1990 Honda Accord LX, 4DR, AT, 246,610 miles. 4 tires installed two years ago (May 2012). Two tire rotations has been done since installed with every 7,500 miles each rotation. There are 4,900 miles since last rotation. 4 tires tread depth were about the same 7/32 inches at last rotation. Front passenger side wear unevenly with inner still left 2/32 inches and outer is totally gone. Front driver side wear unevenly with inner still left 3/32 inches and outer is about 1.5/32 inches. Two rear tires still have about 7/32 inches and in excellent condition. Changed front driver side stabilizer bar bushing on 03/01/2014 and over inflated tire to 32 PSI vs 29 PSI. Notice steering wheel about 1/6 circle off when tire is straight for about one month. I know unevenly wear out may caused by wheel alignment. My question is what would make front tires wear out rapidly from 7/32 inches down to 2/32 inches in 4,900 miles (6 months) and how do I check for the problems? Costco's tire warranty doesn't cover unevenly wear out tires.

 

Usually its camber issues. If wheel alignment can be of several factors of worn components with 250 k on the odometer. Springs, struts, ball joints(most common IMO), control arm bushings...etc

 

Uneven wear is caused by alignment issues but worn parts can cause the alignment to be off. I'd be checking everything under the front end .... or if you take it in to get an alignment, they'll usually tell you what needs replacement first. Front tires will always wear quicker than the rear, especially with front wheel drive.

 

Thanks for the replies. I understand the front wheel wear quicker than the rear for front wheel drive, but it seems too quick. I will take my car in for alignment check. Are there anything else I can check myself, what I should pay attention to, and how to check? I am pretty handy and I fixed all my car problems in the past 14 years ranging from break job, muffler, timing belt, to head gasket replacement.

 

By the way, would alignment's report tell me if the car has mechanical problems like Springs, Struts, ball joints, control arm bushings like lawrosa mentioned above?

 

An "alignment report" by itself will not generally point to a particular component, but, in the hands of a qualified technician, yes, it can point them to potentially problematic components. Caster is generally a handling characteristic, but toe, and, as mentioned, camber, can definitely lead to premature tire wear. You said that the steering wheel is 1/6 off; that is not because the steering wheel is spinning on the shaft, but rather that you are having to compensate for worn or damaged components.

 

It's your camber, just realign front end. Don't make an issue out of this.

 

Had wheel alignment checked and adjusted, new front tires installed.

 

Did you get a 4 wheel alignment? Did you get a printout from the machine?

 

With that many miles you'll want to rotate the tires more often than every 7.5K. I'd keep a closer eye on the tire wear and rotate them at least every 5K.

 

I had alignment check by Wheel Works. I didn't ask whether they do 2 or 4 tires alignment. I would expect they should follow the spec. of my car to do alignment which is 4 wheels. They told me my front tires alignment is off ~2.5 degree which is toe in I believe. Their printer is out of order, but they took a picture and showed the number to me. The new tires installed in the front with tread depth around 10/32 inches. The rear tires still have 7/32 inches. I plan to keep this car until all four tires wore out. That is why I asked whether alignment report will tell me any other mechanic problems or not in the first place. If parts (except two new tires and alignment) will cost me more than $200, I won't bother to fix it.

 

Did they inspect the suspension and steering parts for wear?

 

Yes, according to them, everything looks good. I will need to bring my car in after about 3,000 miles drive to make sure there isn't any alignment problem again.

 

that happened to me also. What I found out was it needed ball joints. The inside of the tire is what was wearing out.

 

only the toe angle is responsible for tire wear and 3 components can control it :
defective steering tie rod
defective steering ball joint
faulty alignment
make sure these components are right and ur tires will last longer but not more than 3 years cz it will go rough