I am new to the forum, and any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I almost bought an 04 touring the other day, but couldnt come to terms, and I am looking to get an 03 touring now, but the guys at the dealership STRONGLY urged me against the 03 model since something about the front wheel/suspension configuration makes the tires wear out after like 7000 miles. Is this true? and if so, what if anything can be done about it? Should I completely forget about the 03s? Thanks so much in advance for your replies.

 

This forum has over-discussed this topic.
Asking this question will give you a lot of flames.
Better do a SEARCH for "tire feathering" or look at the sticky thread in the repair forum. You can probably spend a couple of days to research all the existing posts.

 

It shouldn't be a problem if the dealer resolve that issue before handing the car to you. Also, if you are getting the 03, ask the dealer how long is the warranty on that issue. Everything they fix/replace should have at least one year of warranty, both on parts and service. Yes, the 03s seem to have a bunch of problem. But if the dealer is taking care of you, they should have all the issues resolve before delivery.

 

Bottom line there was a TSB on it for the dealerships to align the car to different specs then what it was orginaly set to. That said some people on this forum have stated that they have continued to have problems with tire feathering even after the adjustments were done. Also there has been several people on here with 2003's that never had any trouble with the tire feathering..

So you might be ok with a 2003, but then again you might not.

 

Alright thanks guys....About what I expected....I realize the rules of forums and all that so sorry for the erroneous post. Anyway, guess I will have to either take a chance or spend more money.

 

Get the 06'. No worrys!

 

dealer replaced my 03 fronts at 7k with new alignment...now 19k tires still look brand new.

 

Sales people always urge you to spend more money. Its their job.

 

wonder how much warranty i would have left on an 03 w/around 35-40k miles

 

just bought an 03 a month ago, put 3000 miles on it already. Had new tires when I bought it now they are feathering, I am in the process of trying to get this covered under warr. one problem warr ended a month ago!! I'll keep you posted

 

none to answer your question, they have a 3 yr 36000 bumper to bumper

 

So basically if I get an 03 I am going to have to pay whatever it costs out of pocket to get anything fixed on it? ;even the TSB? Yikes...

 

Also, isnt there a decent chance that the car will have absolutely no problems at all? Seems like some people's just didnt have these problems...

 

its a hit or miss

 

Not necessarily. It has a 5yr/60,000 mile powertrain warranty. Bumper to bumper is pretty much what was stated above.

 

WELL i guess that is good..just a matter of getting the dealership to actually do what they are supposed to do

 

Get the vin # off the cars you are interested in and take them to a dealership to have them run the vin history to see what has been done!!

 

Can you print out a carfax report and it show stuff like that?? What are some signs you can look for in the car before buying it that will hint that it is having this problem? Im sure most dealers/sellers have pretty new tires on the things when you test drive it so it wont be visible.

 

i bought mine used, and put 16k on it, and the tires arent feathering so far

 

Have you had any of the other problems associated with the 03's?