My wife’s car needed 2 rear discs (with built in bearings) at the last service, and after 3 months, there is a horrible rumbling sound from the rear of the car.

I’ve had it back, and the garage is saying the discs etc are fine, it’s got a bad case of stepped tyres.

The tyres look fine, they are Goodyear Efficient Grip with 4-5mm still left on them and retail at £150 each.

So without splurging £300 to replace barely bedded in rear tyres, how can I check the diagnosis? Or do I just bite the bullet and pay? If it doesn’t work, I’m £300 out of pocket.

Is this a common fault?

Is this like a serration?
If so, run your hand in one direction along the tread and then the other direction. One direction should be smooth and the other direction you should be able to feel the sharp edges of the block. No real issue as far as I know and a result of poor road surfaces.

I’ve had it with poor tracking on a car about 10 years ago.

Sawtoothed tyres is the terminology the guys at work used. It’s not a common problem in that it rarely gets bad enough to cause an issue. BUT if the back of the car wasn’t put back together perfectly it can make it worse.

Mine was due to someone backing into the side of the car. The garage fixed the wing, but missed that he’d hit the wheel too and creased a bit of the suspension. No witness marks on the wheel, so understandable. Not bad enough to cause an issue when driving, just started playing up 3 months later.

Was a company car that i was in, and he was driving a another company car, so it was all fixed with no shouting at all.

No real issue

The noise is awful. It gives me a headache.

It’s worse than her taste in music…

Could you try and swap the tyres from front to back and vice versa? Bit of a PITA admittedly to do it.

It may be worth getting the 4 wheel tracking checked, incase something is out of alignment.

The noise is awful. It gives me a headache.

It was more directed at the tyre (not) being damaged than you being a softie. 😛

Had this on my CMax the other day. The noise wasn’t too bad but it did sound like a worn bearing.

I thought it was probably this problem (hoping it wasn’t the bearing) so took it to a tyre shop. All they did was jack the car up and spin the wheel – I could see it with my own eyes how bad it was. I’m sure you will too if the noise is that bad.

My tyres did have a good few months of wear left but I had to get them replaced because of this issue.

I asked what had happened to cause the problem and the garage said that there were quite a few makes that do it – mainly those that ride on the inside of the tyre. I think my problem was loading the towbar with rack and bikes and then drive 100’s of miles without adjusting the tyre pressures for the extra load.

Edit: The chap in the garage said that BWMs and Audis were the worst, although a mate had it happen regularly on his Passat estate a few years ago – and when I was following that it always seemed to have the rear wheels sloped in at the top.

Maybe wifey has been doing handbrake turns to get in tight parking spaces?

Got it on my Octavia at the moment, but only on one side.

Probably get all four wheels checked to be sure, even though the damage to the tyre has already been done.

had this on the back of my estate on some Khumo Ecsta sports. Had been on the car with a failing rear beam so too much camber and you could see the sawtoothing. Some tread designs are possibly more prone to it too.

On the back I could hear the noise like a wheel bearing on the way out but could damp the noise with the load cover and crap in the boot but put it on the front and it was very noticeable so they stayed on the back.

Hmm, this sounds a bit like it could be the cause of an issue we’re having with our Smax at the moment.
We’ve got a slow puncture in one of the rear tyres but it has developed a bit of a steering wheel wobble as well. We are keeping the tyre pumped up to the same as the other rear and there doesn’t seem to be any noise but the tyres do tend to wear down on the inside at the rear and it feels a bit weird. Been meaning to get it in the garage….

Any of you car experts shed any light on it, does it sound like the same thing?

I could see it with my own eyes how bad it was

I couldn’t see anything, so I took it to a tyre place. They jacked it up and spun the wheels and the off side bearing is obviously noisy.

So back to original garage who claimed that they only checked the nearside and it was OK.

So new new discs and bearings on order. Under parts warranty.

I won’t get my morning back though.

I have a Passat estate, and this is common, I had it and it is time to get new tyres, I managed around 60K out of the backs, so I was not too disappointed when they needed changing.
I was told by the tyre fitters to run the tyres at a slightly higher pressure and this helps spread the tyre on the road as they do tend to run on the inside edge when loaded.
Least I didn’t rip the wheel bearings out.

Had that with Bridgestones on a Mazda 6. Changed to a different make of tyre once they were worn. Sorted.

Once a tyre is sawtoothed it is irretrievable, although it’s safe, just noisy. It can be avoided by regular front to back rotation of tyres, running the right pressures and 4 wheel alignment. Some cars are prone, those with simple torsion beam rear suspension are more prone I believe. Some tyres are more prone, those with deeper/ wider snipes and blocks ( snipes, if I used the right term, are the grooves across the tyre). Maybe seem some advice from a local tyre fitters as to what to fit as a replacement. Oh and 4-5mm left is just over half worn, Goodyear’s start at 8mm and performance on most tyres starts to degrade significantly below about 3mm, so you’ve had a fair bit of your money’s worth.

4 wheel hunter wheel alignment. Checks all wheels and will show up worn or damaged suspension components, and on some larger saloons, 4×4’s, sporty cars, the rear suspension geometry can be adjusted in a similar fashion to the front tracking.

We had a Mondeo estate where the rear toe was way off, rubbed the shoulders off a new set of tyres in months and the handling was un-nerving, tramlined all over the place. £60 and two suspension adjustments later it handled like Fords should.

Oh and 4-5mm left is just over half worn

Yes, but there is nothing wrong with them.

I had this on my old Octy Vrs, which was apparently notorious for it.

I swapped the daft 18″ alloys for some 16″ ones, Michelin tyres on.

Rumble gone, better handling, better ride, no tramlining. The tyres were only 10mm narrower so no real difference in grip, perhaps on a racetrack but not on the commute…

I had sawtooth on the inside edge of my rear tyres after a broken spring. Wasn’t visible, but if you ran your fingers round the inside edge of the tyre you could feel it.

Oh and I only paid £90 for Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance for the Passat, online. Wouldn’t again though – they are noisy despite what the stats say. Nokian again next time.

snipes, if I used the right term

sipes – without the n.

ads678 – I’d get your smax checked out ASAP. Mine developed a bit of steering wheel wobble, I thought the tyres looked fine – maybe another 6 months or so’s tread left. Got a flat one morning, the pump and sealant didn’t work, so took the wheel off to take it to get a new tyre and was horrified to find the inside edge of the tyre was worn completely right through tot the fabric braid beneath the rubber carcass. Because it was right on the very edge of the tyre you couldn’t see it if you looked at the tyre when on full lock. Sure enough the other side was in a similar condition.

So I took one wheel and got a new tyre, put it back on the car and drove it round to replace the tyre on that wheel and the wheel wobble disappeared. I got the tracking checked and sure enough it was out.

Lucky I got the puncture when I did because later that afternoon I drove the family upto the Lakes for a holiday and the tyre could have blown on the motorway at any time.

andyl – Member

had this on the back of my estate on some Khumo Ecsta sports.

Funnily enough, I had the same issue with Kumho Ecsta Sports on the rear of my Ibiza. Sounded like rumbly bearings on the back & you could feel the ripple on the inside edge running your hand around the tyre.

Apparently it’s quite common on VAG group cars.

I swapped to a different tyre brand and the problem went away.
Annoyingly they were bloody good tyres, but just didn’t suit the car…

Apparently it’s quite common on VAG group cars.

I think mostly on the older ones with torsion beam suspension.. and to avoid it you just have to keep the tyre pressures up.

We had a 2014 (maybe 2013) Passat Estate that did it within 6 months of leaving the dealership. I was led to believe it’s still common

Our 2006 Passat wears the inside edge of the rear tyres.

It got flagged as an advisory on the last MOT, when they told me I said “Yeah, Passats do that don’t they”, and the guy just sighed and nodded.

I try and run the rear tyres a bit harder than recommended. I think it helps.

Our 2006 Passat wears the inside edge of the rear tyres.

Check the springs. Mine was broken for a fair few years, several MOTers missed it. It was definitely this that caused the inside edge. 20k on mine since the spring was fixed and it’s fine.

In fact – why not post a pic of the car parked on flat ground, showing the wheel in the arch.

molgrips – Member

I think mostly on the older ones with torsion beam suspension.. and to avoid it you just have to keep the tyre pressures up.

I used to check tyres pressures regularly and keep them to manufacturers recommended values.

Never had it with Bridgestone, Matador or Falken tyres; only with the Kumho Ecstas…..so I think it’s a lot to do with the tyre design itself being more prone to the issue.