you bought, how many miles you have driven and how you drive, I can’t see you using that much tread in the time you mentioned. (although possible) As mentioned before I would make sure you do get the exact same tire you purchased so you won’t be affected by differences between manufacturers.

[Lorrin Barth]

I drive an AWD Evo and I once calculated how much extra the center differential gears turn per mile with a mismatched tire like your situation would be. It wasn’t all that much but it still is extra wear. However, if Tire Rack carries the replacement you need they can shave it for you to match the other three.

[Author]

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