Just a comment on winter wheels. I elected to have Toyota sell / install a set of winter wheels and tires. The price was competitive with other shops.. and I expected some degree of compatibility with "Toyota".. NOT
They sold me a two hole pattern alloy wheel, fair enough but that required a new set of nuts.. Evidently the Toyota lug nuts would not fit the hole in the wheel... Included was an extension socket and a little plastic lever to pop the cover off.
It occurred to me that I better keep a set of the original nuts in case I need to use my spare, the new nuts will not fit the original wheels. This would have been something that my dealer should have told me I would think.
Then this evening my TPM came on, nothing obvious so I drove home, checked the pressure and found one at 25 psi. Decided to change it and take it in for a fix.
Surprise.... the extension socket that came with the new nuts is a different size than the wrench supplied by Toyota. Fortunately this was in my garage and I was able to find a suitable wrench... I would have been helpless on the side of the road.
Tomorrow I will have a word with my dealer.. but I would advise all those that have non Toyota wheels to check and confirm that you have all the tools required to change that flat.
My wheels use the same lugs my alloys use. What kind of alloys are they?
__________________ 2008 Highlander Sport V6 AWD, classic silver, black leather, Canadian version, 90 000 KM. 2009 Tacoma AC V6 4X4, SR5 w/ power package, timberland mica, beige cloth, 48 000 KM.
2002 Highlander Limited V6 4WD, black, tan leather, 134 000 KM (SOLD)
They sold me a two hole pattern alloy wheel, fair enough but that required a new set of nuts.. Evidently the Toyota lug nuts would not fit the hole in the wheel... Included was an extension socket and a little plastic lever to pop the cover off.
Sound like an aftermarket wheel. No OEM Toyota wheel I know of have dual-lug pattern. As with most aftermarket wheel, you got "tuner-style" lug nuts that require the use of a key/socket to remove them. I have a set of aftermarket 15" on our 02 Camry and it too use a special key/socket. The different is a quality brand usually have two different heads on the tool/key/socket to be more compatible with factory lug wrench. Yours doesn't seem to be the case. The dealership is not all at fault but they should provide you with a key/socket that works with the factory lug wrench.
My winter wheels are steel, so they definitely have different lugs than my OEM alloys (flat versus tapered). Because of this, in the winter, I carry 5 OEM lugs and a breaker bar with a properly sized socket for my winter wheels. I didn't realize this during my first winter, but luckily, I didn't need them.
__________________ 2009 Highlander Limited
2005 Corolla CE, Canadian Edition, Silver with grey interior, automatic transmission, CD changer, cruise control, rear bumper protector.
My point was.. in my opinion.. the dealer is not advising his customers of the consequences. Yes all it takes is a baggie, but unless someone informs you changing a simple flat can get complicated.
And.. for what it is worth, more dealer negligence. Took my flat tire in to fix, first they were going to charge me #34.xx, excuse me.. what about that all hazard warranty? Oops, yeah there it is in your file. Then, 15 minutes later I am paged, where is the concentric alignment ring? Beats me, I wondered about its absence and worried that I had missed removing it. Well we can not install your tire without it, have to charge you for a new kit.. $50.xx. Well being over a barrel so to speak I approved it and wondered out loud if the other tires had those rings. To show me the mechanic pulled another tire.. Nothing, then around the other side of the car.. no rings installed. With egg on their face, some excuse about possibly running out of rings when I had my tires installed and now they would be glad to provide a set.
I am not impressed, from a mechanical perspective I do not think the rings are important, the wheel centers on the studs and tapered nuts and I doubt the rings do much to align the wheel.
Still some engineer decided they were required and thus not installing them, or advising me to come back to have them installed, is negligence on their part.
Dealer incompetence at its best. And some wonder why I've never brought a car to the dealer for anything other than a recall or TSB.
Whats really sad is that this happened in Canada, where you'd think that the dealer would have more experience with owners with two sets of wheels. Snow tire smartness usually gets better as you travel in the northern direction. Dealer fail!
__________________
Preventive maintenance prevents mechanical problems. Ripe out your owners manual's maintenance schedule and start some common sense intervals for ALL fluids in your vehicle.
My point was.. in my opinion.. the dealer is not advising his customers of the consequences. Yes all it takes is a baggie, but unless someone informs you changing a simple flat can get complicated.
And.. for what it is worth, more dealer negligence. Took my flat tire in to fix, first they were going to charge me #34.xx, excuse me.. what about that all hazard warranty? Oops, yeah there it is in your file. Then, 15 minutes later I am paged, where is the concentric alignment ring? Beats me, I wondered about its absence and worried that I had missed removing it. Well we can not install your tire without it, have to charge you for a new kit.. $50.xx. Well being over a barrel so to speak I approved it and wondered out loud if the other tires had those rings. To show me the mechanic pulled another tire.. Nothing, then around the other side of the car.. no rings installed. With egg on their face, some excuse about possibly running out of rings when I had my tires installed and now they would be glad to provide a set.
I am not impressed, from a mechanical perspective I do not think the rings are important, the wheel centers on the studs and tapered nuts and I doubt the rings do much to align the wheel.
Still some engineer decided they were required and thus not installing them, or advising me to come back to have them installed, is negligence on their part.
Wow, that is brutal. Do you have another dealer you could bring your vehicle to instead? Sounds like these guys are morons.
The hubcentric rings DO in fact ensure that your wheel is perfectly centered on the hub since stud centering is not ideal and never perfect. The worse that will happen is vibration at different speeds. The rings are NOT designed to take load...just center while the lugs are tightened. I have the nylon ones on my vehicle ...they cost me $20 for 4 at a tire shop. Avoid the metal ones which will corrode and meld with your hub...making removal a real b!tch.
I have aftermarket alloys as well, and have the same issue. I always keep the the required tools in the back to remove the aftermarket lugs, as well as a spare set of OEM in case I need to change to my spare.
Good luck!
__________________ 09 Black HL Sport, loaded Cdn version: AWD, bk leather int.
Mods: tinted windows; upgraded headlight and fog bulbs; bug deflector; Ichiba 15mm bolt on wheel spacers, Pioneer FH-P8000BT head unit; Blaupunkt underseat sub, Viper 5901 security/auto start, stainless dual exhaust tip, upgraded horns.
My point was.. in my opinion.. the dealer is not advising his customers of the consequences. Yes all it takes is a baggie, but unless someone informs you changing a simple flat can get complicated.
And.. for what it is worth, more dealer negligence. Took my flat tire in to fix, first they were going to charge me #34.xx, excuse me.. what about that all hazard warranty? Oops, yeah there it is in your file. Then, 15 minutes later I am paged, where is the concentric alignment ring? Beats me, I wondered about its absence and worried that I had missed removing it. Well we can not install your tire without it, have to charge you for a new kit.. $50.xx. Well being over a barrel so to speak I approved it and wondered out loud if the other tires had those rings. To show me the mechanic pulled another tire.. Nothing, then around the other side of the car.. no rings installed. With egg on their face, some excuse about possibly running out of rings when I had my tires installed and now they would be glad to provide a set.
I am not impressed, from a mechanical perspective I do not think the rings are important, the wheel centers on the studs and tapered nuts and I doubt the rings do much to align the wheel.
Still some engineer decided they were required and thus not installing them, or advising me to come back to have them installed, is negligence on their part.
Wow. That would be worth a discussion with the general manager of the dealer, and if no satisfaction is gained there, Toyota Canada. And I thought my stew ere ip was bad.
In regards to the concentric alignment rings, I never had them offered to me and never had them installed. I never even heard tell of them until I read it on this forum recently.
__________________ 2009 Highlander Limited
2005 Corolla CE, Canadian Edition, Silver with grey interior, automatic transmission, CD changer, cruise control, rear bumper protector.
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Using winter wheels.. can you change a flat
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