Tire wear question

[Scott13SHO]

Yesterday I noticed that my front tires where pretty worn down..almost to the tread indicators. The back tires had plenty of tread on them.

I replaced the tires almost two years ago and yes, I completely forgot about rotating them since then (started a new job out of state, then relocated back to my home state, lived with in-laws,etc), thus why the back tires are in so much better shape than the fronts. The new Continentals I got then held up ok for a performance tire...I did about 30K on them so far. I've had them last about to 40K on my Mustang.

Anyways...I've read that uneven tire wear can play havoc with the AWD system. I was thinking about rotating the tires, but was wondering if that would cause more harm than good. I rather try and put off getting tires for another couple months till early next year (lots of money going out to the new house we got), but if I can't I guess I'll have to look at getting a whole new set of 4 tires before then.

Thoughts?

[sholxgt]

I'm in a similar situation and will probably just get two new tires.

I wouldn't worry too much about the AWD system.  You should remain in spec as long as the tires start life at the same height.  I think the magic number is that it can handle up to a 3% variance.  From what you are describing, new tires might be a closer match to your rears than your current front/rear set are to each other.

[SHOdded]

Like sholxgt said, if overall tire height was the same at the beginning, tread depth won't throw the AWD off-kilter.  It might come into play more often though because the front tires (the true "driven" wheels) don't have as much traction as the rears.

So move the rears to the front and put the new tires on the rear.  Done.

[ZSHO]

I think its based from the owners manual that a wheel rotation needs to be performed every 7,500 miles and to have a wheel alignment checked to help against uneven tire wear due to pot holes,here's a service history from my last visit.  Z   The owners manual states to have your wheels rotated every oil change and based from my last visit they did a wheel alignment.  Z    Date of Service

07/1/2016

$0.00

Service(s) Performed

Brakes
Tires
Wheel Alignment & Balance
Scheduled Maintenance
Air Conditioning & Heating
Electrical
Engine
Glass

[SHOdded]

Definitely agree, the tire rotation interval is growing more in importance as a reminder to check/service these other important systems in a car.  So if you don't take the wheels off, you won't know the condition of the brakes, for example.  Rusted pins, seized pistons, uneven pad wear, etc are all too common.

[pmezo33]

Are the front tires evenly worn down? 

Assuming they are, chalk it up as a learning experience, replace all four tires, and remember to rotate every 5-10k miles in the future.  Don't forget to get an alignment.  If the fronts are down to the wear indicators, you're playing with fire driving at high speeds.