We had the front tyres on our Sportage replaced and Kia says this has broken the four-wheel drive system?

We had the front tyres only replaced by a local tyre company on our Kia Sportage. Kia says the difference in tread between front and back has broken the four-wheel drive system and will cost £2k to repair. They say they see 10 cars a week with this issue. I can’t see anything in the car manual about it. How can they get away with not putting it in the manual? Shouldn’t tyre companies know and warn customers? I’m staggered.

Asked on 13 April 2019 by Mike Sargent

Answered by Honest John
This warning is something I repeat to readers at least twice a day. The basic rule for an automatically engaged 4WD system is that all tyres must be the same make and type and must not differ in tread depth by more than 3mm. On a Sportage where front and rear tyres are the same, this can be evened out by swapping the tyres front to back every 10,000 miles.
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