The car makers have responded to concerns raised by some owners over excessive front tyre wear issues, recommending that vehicle owners visit their local dealership for an inspection if they were worried.

The issues relate to Isuzu D-Max utes and M-UX SUVs, and the mechanically similar Mazda BT-50 ute.

RACQ was recently alerted to the potential for excess tyre wear by an MY23 Isuzu D-Max owner, who described it as a “serious safety tyre wear issue”.

The owner provided a photograph of a tyre showing the inside edge worn down to the canvas despite other areas of the tyre tread appearing in good condition.

The owner claimed the vehicle had travelled only 14,739km on sealed roads and attributed the issue to bump steer and steering knuckles issues.

A Bridgestone Technical Service Bulletin dated May 2024 addressed the matter: “Bridgestone has become aware of some irregular wear occurring on front tyres fitted to 2021 Isuzu D-Max and 2022 MU-X, and newer vehicles. Similar issues have been seen on Mazda BT-50s from the same model years.

“The root cause of this premature tyre wear is excessive bump steer in the front suspension. Effectively, as the suspension goes through its range of motion, the toe changes significantly. This causes the tyre to ‘scrub’ across the road surface, leading to taper wear and in some cases tread chunking.

“Isuzu and Mazda are both aware of this issue and customers with complaints about excessive tyre wear should go directly to their relevant Isuzu or Mazda dealership for rectification.”

The same bulletin notes that the wear issues were not Bridgestone specific, and that similar issues had been reported with other tyre brands.

A separate Isuzu Service Bulletin, dated 31 August 2023, sighted by RACQ is titled, “21MY D-MAX Onwards and 22MY MU-X Onwards, Uneven Front Tyre Wear.”

The Isuzu bulletin states: “Some reports have been received from the market regarding customer concerns of uneven tyre wear for vehicles used in certain applications or conditions. Although tyre wear life is determined by many factors, through engineering analysis and market feedback, reasonable tyre life is determined to be 40,000km under normal usage and conditions.”  

The bulletin goes on to list various factors that can impact tyre life, including a lack of periodic tyre maintenance, incorrect tyre pressures, modifications, worn suspension components, and more.

“To enable the current generation of models to achieve greater steering stability when the vehicle is unladen, and cornering performance when laden, the bump steer toe-out increased and understeer characteristics were enhanced.

“However, it has been found under certain operating conditions, the designed increase in bump steer may increase toe-related tyre wear.”

A spokesperson for IUA confirmed that IUA has had a campaign in market for several months in regard to this issue, and that only a fraction of D-MAX and MU-X sold had presented with uneven tyre wear concerns, with each vehicle looked at and supported by its warranty program.

“The Isuzu D-MAX and MU-X are backed by a six-year warranty and customers with concerns should get in contact with their local dealer for information and support,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said IUA was familiar with the customer who raised the matter with RACQ and that all relevant warranty treatments have been performed on the vehicle.

“I can confirm that this customer has had a wheel alignment performed, tyres replaced, and the steering knuckles replaced in his vehicle, under warranty and at no charge,” the spokesperson said.

“Our dealer has diligently worked with the customer to resolve his concerns. We believe that IUA and our dealer have taken all the necessary and possible means to meet the customer’s expectations.”

A spokesperson for Mazda Australia confirmed the company was aware of similar concerns raised by some BT-50 owners.

“Mazda is supporting the update to the revised wheel alignment specification and, in examples where premature wear has been experienced, there is also support available for tyre replacement. We encourage any affected customers to visit their local Mazda dealership,” the spokesperson said.

RACQ recommends any owners of late model Isuzu D-Max, MU-X and Mazda BT-50 vehicles with a build plate date covered by the affected period have their tyres inspected for signs of uneven wear.