Hi:
I'm considering a regular Mazda 3 touring (non-Speed) as my next commuter car and I just learned from a friend about the rear tire wear issue. After merely 60K mi, he's had to replace the rear tires on his wifes 07 Mazda 3 twice now. His gameplan is that very soon now -- before buying the next set of tires -- he will swap out the rear LCAs for adjustable ones (as cited adove)


Q: Is premature wear on the rear tires still an issue with 2012-2013 Mazda3 hatches?

Since I commute a lot, I have no desire to replace tires annually. Therefore, I will likely go head and replace the LCAs right after purchase -- and factor it into the Mazda3 acquisition cost in my apples to apples comparison with my other choices. My alternative is to buy a Prius and well, I'd rather not buy a Prius (super boring to drive but better MPG and overall pretty reliable).

Thanks in advance for your replies
Regards,
-g

 

I have 2012 Mazda 3 hatchback with Skyactive. Averages 36 mpg, but at 28000 miles original tires had to be changed because I coudn't stand the noise any more. New tires now have about 15000 and I can already feel the vibration and hear the noise.

 

Thanks for the reply. Since I started this thread, I ended up buying a Prius after having one as a rental for a week and averaging 48MPG. The handling was fairly dreadful but a rear swaybar made it tolerable. While it's no Mazda 3 in terms of handling, I couldn't argue with nearly 50MPG given my long daily commute (your mileage would have me replacing tires every 2 years.)

-g

 

bump...

I have a 2010 Mazda 3 2.5 SGT with H&R lowering springs. I too have had an uphill battle with the premature rear tire wear. I have installed a rear camber kit as many people have but the problem is still there even after purchasing 4 new tires and getting an alignment at the time of the camber kit install. When I had the alignment done at Fire Stone they told me that they couldn't get the rear alignment into the "green" zone but that it was fairly close to it. My question is if anyone has had any luck with their uneven rear tire wear with lowering springs installed and a rear camber kit... I suspect that they couldn't get the rear alignment into the green zone because of the lowering springs but I want to hear what some of you have to say about this. Any input would be greatly appreciated.