I picked up a nail in the wall of a rear tire on my 2005 G35x. It cannot be repaired due to the location of the damage and thus a new tire is necessary. I had them put on the full-sized spare and thought, at least for the time being, that should work.

This being my first all-wheel drive vehicle (I don't normally run the AWD, but leave it in rear drive only 98% of the time), I was shocked to receive their recommendation that I should purchase 4 new tires, as opposed to simply replacing the damaged tire. I was told that this could destroy my transmission; riding on one tire with no wear and with 60-70% left on the remaining three tires. Is this true?

Would anyone recommend trying to find a used tire with approximately the same amount of wear to replace the damaged one?

Finally, would moving the new tire and wheel to the front axle and one of the two evenly worn front tires to the rear axle and thus keeping the rear axle on two tires with the same tread-wear and running the car in rear-wheel drive only prevent the tranmission from this supposed threat of destruction? Or is the front axle still engaged (even though it's not being driven by the engine) even when the AWD drive option is turned off and the transmission still at risk of being damaged?

 

The unfortunate drawback to having an AWD system. It is always recommended u replace all 4 tires even when only one goes bad... Anytime I get a bad tire on my drive axle, I just replace both.. I ran a subie for 6 years. Gotta do it right, I had one blown tire, and I just went and replaced them all... Its better for the differentials if u replace all

 

Tire rack will shave down a tire to match the wear on the other 3 used tires. They provide this service for people on your situation.

 

The AWD system on this car can't be that crazy. I have a Jeep SRT8 and I've replaced just one tire no problem... As long as it balances, there's been no issue. And that AWD system is serious.

shaving down thread, REALLY?