I'm roughly 10,000 miles in on my new EV and I'm already noticing the tires look way more worn than I'd expect. This is significantly faster wear than I've ever seen on my gas cars. I keep reading different opinions about whether this is normal—is this something you've all experienced?
Yes...normal for the OEM tires anyway. Mine on the EV6 were done at 35k and honestly I'd have swapped them sooner if I knew. Went to all-weather SUV tires and haven't looked back - better in the snow too.
Before you assume it's just "EV tires", have a shop check the alignment. Uneven wear on the inside edge at 10k miles is often alignment, not the car's weight. Go to an independent tire shop, not the dealer. If it is out of alignment from the factory, a lot of shops will pro-rate the replacement.
I keep my Model Y in Chill mode all the time and still got a low rear tread warning at 7,800 miles, so I don't think it's only how hard you accelerate. Tesla ended up finding an alignment problem on mine, so I'd have it checked even if the wear looks even.
Same here on my Model 3 SR+. Discount Tire measured 50-60% worn at about 7,500 miles, and I don't drive aggressively. They checked all four tires for leaks for free, which was nice. Michelin told me they don't do set tread-life warranties anymore and would only help once the tread got down to 20-30%, so don't count on proration.
Mine on a Model S were done at about 12k miles. Service called it normal wear, did an alignment anyway, and I just bought new tires. Even wear doesn't rule out alignment, so I'd get it checked.
My Mach-E went through tires way faster than any gas car I've had, and the dealer's answer was always "it's heavy, it's normal." Even wear at 10k isn't crazy for an AWD with that much torque. I'd rotate now and just plan on a different tire next time.
Mach-E GT here, about 40k miles in two years, and wear hasn't been a problem for me. I run separate winter and summer sets, so each only does half the year, and I drive almost entirely in one-pedal mode. Not sure how much each of those matters, but it hasn't felt like the tire-eater people describe.
Same experience on my Mach-E AWD. About 30k miles in the first year and the stock Michelin Primacys still have plenty of tread. All I've done is rotate them regularly, so I'd guess rotation matters more than people give it credit for. OP's 10k with no rotation yet would be my first suspect.
Same boat with the OEM tires on my Kona EV. Treadwear is already pretty noticeable at 13k, so OP's 10k doesn't surprise me. I'm rotating now and expecting to replace them well before most gas cars would need it.
Mine's an AWD and the original tires have almost 40k on them, so for me it hasn't been a tire-eater. The torque is fun, I just don't launch it every light. Can't say how much RWD vs AWD matters though.
Same here. My 2021 is at about 30k on the OEM tires and they've still got roughly half their tread, so the fast-wear reports surprise me. For the people whose tires were done by 30-35k, do you know what your pressures were? I'm wondering if that explains more of the gap than the weight does.
Curious how much the tire model matters versus the weight. I've read the OEM Hankooks wear fast, but my 20-inch Alenzas on a RWD are still in decent shape at 13k. Does RWD vs AWD change the wear much for you guys?
Pressures are a good question. I've been in an EV in SoCal for almost 6 years and tire wear was my biggest worry going in, but it never turned into a real issue. I'd rotate OP's before blaming the car.
Interesting that Tesla found an alignment issue on yours. I've been in for low tire pressure a few times, and each visit they said there was a nail in the sidewall and replaced the tire. Nobody ever mentioned alignment. Now I'm wondering if I should ask them to check it.
Same pattern on my preowned Tesla, except mine was uneven. Rears were worn down to the secondary rubber in the middle while the fronts looked fine. Got quoted around $1,500 for a replacement here in the Bay Area. Good to know alignment is worth asking about, since nobody mentioned it to me.
A baseline reading helps with all of this. I bought a cheap tread gauge and measured my Tesla at delivery, and a couple of the tires were already reading lower than I expected for new ones. Without that first number I'd have blamed the miles. OP, if you've got a gauge, check a few spots across each tire and compare to the spec depth for your Michelins.
Rotation is a good call. I took my used Model Y in for one soon after pickup since it already had about 7,800 miles on it and I had no idea what the previous owner did. Cheap and worth doing early, and it gives you a rotation record if you ever need to ask for proration.
Agree on getting alignment checked even if the wear looks even. On my Polestar 2 I seem to need one at least every six months, and the dealer charges about $300 because most tire shops can't do them on that car. Is that a problem on the Ioniq 5 too, or can an independent shop handle it?
Agree on the brakes. I'm around 40k miles on my Mach-E, and regen does most of the slowing, so brakes have been the least of my worries. Maintenance overall has felt a lot lighter than with a gas car. Tires are the one line item I'd actually plan for.
