Spare tire problem 2004 sport

[snoone]

Got a nail in one of my tires and decided to rotate the spare to that position and use the patched tire as the spare. Took the spare down from its position and saw something I've never seen before. At all 4 contact points where the tire meets the upper chassis the tire was worn down to shiny rubber. As far as I'm concerned the tire is unusable. Cosmetically the tire is ridiculous but I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed a problem like this.. I'm waiting for my dealer to tell me whether they are replacing it N/C

 

[sharp4runr]

Shouldn't be a problem. I think that is where the rubber rubs up on the underside of the chasis. Its a cosmetic thing and the tire will "bounce back" as its made of rubber. As long as you can't see the belts under the rubber it should function safely.

Since my spare gets rotated after 5k, then it shouldn't affect it too much. If it matters so much to you, push the dealer and they may do it.

 

[Jim_Chow]

This is normal. Before I got my rear tire carrier on my old 4runner, I'd aways get the shiny rubber indentations when rotating every 8K mi. The marks disappear over time.

 

[dcampen]

I have marks on the spare, but I wouldn't call them "worn down". Cosmetically it is not pleasing but I don't see that there is any functional impairment.

 

[ToolmanJohn]

Same marks, no effect

I rotate my tires every 5K, and the spare as well. The marks eventually go away (loses the shininess) althought there will be barely noticeable indentations there. It doesn't effect tire performance.