[Jlhrstv]

On a recent road trip our 2019 RAV4 Hybrid began vibrating on the highway. We pulled over and discovered that the left rear tire was damaged as it was cupped and missing much of the inside shoulder. The rest of the tire had approx. 5/32 tread wear. (3/32 is the minimum according to the tire manufacturer) We have been getting rotations every 5K miles at the dealer. All 4 tires had similar uneven wear, the current left rear being much worse.

We replaced it with our full size spare and took it to a dealer in the area, they attempted an alignment; however, we were told that the left rear had excessive negative camber, this was not adjustable, and something was defective. They advised that we take it to the dealer where we purchased the car to see if they could do something. (Car is still in warranty)

The dealer where we bought it new changed the struts and springs in an attempt to increase the ride height and decrease the camber with little effect. They said that it is now just within the "Acceptable" limit from Toyota so all is OK; however, at this camber the tire wears unevenly as evidenced by the tire in the photo above. We would expect it to be in Toyota's "Recommended" or "Preferred" alignment as represented by the smaller center green range. I understand that angles out of the recommended range can cause uneven tire wear. The replacement is also starting to show similar uneven wear after less than 1,000 miles.

What does a normal alignment report on a RAV4 Hybrid look like? Has anyone else had issues with uneven tire wear?
Would be very helpful if some of you could also post pics or results of your last alignment reports if you have them.

Thanks in advance.

 

[crazyhorse]

What does a normal alignment report on a RAV4 Hybrid look like? Has anyone else had issues with uneven tire wear?
Would be very helpful if some of you could also post pics or results of your last alignment reports if you have them.

Thanks in advance.

Perhaps you could try the search function on this forum using the word(s) "alignment" or "tire wear" and see what results you get?

 

[mikefocke]

On a recent road trip our 2019 RAV4 Hybrid began vibrating on the highway. We pulled over and discovered that the left rear tire was badly damaged as it was cupped and missing much of the inside shoulder. The rest of the tire had approx. 5/32 tread wear. (3/32 is the minimum according to the tire manufacturer) We have been getting rotations every 5K miles at the dealer. All 4 tires had similar uneven wear, the current left rear being the worst.
View attachment 167806

We replaced it with our full size spare and took it to a dealer in the area, they attempted an alignment; however, we were told that the left rear had excessive negative camber, this was not adjustable, and something was defective. They advised that we take it to the dealer where we purchased the car to see if they could do something. (Car is still in warranty)
View attachment 167807

The dealer where we bought it new changed the struts and springs in an attempt to increase the ride height and decrease the camber with little effect. They said that it is still just within the "Acceptable" limit from Toyota so all is OK; however, at this camber the tire wears unevenly as evidenced by the tire in the photo above. We would expect it to be in Toyota's "Recommended" or "Preferred" alignment as represented by the smaller center green range. I understand that aligning it out of the recommended range can cause uneven tire wear. The replacement is also starting to show similar uneven wear after less than 1,000 miles.

What does a normal alignment report on a RAV4 Hybrid look like? Has anyone else had issues with uneven tire wear?
Would be very helpful if some of you could also post pics or results of your last alignment reports if you have them.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks for posting this. I get my passenger's side rear wheel against a curb trying to get out of the way for an emergency vehicle the other day (no one else seemed to hear or see it) and you have reminded me I ought to have the alignment on that side checked. The edge of the rim was scraped so I guess I need someone to look at that too. Do the right thing and be rewarded.

 

[Jlhrstv]

Perhaps you could try the search function on this forum using the word(s) "alignment" or "tire wear" and see what results you get?

Thanks Crazyhorse. I did do that and learned quite a bit; however, was interested in what alignment numbers people were seeing on the 5th generation Rav4 Hybrids, specifically what, if any, negative camber angles are resulting in uneven tire wear.

 

[Jlhrstv]

Thanks for posting this. I get my passenger's side rear wheel against a curb trying to get out of the way for an emergency vehicle the other day (no one else seemed to hear or see it) and you have reminded me I ought to have the alignment on that side checked. The edge of the rim was scraped so I guess I need someone to look at that too. Do the right thing and be rewarded.

Glad to help with the reminder. If you do get that alignment checked, please post your before and after results and let us know if you are also seeing more wear on the inside shoulders.

 

[Rav4ManAus]

correct me if i'm wrong but the negative camber isn't going to be the big issue. Id say its the toe / total toe which would be causing the excessive wear on the inside.
I haven't looked up the specs for our rav4 yet, but usually you'd want toe to be close to 0

 

[Jlhrstv]

correct me if I'm wrong but the negative camber isn't going to be the big issue. Id say its the toe / total toe which would be causing the excessive wear on the inside.
I haven't looked up the specs for our rav4 yet, but usually you'd want toe to be close to 0

Yea, I would agree; however, the total rear toe was at -0.01deg when this happened (had been close to 5k miles since the last rotation), and is now about -0.03 as of the last alignment check. Also, the rear camber is now again at -1.8, but on the Right Rear. Leads me to believe that rear camber on this car can have a significant affect on tire wear. - see my next post.

 

[Jlhrstv]

After we took the car to the dealer to have the excessive negative camber on the left rear fixed the alignment report from the dealer looked like this - not much change, and still not within the preferred or recommended angles for rear camber, but at least within Toyota's allowable limits.

We drove the car about 50 miles and took to a very reputable tire shop the next day to have the alignment checked again. No adjustments were made. Here is what is is now:

Any ideas what is happening here?

The ride height looks good and identical both sides when measured. We don't toe, or put much of anything in the back. Is mostly driven 40 miles a day on the highway to work and back with no passengers or cargo.

The total toe had always been near 0 on the rear, yet the left rear had the most wear when it was -1.7 to -1.8. Now the right rear is down to -1.8 after the dealer installed new shocks and springs under warranty.

Could be equipment errors; however, both Toyota dealers measured exactly -1.8 on the left and -1.5 on the right before new struts and springs were installed. This is similar to what the tire shop is showing, but now on the right. Also the tire shop wasn't busy this morning so the tech spend a lot of time going over how the machine was calibrated, and repeated the measurements. The tire shop also told me how installing new struts and springs would immediately show better results; however, after the car is driven for a few miles it will settle back to where it was if the original ones were ok.

The tech also said that Toyota might make some eccentric camber bolts to correct this. Anyone know if they are available? What else might fix this?

Would like to get the camber back close to -1.0 to reduce the shoulder wear.

 

[Tip Tank]

How many miles on your Rav4H? I noticed my tires were shot by inside shoulder wear at 37k:

Premature Tire Wear

At just shy of 37,000 miles, I had to replace my OEM Dunlop GrandTreks due to the inside of the front tires being completely worn (see photos). The culprit, apparently, was toe alignment that was out. The left front and both rear wheels showed the toe was out of alignment. I don't recall ever...

www.rav4world.com

Now at ~67k and two alignments later and correct tire pressures, I'm still getting uneven shoulder wear on my Goodyear Assurance Maxlifes...

 

[Jlhrstv]

How many miles on your Rav4H? I noticed my tires were shot by inside shoulder wear at 37k:

Premature Tire Wear

At just shy of 37,000 miles, I had to replace my OEM Dunlop GrandTreks due to the inside of the front tires being completely worn (see photos). The culprit, apparently, was toe alignment that was out. The left front and both rear wheels showed the toe was out of alignment. I don't recall ever...

www.rav4world.com

Now at ~67k and two alignments later and correct tire pressures, I'm still getting uneven shoulder wear on my Goodyear Assurance Maxlifes...

The tire in the pic had 35,000 miles on it. We were also having rotations at the dealer every 5k miles, and counted on there reports for safety; however, they never mentioned anything about uneven wear, or needing an alignment. When we did finally have an alignment after the vibration, the dealer was sure that the very negative camber on the left rear was the issue. The total toe on the rear was almost 0.

What did your alignment reports say? Specifically what were your rear camber angles?

 

[Ruthrj]

I’m not surprised, but very disappointed that the dealership didn’t report that abnormal wear to you. I keep getting calls from where I purchased to come in for my included oil changes and tire rotations. I don’t feel I’m missing anything when I see this, sorry man (facepalm).

 

[Ike Carlson]

After reading several of these kinds of problems and seeing negative camber with toe OUT, it is amazing these tire/alignment shops stay in business. I guess they like repeat customers.

 

[mikefocke]

I’m not surprised, but very disappointed that the dealership didn’t report that abnormal wear to you. I keep getting calls from where I purchased to come in for my included oil changes and tire rotations. I don’t feel I’m missing anything when I see this, sorry man (facepalm).

Don't you receive a report of the tire tread depth measured across each tire in three places? And after an alignment a report of before and after values?

 

[thuettne]

Perhaps you could try the search function on this forum using the word(s) "alignment" or "tire wear" and see what results you get?

 

[thuettne]

My 2019 RAV XSE'd rear left camber was out of range and ruined my original tires (Dunlop GrandTek's) by 20,000k. I suspect this was out of alignment on original delivery. The camber is non-adjustable and Toyota doesn't have a good fix to-date for me.

 

[thuettne]

I’m not surprised, but very disappointed that the dealership didn’t report that abnormal wear to you. I keep getting calls from where I purchased to come in for my included oil changes and tire rotations. I don’t feel I’m missing anything when I see this, sorry man (facepalm).

 

[thuettne]

My 2019 RAV XSE'd rear left camber was out of range and ruined my original tires (Dunlop GrandTek's) by 20,000k. I suspect this was out of alignment on original delivery. The camber is non-adjustable and Toyota doesn't have a good fix to-date for me. I told the dealer the tires were making noise prior to 20k, and the service tech said "Oh, they usually put of soft OEM tires to decrease road noise"

 

[Jlhrstv]

My 2019 RAV XSE'd rear left camber was out of range and ruined my original tires (Dunlop GrandTek's) by 20,000k. I suspect this was out of alignment on original delivery. The camber is non-adjustable and Toyota doesn't have a good fix to-date for me. I told the dealer the tires were making noise prior to 20k, and the service tech said "Oh, they usually put of soft OEM tires to decrease road noise"

If you haven't already, it is very important to call Toyota customer service 800-331-4331 and open a case.
Just curious, do you have the results of your last alignment? What were the numbers?

 

[thuettne]

If you haven't already, it is very important to call Toyota customer service 800-331-4331 and open a case.
Just curious, do you have the results of your last alignment? What were the numbers?

Thanks. I will call Toyota customer service. I was thinking if reporting to NHSTA as well if this is a common problem

 

[Jlhrstv]

Thanks. I will call Toyota customer service. I was thinking if reporting to NHSTA as well if this is a common problem View attachment 171532 View attachment 171532

-2.0 is way out. Did you ask the dealer to fix this under warranty? We reported ours to NHTSA also.
Our tire failed at -1.8.
Amazing how this can be out of spec during warranty and Toyota still refuses to repair. It can be fixed, parts just have to be replaced.