Anyone else had to replace a single tire on their AWD Kizashi?

[KansasKid]

So over the Thanksgiving break, a screw ended up in one of the tires on my Kizashi, and like a responsible adult, I ignored the TPMS warning and drove on it while it was low on air and messed up the sidewall on it. So I had to get a new Michellin Pilot Sport A/S 3 tire. But now I have one tire that's a 8/32's of an inch of tread, while the other ones are at 5/32's.

Anyone else out there with an AWD Kizashi (or any AWD vehicle for that matter) have to do this, and how did the differential/transmission on your vehicle handle it?

[Ronzuki]

It's generally not a good idea, but I'd imagine it would be 'ok' to run it that way in FWD since the differentials themselves are not mechanically locked left to right in any way. I know I would. That said, I'd definitely avoid using the AWD as much as possible on dry, even wet, roads until all 4 tires are the same diameter. In the snow the wheels can break grip with the road surface easier if in AWD due to the mismatched diameters working against one another. As a last resort, The AWD coupler from the transfer case (front drive) to the rear differential has a thermal shutdown feature to disengage the AWD if it really starts fighting itself and over heats. I don't suspect that would happen with your tires as they are, but I couldn't say it wouldn't either.

[fasteddie]

or, take the tire to a tire shop that can shave it down to match the worn tire's tread depth.

[WESHOOT2]

IMNSHO&E an insignificant difference.

[bootymac]

Seems to vary by manufacturer but I think 3/32" is okay. Audi says within 4/32" and Subaru says 2/32"

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/ ... ?techid=18

[KansasKid]

or, take the tire to a tire shop that can shave it down to match the worn tire's tread depth.

I've looked a little bit, not terribly hard 'cuz I was at work at the time, but I couldn't find a location in my area. Most places don't have the equipment/don't like doing it 'cuz it's somewhat of a liability. The easiest place I could find that would do it is Tire Rack, but they would have to shave it down another tire and then ship it to me.

As a last resort, The AWD coupler from the transfer case (front drive) to the rear differential has a thermal shutdown feature to disengage the AWD if it really starts fighting itself and over heats. I don't suspect that would happen with your tires as they are, but I couldn't say it wouldn't either.

Thanks! I forgot that Kizashi's would automatically disengage the AWD if an issue with the differential was detected. According to the owner's manual, you're supposed to stop and let the car idle if you ever get an i-AWD warning.

I thought I read somewhere that even in 2WD mode, the Kizashi still sends the power 50/50 to the front and back wheels when accelerating from a stop, then shifts the power to the front. But I'm not positive. In either case, I've only been driving in 2WD mode. The wheel that I missed up was on the rear-passenger side; since the new one is on the back I should be ok while it grinds down. Do you know what kind of differentials are in the front/back (open/locking/limited slip)? If it's an open differential, the different sizes shouldn't put too much pressure on anything.

My backup plan was super-crazy too. I realized that the new FWD Chevy Cruze I just got has the same size tires as Kizashi (215/55R17), but the rims have the wrong bolt pattern (5x114.5 mm on the Kizashi vs. 5x105mm on the Cruze). So I was going to take both cars into the shop and have them swap the tires to the opposite rims, but maybe I'll let it slide. Now I just need to decide if I want to take my Kizashi on a 3 hour road trip next weekend or not...

[Ronzuki]

The viscous coupler is what regulates power to the rear differential. It is not in the equation during 2WD (AWD switch off). The differential and rear axles are still spinning regardless, just no power being applied by the transfer case (not sure if the rear driveshaft is rotating or not. When the AWD is ON, this enables the coupler and the traction control systems do their thing regulating front to back power transfer via the coupler. SX4s, not the Kizashis, have an electronic 'lock' mode (via pressing a switch) that enables a constant 50/50 power distribution mode all the time up to around 10mph. Above that wheel speed, the 'lock' disengages and the AWD system returns to the proportioned mode as dertermined by the traction control system(s). The SX4 and Kizashi both have the electronically controlled viscous coupler to regulate power to the rear differential. It's output is physically attached to the rear differential's pinion in both cars.

[n8dogg]

It's not going to wear down very fast on the rear. The front tires are doing all the work in FWD, driving and steering. I might put it up front with my next best treaded tire and alter my tire rotation pattern, switching it only from FL to FR until it wears down with the rest.

[bmw&kizzyownr]

Agree with n8dogg. This happened to me with my Michelin Pilot Sports A/S 3s. I got a screw in the tire which occurred within the first 3 or 4/32nd of wear and nobody would fix it (too close to the sidewall). I bought a new tire and put it on the front (since they wear the fastest there). Since then, I found someone to fix the tire and have been doing my own modified '5 tire' rotation (as indicated in the manual) ever since. No problems.. and my car is a SLS AWD. I think all the info about the 'differentials' is interesting but I can tell you it hasn't had any impact on my vehicle/AWD/tires/TPMS, etc. I am now at around 5 or 6/32nd for most (4) tires and 7/32nd on the one I had repaired. Again, having one tire with more tread life than the others has had 0 impact on the drivability of the vehicle. However, I do recommend you purchase a tire tread gauge and rotate "out" the tire with the least tread. That's my opinion but it's based on my experience in a similar situation. Happy Motoring!

[KansasKid]

Thanks! I went out and got a tire tread depth gauge today, so I can start keeping track. I figured the tire would wear down slower on the back while I'm driving around on 2WD mode, but now I'm not as worried about the differential exploding in my Kizashi if I put the new tire in the front. I'll probably put it on the driver's side because there are a bunch of right hand hairpin turns about a mile away from where I live. Not that I'm going go be zipping around those anytime soon with the one off-sized tire.