Front inner tire wear on 2004 Pontiac GTO.

- Chesapeake, VA, USA

I own a 2004 Pontiac GTO on Tuesday 5-29-07 I was on the highway in the morning going to work when I heard a noise coming from the front end of my car it sounded like something plastic or rubber smacking against the front suspension of my car. The sound lasted a minute or two then quit so I stayed on the highway and continued to work upon getting to work I turned out my steering to the left to check the front end. What I saw was a split in the inside edge of my tire all the way down to the steel belts and the inside edge of my tire was worn from rubbing against the lower part of the strut. I also saw wear deep into the inside edge of my right side tire but it hasn't split like the left front. I know of many complaints about the GTO tire/strut problem and as of today I picked up my car from the Pontiac dealer service shop and they will not fix it because there is no recall as of yet on this problem. I bought this car less than a year ago used and when the car was reconed at the dealer I bought it from they installed 4 brand new bfg G-force 245/45zr17 tires as per factory tire specs the rear tires are like new but the fronts are trash and I have only put 10000 miles on the GTO since buying it a year ago.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

I noticed all tires were worn on inside past the tread at 14,000 miles on car. I replaced all 4 tires and took the car for alignment. Mechanic pointed out that the front tires were hitting the strut mounts when hitting a bump when springs compressed or during hard cornering. A groove was already worn in my new front left tire. Alignment was within specs. I went to dealer and they said that more camber would keep from rubbing. Dealers alignment readings were different than alignment shop. I have since discovered many other 2004-2006 GTO owners have the same problem.

- Austin, TX, USA

Premature tire failure. Front tires rubbing the struts near the top. Car has 36,000 miles on it. 10 tires purchased, front end has been aligned by dealer 7 times (at my expense) in last 22,000 miles to correct. I am aware that this issue exists with this car and closely monitor the tires and replace them when the rubbed area gets visibly worse.

- Nashville, TN, USA

Have 04 GTO and heard about the front tires (inside) rubbing on the struts (5/5/07)...read internet articles about tire failures and the one accident in cleveland. I checked the condition (5/5/07) on my car by removing both front wheels and discovered serious tire damage and rub marks on the struts..I have "grounded" the car due the this condition, pending information on how to correct the condition and related costs. Neither GM nor my dealership contacted me to flag this serious safety condition.

- Lansdale, PA, USA

Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) front struts and tires show evidence of interference. Also, front suspension alignment exhibits excessive negative camber which has resulted in excessive tire wear on inboard edges. 2004 Pontiac GTO VIN: [xxx]. mileage: 17,000.

- Washington, MI, USA

Suspected strut rub has worn the inside edge of driver's front tire bald. Only driver's front tire is affected, and this occurred with only 12,000 miles on tires. Problem was discovered in November 2006, tire wear was not visible when tires were rotated in April 2006 (4,000 miles earlier). An alignment performed in December 2006 seems to have prevented further tire wear.

- Northville, MI, USA

Noticed front tire strut rub recently after finding an article done by cleveland newsnet 5.

- East Bethel, MN, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Pontiac GTO. While surveying the vehicle, the contact noticed that the struts were rubbing against the tires. This failure caused the tires to wear out to the wire. The two front tires were replaced, and 3,000 miles later the tires began to wear out again. The vehicle was taken to four dealers, and no one could explain the tire wear. The current mileage was 22,000, and failure mileage was 18,000.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

Had noises coming from front suspension, took vehicle to GM dealer they replaced strut and did alignment under warranty. But had to replace front tires on my own with less than 30,000 on the tires. The set I replaced on the front had both come in contact with the struts and wore the inside of the sidewall out, cut a groove into the driver' S side that blew the tire out. The tires were replaced at 36,000 miles, and now has 8, 000 miles on them and were showing the same kind of sidewall wear to the fronts. Had the front of the car aligned again and it was to specs. No worn out suspension parts were found. The tire store had noticed this before on other vehicles the same as mine, and had them change tire size to give the tires clearance from the struts. So again another tire change.

- West Bend, WI, USA

Reference: 2004 Pontiac GTO stock correct size front tires were rubbing on the struts. Confirmed by Pontiac dealer. Tires wore out on the inner sidewall due to contact with the strut. Victory Pontiac, calera, Alabama 205-664-0046 will not correct this after being handed the NHTSA paper adressing this issue. Just confirmed it was a problem that is happening that I must pay to fix. The 2004 Pontiac GTO is under full gmac warranty as well as an extended platinum warranty.

- Calera, AL, USA

On July 5 2006, I brought my vehicle to the Pontiac dealer for what I thought was a hub bearing. I was told it was a tire noise and the vehicle was returned to me. I then had a oil change done a week later when the tech told me my pas frt tire had the inner tire cords exposed. I then called back the Pontiac dealer and talked to the service writer. I asked him why I was not told my tire was unsafe. He said the tech told him it was just a tire noise and did not know that the steel belts were exposed. I was then told I needed a alignment and a tire. I then bought a new tire and the vehicle was aligned.the tech at the Goodyear service center said the vehicle was within the manufactures spec and there was a little wear on the strut. The vehicle then had 19764 miles. My vehicle now has 30284 miles and both driver and passenger tires are worn almost to the belts and both struts have wear marks. Today's date is March 17, 2007. I have called GM customer complaint line and talked to a customer service agent that gave me a ref#71-494955481. She informed me that there is no recall and that she never heard of this before and there was no other complaints of this. She told me to take it to a dealer. I mad my appointment and the vehicle is now at the dealer. They told me it was my alignment again and never heard of this. I brought your investigation number into this problem and multiple complaints from ls1gto.com. I showed them pictures and what to check for from a GM tech on that site. I gave them them trhe tech's name, dealer which he works for and phone number. The service manager told me he see's the problem with my vehicle, but basically GM will probably deny him to look into these claims. He was basically telling me before that it was my driving until I showed him my 2 year old's car seat in the passnger rear. You cannot see the wear unless the tire's are fully turned left or right.

- Tinley Park, IL, USA

2004 Pontiac GTO, experiencing extreme uneven inside tire wear on left front and right front tires due to strut rub.

- Mary Esther, FL, USA

-the contact has a 2004 Pontiac GTO tha the purchased on April 28 2004 with 0 miles, currently with 17200 miles. The contact stated that the front two tires are rubbing against the struts of the vehicle due to premature wear. However, the tires have not been replaced since the vehicle was purchased. The tires were.F. goodrich, 245/45R17.

- Clovis, NM, USA

- the contact owns a 2004 Pontiac GTO. When the vehicle's odometer reached 16,000 miles he could hear a rubbing noise from both front tires. Upon closer inspection he noticed the inside of the tire was rubbing against the struts on both front tires. The contact rotated all 4 tires when it had 6,000 miles. The contact took the vehicle to the dealership and they suggested that the contact should pay for an alignment. The current mileage was 16400. Update/23/07

- Myrtle Creek, OR, USA

: the contact stated while driving 30 mph all four tires went flat without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who determined the struts rubbed against the tires causing the flats and the wheels needed to be aligned.

- Willard, OH, USA

I own a 2004 Pontiac GTO with the factory 17' wheels and 245-45-17 tires. In auss where they are made and sold as a holden monaro they come with 235-45-17 tires.. but GM changed the tire size and never checked to see if it made contact with the strut. There has been a common problem with the tires coming into contact with the strut and wearing the paint off the strut and wearing the inside edge of the tire down to the point of the tires blowing out. I noticed that my front tires were rubbing on the struts at 18K miles and took it in, and after a couple of calls.. the GM rep. Won't cover it and blames me for the problem and says they never heard of this problem before.. even after they called Pontiac tech asst they knew about this problem and how to fix it. This needs to get fixed asap before someone gets killed.

- Eden Prairie, MN, USA

Reference claim oid#10116796. My specific problem: I noticed strut rub on my front struts when I rotated my tires in March of 2005 (3 months after buying it). My selling dealer, covington Pontiac in silver spring, md corrected the strut rub but never told me what they did. I had little or no problems after this until replacing the original bfg kdws with the same size 245/45/17 pirelli P-zero neros in January 2006 at 19,500 miles. Even though the pirellis were the same exact size as the oem tires, manufacturing differences evidently made them slightly bigger and they again rubbed the strut. Well, since 2005 and many complaints Pontiac has come up with revised alignment specs which have dealers increase clearance between the strut and the tire by putting as much positive camber in as they can. After putting on my new tires, another Pontiac dealer, boyle Pontiac, set my alignment to the new Pontiac specs per Pontiac technical assistance center's suggestion in Jan 06. My wheels are at maximum positive camber and now only slightly rub if at all, however I have no more adjustment left in my suspension and I am not convinced maximum positive camber is all that good for my tires or the car itself. What happens when the next set of tires I buy in the same oem size, end up being slightly bigger. I am out of adjustment. It is ridiculous to limit my choice of tires to one manufacturer and one type of tire or have tires that turn at thousands of rpms at highway speeds to rub anything. (and there is no guarantee that the next set of tires wont be bigger than my original even if oem tires are used.)

- Bel Air, MD, USA

I leased a 2004 Pontiac GTO. The automobile had premature tire wear on the insides of the tire. The car has lots of vibrations while traveling at all speeds. I replaced the tires for the third time through Goodyear and it still has vibrations. I took to dealer today and car has a service bulletin for vibrations the struts are causing problems. The struts are also rubbing on the tires causing the premature wear however the Pontiac does not wish to recognize this problem. This is also a safety concern which could lead to a blow out. Buyer beware!

- Osceola, IN, USA

After I had put 20,000 miles on my car I could hear a rubbing noise from the front wheel. Upon closer inspection I noticed the inside of the tire was rubbing against the struts on both front wheels. Since I had the tires rotated on a regular basis all four wheels had the wear on the inside. Since the tires were bubbling out on the inside wall of the front tires I purchased new tires. The new tires were still rubbing the struts. I took it to the first dealership and they suggested grinding down the struts. The next dealership I took it to changed the camber in my alignment. It now has 1/8 inch clearance and when I hit bumps or when I turn the wheel sharply it still rubs. I have taken it back to the dealership and they claim it is within specifications for the car. The dealership will not address the problem as if it doesn't exist.

- Henderson, NV, USA