[Uber Schnoz]

A couple of weeks ago we bought a used Ascent Limited with 13,000 miles on it. Today was the first nice sunny weekend since we bought it. I took the opportunity to pause and give the car another good look over in the driveway.
And I notice one of the tires says INSIDE on the outside. What!!? Wait a minute!? That's not right.

So now what? Is it safe to just have it remounted and be on my way? I have no idea how long it has been like that. Since it came from the factory, maybe?
Any advice is appreciated.

 

[TheAscestion]

Yes, just have it remounted to the correct orientation

 

[NotAClunker]

A couple of weeks ago we bought a used Ascent Limited with 13,000 miles on it. Today was the first nice sunny weekend since we bought it. I took the opportunity to pause and give the car another good look over in the driveway.
And I notice one of the tires says INSIDE on the outside. What!!? Wait a minute!? That's not right.

So now what? Is it safe to just have it remounted and be on my way? I have no idea how long it has been like that. Since it came from the factory, maybe?
Any advice is appreciated.

Mmmmmm... I doubt somebody can be so dumb to install the tire backwards. Be prepared for whatever they tried to hide on the other side. Most likely you'll end up getting 4 new tires. I don't want to sound negative, it's just hard to believe somebody could install a tire with the inside out and not realize.

 

[TheAscestion]

Mmmmmm... I doubt somebody can be so dumb to install the tire backwards. Be prepared for whatever they tried to hide on the other side. Most likely you'll end up getting 4 new tires. I don't want to sound negative, it's just hard to believe somebody could install a tire with the inside out and not realize.

Apparently someone was dumb enough to install an asymmetric pattern tire backwards. Uber Schnoz has the picture.

 

[Uber Schnoz]

Mmmmmm... I doubt somebody can be so dumb to install the tire backwards. Be prepared for whatever they tried to hide on the other side. Most likely you'll end up getting 4 new tires. I don't want to sound negative, it's just hard to believe somebody could install a tire with the inside out and not realize.

Oh geez. I didn't even think about it being intentionally malicious.
But in situations like this I always try to remind myself of Hanlon's razor:

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

 

[Kevin Williams]

One of my tires was mounted inside out too!

Nothing untoward on the inside of the tire either.

 

[Uber Schnoz]

I took it in to the local Subaru dealer today. $22 later and they inspected and remounted the tire for me. No damage or anything suspicious. Funny enough, the other three tires have 8/32" of tread left. The backwards one has 9/32" of tread. Go figure.

 

[Luis Padilla]

Crap,let me go check mine.??‍♂

 

[BroDoze]

I took it in to the local Subaru dealer today. $22 later and they inspected and remounted the tire for me. No damage or anything suspicious. Funny enough, the other three tires have 8/32" of tread left. The backwards one has 9/32" of tread. Go figure.

Factory tires? They shouldn’t have charged you - this is a warranty issue.

That said, I better go check mine.

 

[Kevin Williams]

Yeah, Subaru put it on backwards (as long as you didn't have it repaired or anything) so they should remount it for free.

 

[NotAClunker]

I took it in to the local Subaru dealer today. $22 later and they inspected and remounted the tire for me. No damage or anything suspicious. Funny enough, the other three tires have 8/32" of tread left. The backwards one has 9/32" of tread. Go figure.

I stand corrected then: somebody was THAT dumb.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

The OP's vehicle is used so perhaps the dealer service was hiding behind that and charging the fee to correct, but if it was installed that way at the factory and those are the original OEM tires, then, well...I'd ask for my money back for the fix. Are the OEM Faulken's directional?

 

[Uber Schnoz]

Yeah, I didn't push the issue since I bought it used and have no way to prove what was or wasn't done to the car over the past year.

 

[tuanvo]

The OP's vehicle is used so perhaps the dealer service was hiding behind that and charging the fee to correct, but if it was installed that way at the factory and those are the original OEM tires, then, well...I'd ask for my money back for the fix. Are the OEM Faulken's directional?

It's asymmetrical but not directional.
What’s the Difference Between Directional, Asymmetrical and Symmetrical Tread Patterns? - Kal Tire

I also think it might have been serviced (re-balanced, patched, etc.) either at dealer or a tire shop. I would be very surprised if it was mounted wrong from the factory.

 

[AlexMcyD]

I took it in to the local Subaru dealer today. $22 later and they inspected and remounted the tire for me. No damage or anything suspicious. Funny enough, the other three tires have 8/32" of tread left. The backwards one has 9/32" of tread. Go figure.

They probably blew one out soon after taking the car and went to a tire shop not familiar with the requirements for direction on the Falkens. My 2 cents anyway.

 

[packout]

According to Tire Rack:

"An asymmetric pattern is designed to blend the requirements of dry grip and water dispersal/snow traction where the tread pattern changes across the face of the tire. An asymmetric tread pattern usually incorporates larger tread ribs/blocks on the outboard side to increase cornering stability on dry roads by offering greater contact area. This also helps to reduce tread squirm and heat buildup on the outside shoulder. The inboard side usually features smaller independent tread blocks to aid wet and/or winter traction when driving straight ahead. Tires featuring asymmetric tread patterns allow using multiple tire rotation patterns."

 

[TheAscestion]

According to Tire Rack:

"An asymmetric pattern is designed to blend the requirements of dry grip and water dispersal/snow traction where the tread pattern changes across the face of the tire. An asymmetric tread pattern usually incorporates larger tread ribs/blocks on the outboard side to increase cornering stability on dry roads by offering greater contact area. This also helps to reduce tread squirm and heat buildup on the outside shoulder. The inboard side usually features smaller independent tread blocks to aid wet and/or winter traction when driving straight ahead. Tires featuring asymmetric tread patterns allow using multiple tire rotation patterns."

The stock Falkens don't really exhibit it on their tread pattern, other than the inside is a tad different from the outside

A Nokian WR G4 (SUV) definitely exhibits this characteristic

 

[packout]

Factory tires? They shouldn’t have charged you - this is a warranty issue.

That said, I better go check mine.

This was a used Ascent with 13,000 miles so Subaru IMO had no liability or responsibility for the orientation of the tire unless there is documentation demonstrating that they installed that tire. How could anyone know if the previous owner did not themselves mount the tire incorrectly or have someone else do it?

The Subaru dealership could have offered the service for free as a way to bring you into the fold as a new customer, but they were no under any obligation.