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Tire damage due to excessive negative rear camber that can't be adjusted

32544 Views 130 Replies 44 Participants Last post by  Jonnylowkon
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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.
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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)
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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.
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How many miles on your Rav4H? I noticed my tires were shot by inside shoulder wear at 37k:

Now at ~67k and two alignments later and correct tire pressures, I'm still getting uneven shoulder wear on my Goodyear Assurance Maxlifes...
I've gone 63,000 miles on Goodyear Assurance MaxLifes, and there is some wear on the edges but they're still going. The reason the wear is showing on the inner and outer edges is because I make sure my tire rotations have some sort of cross rotation in them. I only mention this because the two different Toyota dealers I've used will simply swap front-to-back and back-to-front with no cross over even when I ask them to do it. The reason I know when they don't cross them is because I have my tires marked with numbers so I know where they should be after service, and, if they're not correct, I have them do it again. For what it's worth, the owner's manual does advise same-side front and back swaps with no cross for some reason.

So, just a head's up, if you're having your tires rotated at the dealer, there's a good chance it's be a same-side swap and you might not be maxi'ing the life of your tires...
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