Im stationed overseas and my grandmother has a 2003 santa fe 6cyl. she is getting bad tire wear. could this just be a front end alignment and how much should it cost to repair

Brad

1. It's hard to say without looking at the vehicle (and test driving it) but more than likely the front end is badly out of alignment. ( If the car has been in a significant front end accident and badly repaired then this could also be a source of the problem as the alignment may not be capable of being properly set).

2. The first thing to do is take the car to a specialist suspension and steering shop and have the wheel alignment checked and adjusted to factory specs. Normally this is not expensive for a straight forward alignment but price depends on the shop. A good suspension shop will also identify if there are any wear problems with the steering or suspension that need attention

3. Older drivers sometimes frequently hit kerbs when parking their cars. This will throw out the front wheel alignment every time (and damage tyres) so it must always be avoided. Scrubbed.scuffed tyre side walls are an indication of this as well as scratched wheel rim edges.

4. Some drivers never check tyre pressures. Low tyre pressures will cause much greater tyre wear as there is more friction. (It will also make steering heavier, place undue stress on the steering components, cause the car to handle badly and result in much higher fuel consumption).
The lady needs to ensure her car has at least 32 lbs pressure in both front tyres and at least 30lbs in the rear (which carries less weight). The pressures must be set with COLD tyres. Manufacturer optimum spec tyre pressures are usually set for comfort. These can be safely exceeded by a few pounds. It is far safer (and more economical) to run slightly higher pressures than a setting that is too low. (A good tyre will run all day with 38-40 pounds pressure and 36-38 is quite safe).

5. Worn out shock absorbers will also contribute to abnormal tyre wear. 70000 miles of average driving will see out a set of shocks. (Personally I would not leave them that long as the factory shocks are generally of average quality on this type of car)..

That's the best I can do Brad without seeing the car so I hope this helps some. Hopefully a good wheel alignment will fix the problem but make sure the tyre pressures are kept up as well. If the shocks are worn out they will also need to be replaced if the car is to be roadworthy.

Cheers Sean

Check tyre pressure and alignment. shouldn't cost too much. i'm in australia so not sure on prices but it wont be too costly. ask her if they are rubbing out on one side or both sides and also ask if she has a bad pull to either side? a bad pull would indicate bad alignment. tyre wear through the middle indicates too my tyre pressure and tyre wear on the outside is not enough pressure. if it's only on the inside or the outside of the wheel then the camber is out and needs to be aligned