Make sure the position really is the same
Use one description of the wheel position throughout the record, with left and right defined in the direction of travel. Note any known tyre rotation, replacement or axle work. A photograph of a tyre without a position or date can easily be linked to the wrong event.
Do not inspect an inaccessible position yourself or crawl under the vehicle to complete the history. Mark missing information as unknown. Existing job sheets and tyre records may be enough to establish the sequence, and the technician can identify any gaps that matter.
Separate findings from earlier suggestions
MICHELIN describes several factors that can be involved in uneven truck tyre wear. Similar-looking patterns do not justify choosing one cause from an image.
Copy the actual findings from previous work records rather than shortening them to a remembered explanation. If someone previously suggested alignment or pressure as a possibility, keep it labelled as a suggestion unless a recorded assessment established it. Include the work that was completed, not just what was discussed.
Add the use of the vehicle between events
Record known changes in the vehicle’s duties, typical loading or routes. Keep any available pressure records with their dates and conditions. These details give the workshop context; they do not prove that a change caused the wear.
The Dutch RDW explains that an APK roadworthiness inspection is a snapshot and does not replace maintenance. A recent inspection result therefore does not answer a new complaint about a recurring wear pattern.
Sources: RDW: tips voor een veilig voertuig
Agree what the next record should contain
Build the next entry around the same wheel-position label used in the earlier records. Keep the technician’s finding distinct from the work completed and from anything still to be investigated. This allows the next reader to see whether the complaint repeated after a replacement, a position change or another recorded intervention.
If tyre damage is suspected, arrange qualified assessment of safe movement before planning a workshop journey. Do not continue driving to produce another comparison point. An incomplete history can be labelled as incomplete.
- Earlier event: date, wheel position and recorded finding.
- Work completed: job reference and the exact work listed.
- Changes between events: documented tyre or position changes and known differences in use.
- Current event: date, the same position label and the observation now reported.
- Still open: the question the next assessment needs to address.
Bring the dated history and ask for an assessment of the recurring complaint, with the relevant findings recorded against the correct wheel position.
Call the workshop