Re: Very Strange Costco Tire Center experience (flat tire)

Oh master of rash statements - How can believing that your tires could
go flat in a few days get you killed? If you are qualified to drive a
car, then you should be smart enough to make sure your tires are
properly inflated.

What's really dumb (not to mention dangerous for your passengers,
other drivers and pedestrians) is driving around for months in a
vehicle in which the tires deflate by 5 PSI or more *per day* - geez.


On Mar 14, 7:38 am, "JoeSpareBedroom" <dishborea...@yahoo.com> wrote:[color=blue]
> Another vote for Ray O's diagnosis. I've got serious leakage problems with
> the aluminum alloy wheels on my Tacoma, due to corrosion. They'll go from 35
> psi down to 20 in two or three days just sitting in the driveway. But, my
> mechanic never lied and said this was a situation I should accept. The
> wheels will be dealt with next week when I get new tires. And, the vibration
> you're noticing is most likely a balance issue.
>
> About that Costco employee who said your situation was normal: There are
> customers who will believe him, and it could get them killed. Matter of
> fact, the AAA estimates that 60% of cars are driving around with
> underinflated tires. You'll be doing others a favor if you walk into the
> store, ask to speak to the manager, and tell him/her that the guy in the
> tire department is either a habitual liar, or totally incompetent. Get that
> person fired. Write to the company's CEO, if necessary.[/color]

"Mark" <bogusmailmark@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1173885533.967832.261910@d57g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>
> On Mar 14, 7:38 am, "JoeSpareBedroom" <dishborea...@yahoo.com> wrote:[color=green]
>> Another vote for Ray O's diagnosis. I've got serious leakage problems
>> with
>> the aluminum alloy wheels on my Tacoma, due to corrosion. They'll go from
>> 35
>> psi down to 20 in two or three days just sitting in the driveway. But, my
>> mechanic never lied and said this was a situation I should accept. The
>> wheels will be dealt with next week when I get new tires. And, the
>> vibration
>> you're noticing is most likely a balance issue.
>>
>> About that Costco employee who said your situation was normal: There are
>> customers who will believe him, and it could get them killed. Matter of
>> fact, the AAA estimates that 60% of cars are driving around with
>> underinflated tires. You'll be doing others a favor if you walk into the
>> store, ask to speak to the manager, and tell him/her that the guy in the
>> tire department is either a habitual liar, or totally incompetent. Get
>> that
>> person fired. Write to the company's CEO, if necessary.[/color]
>
>[/color]

[color=blue]
> Oh master of rash statements - How can believing that your tires could
> go flat in a few days get you killed? If you are qualified to drive a
> car, then you should be smart enough to make sure your tires are
> properly inflated.[/color]

"Believing" is not the issue. Actually having it happen is dangerous. Put
these facts together, and there's your answer:

1) According to my mechanic, it's not normal for corrosion-based leaks to
cause a totally flat tire in a few days. It would be good if it did, because
at least that would be immediately noticeable. But, the pressure usually
ends up in the middle somewhere, low enough that the tire doesn't work
correctly on wet or snowy roads, but not visually noticeable, hence the
advice to never say "They look fine - no need to check them".

2) Many drivers are oblivious to changes in their vehicle's performance.
They'll drive for months with 20-ish pounds in their tires. Maybe they'll
find out about the problem when they hydroplane and end up in a ditch. Or,
twice a year, when they go for an oil change, assuming their mechanic takes
a minute to check tire pressure.

60% of cars have underinflated tires.


[color=blue]
> What's really dumb (not to mention dangerous for your passengers,
> other drivers and pedestrians) is driving around for months in a
> vehicle in which the tires deflate by 5 PSI or more *per day* - geez.[/color]

It's checked every 48 hours, no matter what. There are reasons for waiting
to deal with it, which I will not go into here.

"Mark" <bogusmailmark@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1173888442.316540.264340@l75g2000hse.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>
> On Mar 14, 11:56 am, "JoeSpareBedroom" <dishborea...@yahoo.com> wrote:[color=green]
>> "Mark" <bogusmailm...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:1173885533.967832.261910@d57g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>[color=darkred]
>> > On Mar 14, 7:38 am, "JoeSpareBedroom" <dishborea...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> >> Another vote for Ray O's diagnosis. I've got serious leakage problems
>> >> with
>> >> the aluminum alloy wheels on my Tacoma, due to corrosion. They'll go
>> >> from
>> >> 35
>> >> psi down to 20 in two or three days just sitting in the driveway. But,
>> >> my
>> >> mechanic never lied and said this was a situation I should accept. The
>> >> wheels will be dealt with next week when I get new tires. And, the
>> >> vibration
>> >> you're noticing is most likely a balance issue.[/color]
>>[color=darkred]
>> >> About that Costco employee who said your situation was normal: There
>> >> are
>> >> customers who will believe him, and it could get them killed. Matter
>> >> of
>> >> fact, the AAA estimates that 60% of cars are driving around with
>> >> underinflated tires. You'll be doing others a favor if you walk into
>> >> the
>> >> store, ask to speak to the manager, and tell him/her that the guy in
>> >> the
>> >> tire department is either a habitual liar, or totally incompetent. Get
>> >> that
>> >> person fired. Write to the company's CEO, if necessary.[/color]
>>[color=darkred]
>> > Oh master of rash statements - How can believing that your tires could
>> > go flat in a few days get you killed? If you are qualified to drive a
>> > car, then you should be smart enough to make sure your tires are
>> > properly inflated.[/color]
>>
>> "Believing" is not the issue. Actually having it happen is dangerous. Put
>> these facts together, and there's your answer:
>>
>> 1) According to my mechanic, it's not normal for corrosion-based leaks to
>> cause a totally flat tire in a few days. It would be good if it did,
>> because
>> at least that would be immediately noticeable. But, the pressure usually
>> ends up in the middle somewhere, low enough that the tire doesn't work
>> correctly on wet or snowy roads, but not visually noticeable, hence the
>> advice to never say "They look fine - no need to check them".
>>
>> 2) Many drivers are oblivious to changes in their vehicle's performance.
>> They'll drive for months with 20-ish pounds in their tires. Maybe they'll
>> find out about the problem when they hydroplane and end up in a ditch.
>> Or,
>> twice a year, when they go for an oil change, assuming their mechanic
>> takes
>> a minute to check tire pressure.
>>
>> 60% of cars have underinflated tires.
>>[color=darkred]
>> > What's really dumb (not to mention dangerous for your passengers,
>> > other drivers and pedestrians) is driving around for months in a
>> > vehicle in which the tires deflate by 5 PSI or more *per day* - geez.[/color]
>>
>> It's checked every 48 hours, no matter what. There are reasons for
>> waiting
>> to deal with it, which I will not go into here.- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -[/color]
>
>[/color]
[color=blue]
> If *believing* is not the issue, then why did you say (and I quote),
> "There are customers who will believe him, and it could get them
> killed.". Do you actually read what you post? The manager's silly
> claim didn't make the tire go flat. The claim was totally incorrect,
> but not "dangerous", as are YOUR actions continuing to drive around on
> faulty tires/wheels.
>[/color]


OK - I didn't explain that clearly. If the service writer makes the
situation sound normal, it may lead certain types of drivers to NOT get the
problem attended to quickly. So, they're driving around on soft tires. THAT
could get them killed.

As far as my tires, I've already explained how often they're checked, so you
stop pretending not to have seen that information. Ideal pressure for these
tires (Nokian WR) is 34 on my truck. The worst case situation is that I
drive a mile to the grocery store with 29psi, if I don't have a few minutes
to pump them up at home. They've never been driven lower than that. I'm
keeping the tires on for another week because they're excellent in snow.
When the warm weather tires go on, that's when the corrosion will be dealt
with.