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Buick Terraza Tires/Wheels

jwest05jwest05 Member Posts: 1
edited April 2014 in Buick
I own a 05 Terraza and have had numerous problems. From the mysterious starter problem GM can’t seem to duplicate to a transmission slip and many other small things. The big one is the tire wear after 4000k, the outside of tires were almost bald and of course GM explained it as low tire pressure so over the next 10,000 miles I had a tire rod, sway bar and barrings replaced, a front end alignment lots or tire rotations and balancing. After all this GM did replace the tires, but I did not want the Goodyears back on the van and paid the difference to upgrade to Michelins. I now have 21000 on the new tires which are considered 80,000 mile tires and they are almost bald and will need replacing within the month. The dealer assures me this is a COMMON CHARACTERISTIC of these GM vans and every Terraza, Uplander etc. owner is experiencing this same wear but the average Soccer mom just doesn’t notice the tire wear. As an educated professional woman I was offended by that comment!! Now since I did not put Good years back on the van GM puts the blame on the tire maker for the same wear I had with the Goodyears. IS anyone experiencing unusual wear with their tires???

Comments

  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    The tires have a prorated 80k warranty so if they are gone @ 20k you should get a brand new set of tires from the Soccermom guy for 75% off the price you originally paid plus the cost of mounting them. See it's not so bad. Hope this helps.
  • capriracercapriracer Member Posts: 907
    I think you are going to have trouble getting warranty coverage.

    1) Michelin is going to look at the tire wear and say it is a vehicle problem - and they'd be right.

    2) The GM dealer is going to look at a 2 year old car and he replaced the tires once, so he thinks he has done what he could do.

    I think your best bet is to strike a bargain with the GM dealer - something along the lines of him paying for half the cost of an alignment by an outside shop, and him paying for half the cost of a new set of tires.
  • oldguy3oldguy3 Member Posts: 1
    Had tires blanced at 500 miles, new michilins at 3000 miles, force balance at 6000 miles.
    Tried to find dealer that could force balce with Hunter Lasser machine,but no luck.
    Rep went for ride with me and informed me it was within van tolerances.(Never seen that in buick brochure).
    Turned case over to BBB. Waiting for afford from GM now.
    Anyone with same problem.
  • vince730vince730 Member Posts: 4
    It seems to me that the tires wear extremely quick on all GM model vans. Something needs to be done about this! Either the dealer needs to offer warranty on the tires/replace for a small or no fee or redign the terraza so this does not keep happening. If you owned the terraza for 8 years, you would probably spending as much as a new terraza from sll the tire replace charges
  • morewasabimorewasabi Member Posts: 58
    2005 Terraza with 2.5Ltr, 24000 miles Original Goodyear tires, no excess wear and no vibrations. Rotate tires every other oil change.
    Had to have front end alignment done once due to hitting the curb. Should get at least another 20000-25000 miles on these tires.
  • 05terraza105terraza1 Member Posts: 1
    Having same tire wear problem here. Rotors keep warping as well causing vibration when braking at higher speeds. Sway bar link bolts replaced twice. These are not normal wear and tear issues. Also, this is our 3rd GM Minivan in the last 10 years and never had these problems with the other 2. I guess it's back to the dealer again.
  • rmondshinermondshine Member Posts: 2
    This is my second GM minivan but the first one an Oldsmobile did not have independant rear suspension. Apparently, the new suspension requires more frequent tire rotations or you will get uneven tire wear, cupping in the rear and balding on the edges in the front. But one can argue if you are balding your front tire edges maybe you are going around corners too fast. So, I am learning the characteristics of this new van. 1) rotate tires every 6k miles. 2) take it easy around corners 3) keep the tires at or near max inflation.
  • dave_justdavedave_justdave Member Posts: 29
    We have had the same problems on our 2005 Buick Terrazza, finally I took off the GM OEM Goodyear tires and put on new Yokohama's. Cost a lot, but they are fantastic in rain and snow and now there is no unusual tire wear.....go figure. The OEM GM tires are just terrible, replace them before you have an accident.
  • kcoreykcorey Member Posts: 130
    You're doing the right thing, but have a dealer (especially if you're under warranty) check the alignment and shocks.
  • electbcelectbc Member Posts: 4
    I complained to my dealer about the premature tire wear,he wasn't very interested in checking the alignment, he said it wasn't a warranty issue, he just wanted to see me a new set of tires. The OEMs wore out at 14,000.
  • smithsansmithsan Member Posts: 1
    When you see a tire with irregular wear, you should find the underlying cause. If you only replace the tire, you have not solved the problem that caused the irregular wear in the first place. To solve the underlying problem, you must see the irregular wear when the tire is still on the vehicle.
    ---------
    smithsan
    Used cars
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