I have uneven tire wear on the front right tire. It is down to the threads on the outside part of the tire. The tires have about 8,000 miles on them and are warn past the wear bars. The tires were balanced at time of installation and the wheels were aligned. I brought the car to the shop that performed the installation and had them do a thorough check. They stated that all parts (tire rod, shocks, etc.) were in good condition and the alignment was still in spec. They really could not explain the uneven tire wear. So, I called TireRack and they are sending a replacement tire at a reduced cost. I will be sending them the old tire for inspection and if found to be defective they will refund the reduced fee I paid today.

Today I noticed that when I make a tight U-turn in the direction away from the tire with a wear problem, the car wobbles. I did not notice this when turning in the other direction? To me this seems like an indication of a worn or broken suspension part but I am not a mechanic and like I stated it was already checked by a mechanic. Can anyone provide any insight based on the description of the problem? Let me know if you need more details. I have attached a picture of the tire.

Thanks in advance for your thoughtful responses.

 

Could be a loose tie rod, even though the tire shop says they checked the "tire rod". Jack up the front end, grab the wheels and check for play. Since only one corner is having problems, it should be easy to compare the play between the two sides.