Uneven rear tyre wear

[bassanclan]

2006 Mazda 6 1.8 with 24k miles.

I've just noticed the rear tyres are wearing unevenly. They are worn down much more on the outer part than the inner part of the tyre.
I'm guessing there could be a number of reasons (tyre pressures wrong, tracking, suspension problem, bearing etc?) but how do I diagnose which one?

[kambites]

By "the outside" do you mean they're warn down both edges, or just the outer edge?

[trickywoo]

If both edges are worn thats classic under inflation.

[Risotto]

I guess the easiest thing to do is to check the pressures. If they're OK, perhaps get an alignment check and (assuming your tyres aren't directional) swap the two rear wheels around so you can see if the problem still occurs without ruining the tyres prematurely.

Edited by Risotto on Friday 21st May 11:33

[kambites]

trickywoo said:

If both edges are worn thats classic under inflation.

If it's just the outer edge of each tyre, it's probably tracking?

[bassanclan]

It is just the outer edge, on both sides.

[Kozy]

Outside edge on both sides of each tyre is underinflation.
Outside edge on one side of each tyre is incorrect tracking.

[Superhoop]

I had this on one of my previous Mazda6's - according to my dealer, Mazda released a bulletin about it, recommending regular tyre rotaion. Something to with rear tyres only getting a braking force in one direction?

After mine were replaced, I had them swapped over every 6k, and the problem stopped

[bassanclan]

I've been looking on some Mazda specific forums and i seems these cars often have uneven tyre wear and as you say regular rotation is the only way to get it sorted.