4A rough shifting after new rear tires install

[JimW]

Two of my OEM Michelin Primacy XC tires wore out at 9k miles. I was able to get the warranty to cover 70% of them. So obviously, I was not going to get the same tire. I chose two of the Cross Climate same size that were installed on the rear. I drove over an hour to my home and was pleased with the ride.

Two days later we have snow this morning. Now in 4A, the truck has rough shifting when taking off from a stop. Shifts fine in 2wd. The only thing that comes to mind would be that the new tires have a larger diameter than the halfway-worn-out XCs that I have on the front. Thoughts?

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Two of my OEM Michelin Primacy XC tires wore out at 9k miles. I was able to get the warranty to cover 70% of them. So obviously, I was not going to get the same tire. I chose two of the Cross Climate same size that were installed on the rear. I drove over an hour to my home and was pleased with the ride.

Two days later we have snow this morning. Now in 4A, the truck has rough shifting when taking off from a stop. Shifts fine in 2wd. The only thing that comes to mind would be that the new tires have a larger diameter than the halfway-worn-out XCs that I have on the front. Thoughts?

You say the vehicle has rough shifting when taking off from a stop. Do you mean it shifts rough from first to second? Second to third?

I’d agree that tires with different wear patterns can affect 4A or 4H operation.

How did you wear out two front tires in 9,000 miles? Low tire pressure? Very hard cornering?

 

[JimW]

Yes rough shifting from a stop through the gears. I also saw a limited slip error message pop up on my dash for a second.

The tires were on the rear. I did use low pressure 20psi on 3 beach trips that involved driving on the beach and road while at the beach. Nothing extreme.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Yes rough shifting from a stop through the gears. I also saw a limited slip error message pop up on my dash for a second.

The tires were on the rear. I did use low pressure 20psi on 3 beach trips that involved driving on the beach and road while at the beach. Nothing extreme.

My only other thought is have you have changed the tire and wheel size from the OEM equipment? If so, that may affect your ABS, traction control, stability control and automatic braking systems - which may be why you are feeling the rough shifts?

 

[JimW]

The tire is the same as OEM. All four are the same but 2 are new.

 

[tuckr2]

Yes rough shifting from a stop through the gears. I also saw a limited slip error message pop up on my dash for a second.

The tires were on the rear. I did use low pressure 20psi on 3 beach trips that involved driving on the beach and road while at the beach. Nothing extreme.

Just in case, here is a tire sizing guide. If the fronts were significantly worn down there would be an overall tire height difference which possibly could be part of the issue. I also understand your running 4A which only supposed to activate when there is slippage. Might try 4h to see if this is sort of the issue.

Tire Size Comparison

Tire size comparison the easy way. Use our tire size comparison calculator to compare diameter, width, sidewall, circumference and revolutions per mile.

tiresize.com

 

[z71kris]

Don’t they recommend staggering to fix that? I did that previously and it worked.

 

[ZigZagFred]

Hi - I have two comments. First: in 4A, the tires must be the same size or the computer will be "confused". You might want to replace the fronts also, even though they're still OK. Maybe you could sell them? Second: Name-brand tires (especially Michelin) that wear out at 9,000 miles indicate a SERIOUS mechanical issue, NOT a defective tire. Have your mechanic check the alignment on all FOUR wheels, and also any suspension issues.

 

[khammer]

I also saw a limited slip error message pop up on my dash for a second.

Yes, this is probably due to the different tires. These wheel speed sensors are sensitive to different diameter, even different PSI can trigger this message. I have experienced this after replacing only 2 tires.

 

[JimW]

Thanks for the information.
Yes it sounds like I need to replace the other 2 tires. The truck is in alignment. The tires are just soft and wear down really fast. See the reviews on Michelin's website.

 

[ZigZagFred]

I read the reviews on the Michelin site about the Primacy tires. I was genuinely shocked. Over the years, we have purchased six sets of Michelin Defenders for our various SUVs. We wouldn't think of riding on anything else at this point. It truly caught me off guard that my beloved Michelin would produce a product that received so many poor reviews. Good luck with your tire quest.