Car serviced, tire pressures set wrong

[ladder13]

32 cold but when you get going you can easily pick up 3-5 pounds more per tire! Its fun to watch the dash display and watch the tire pressures move as the tires warm up..

Have a happy fourth, Dave

I know. We have those big fat rubbers that heat up quick.

I don't run too hard though, we'll only when I'm solo, my wife doesn't like the louder mufflers.

Good thing I have the tuneable factory mufflers.

Stay safe.

 

[Jack Flash]

Re: the OP, any time I have a shop touch my tires, I try to set it up so I drive home and park the car for the day. The next morning when they're cold, I check the tires for proper inflation.

If they're overinflated a little, it's really not much effort to let a little air out to get it right. If they're underinflated that's more work but at least I know when I'm done they're right.

 

[LVSteve]

the factory specs in manual + on door are usually too low to give a softer ride - most techs will set them higher to improve tire life + handling - check the inflation specs on tires themselves { different brands have different specs for same size tires }+ set them to higher side of specs -

Sorry, but I consider that an urban legend that fell off the back of the Ford Explorer/Bridgestone debacle. Car manufacturers can't afford to do that any more. In fact, they are more likely to jack up the pressures to game the EPA mileage tests.

One of the motoring magazines found that out after a few weeks driving a long term vehicle and getting their fillings shaken out by tires that clearly looked over pressured. The depths of the manual revealed a "comfort" set of pressures that improved the ride drastically but didn't affect the handling. IIRC the vehicle was a Jaguar F-Pace.

The handling of my car was compromised by the overinflation. The steering became major league twitchy and it felt like the front and rear of the car were no longer in sync. The fact the ride was trashed as well is just icing on the cake.

Another example. A couple of years ago I was given a Range Rover Evoque as a loaner with grossly overinflated tires. My best description of the handling is imagine a 15-year old in her first pair of stilettoes and add three glasses of wine. When you looked from the back of the vehicle you could visibly see that only the center of the tread was hitting the road.

 

[Mike 139]

Dealerships, like everything else, have changed over time. They used to hire Trained Mechanics who cared about their work.... In today's world,when you have a complaint, Service managers/ Shop Foreman will ask you. " You know how hard it is to find someone with a good driver license that can pass a drug test and background check.?"

Air guns/ Impact wrenches normally run 200 lbs up to 500 @ 90 psi.... Some techs have Torque Sticks, which are different colors for various ft. Lb. ratings...They are 1/2 drive extensions that plug onto the Impact gun and the opposite end is the size of the Lug Nut.....Sets are available from Mac and Snap-on....The Professional Mechanics have these...If they don't have a set, they're supposed to run em down snug and get out a Clicker Torque wrench, set it at the proper number at the bottom of the handle and tighten the Lugs to spec. @ which time there will be an audible "click".

 

[LVSteve]

Maybe the college grad that checks the tire pressure thinks the sticker on your foreign mfg car door reads the tire pressure in Celsius...
and the shop's compressor simply converts it to Fahrenheit/psi and so that's how it reads out on your USA tire gauge.

Well, if you graduate in macrame that can happen.

 

[LVSteve]

Info on the door sticker is only good as long as OE tires are on the car.

If the tires have been replaced with another size or brand ..... gotta go by what's printed on the TIRE.

That is so wrong I barely know where to start. The pressure marked on the tire is the maximum it can take with a given load. In theory you can work back from the corner weight and the value of the tire and come up with a workable pressure. But that doesn't take into account the other factors in tire construction that affect how a car rides and handles.

Just because you can fit a particular brand of tire on a given car doesn't mean you should. Those who build high end cars spend billions getting this stuff correct, your Discount Tire tech doesn't.

 

[LVSteve]

Re: the OP, any time I have a shop touch my tires, I try to set it up so I drive home and park the car for the day. The next morning when they're cold, I check the tires for proper inflation.

If they're overinflated a little, it's really not much effort to let a little air out to get it right. If they're underinflated that's more work but at least I know when I'm done they're right.

Sadly, my problem is that the fronts were wrong by 25% and the rears by over 15%. That's unacceptable.

I reset them this morning before the Sun got onto the driveway.

 

[DeathGrip]

Lot's of mechanics or service managers look your car up on their computer and write you up for scheduled services W/O looking at the car part in question. You can't easily see some parts like a timing belt. The only way to know is to ask and even then the owner might not know. Some engines will self destruct if the belt goes.

A smart service writer will tell you that it's scheduled maintenance. Just tell them if you've done it already.

I always wrote cars up after confirming what I could visually. Safety before maintenance, always.

I've turned many $20 oil changes into lots of honest work. The money is there and you don't have to be a dirt bag.

Most tire and oil change guys will never become mechanics. We always watched them like a hawk. The best shop I worked in didn't have oil changers. The tire guy only did tires and was required to use the proper torque.

 

[schutzen-jager]

My vette calls for 30 psi, which I feel make the car too "soft", so I run 32. Grips and handles much better.

will increase tire life also -

 

[Steve912]

Sorry, but I consider that an urban legend that fell off the back of the Ford Explorer/Bridgestone debacle.

Nope. The placard's kinda like an idiot light--
designed for the lowest common denominator
operator.

And the Exploder debacle was underinflation, not over.

If you keep the comfy OEM touring tires, the placard will
apply because it was printed for *them*.

If you get more performance oriented skins, they usually
take higher pressure and have higher max pressures.

I usually run ~20% below sidewall max, adjusted for
vehicle F/R weight displacement. Running at placard
pressures feels like dancing with a drunken fat woman.

 

[Telecaster]

I have heard that dealer service departments have to keep parts in a locked room with a trusted employee to dispense them to the techs, due to theft.

Also that dealer profit comes more from service than car sales. Just as gas stations make money from the convenience store, not gas sales.

 

[ladder13]

will increase tire life also -

At $2000+ a set it matters. Oh well, you gotta pay to play either way.

 

[schutzen-jager]

Sorry, but I consider that an urban legend that fell off the back of the Ford Explorer/Bridgestone debacle. Car manufacturers can't afford to do that any more. In fact, they are more likely to jack up the pressures to game the EPA mileage tests.

One of the motoring magazines found that out after a few weeks driving a long term vehicle and getting their fillings shaken out by tires that clearly looked over pressured. The depths of the manual revealed a "comfort" set of pressures that improved the ride drastically but didn't affect the handling. IIRC the vehicle was a Jaguar F-Pace.

The handling of my car was compromised by the overinflation. The steering became major league twitchy and it felt like the front and rear of the car were no longer in sync. The fact the ride was trashed as well is just icing on the cake.

Another example. A couple of years ago I was given a Range Rover Evoque as a loaner with grossly overinflated tires. My best description of the handling is imagine a 15-year old in her first pair of stilettoes and add three glasses of wine. When you looked from the back of the vehicle you could visibly see that only the center of the tread was hitting the road.

54 years as a new car dealer parts + service director + i gonna stick with my story ! - fyi the mpg ratings are performed under controlled conditions + not when in possession of consumer , thus the disclaimer that appears on every new vehicle mpg declaration -

 

[df06]

Had my corvette in for oil change last week. They tried to sell me some deal where they spray some sort of sanitizer in all the vents, A/C, heater etc. I suppose to kill carona. Don't remember the cost, but is was expensive, told them no.

 

[Tubbsy]

Dealerships, like everything else, have changed over time. They used to hire Trained Mechanics who cared about their work.... In today's world,when you have a complaint, Service managers/ Shop Foreman will ask you. " You know how hard it is to find someone with a good driver license that can pass a drug test and background check.?"

Air guns/ Impact wrenches normally run 200 lbs up to 500 @ 90 psi.... Some techs have Torque Sticks, which are different colors for various ft. Lb. ratings...They are 1/2 drive extensions that plug onto the Impact gun and the opposite end is the size of the Lug Nut.....Sets are available from Mac and Snap-on....The Professional Mechanics have these...If they don't have a set, they're supposed to run em down snug and get out a Clicker Torque wrench, set it at the proper number at the bottom of the handle and tighten the Lugs to spec. @ which time there will be an audible "click".

At the last shop I worked for, we did both, hit em with the torque stick, then double check that they're torqued to spec with a torque wrench. Boy am I glad to be out of the business....

 

[ladder13]

Even Costco use torque sticks for heaven sake.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Ha. I replaced my cabin air filter and less than week later went in and they tried to tell me it needed replacing. I've half a mind to put a note on it next time that just says NO.

The first time a dealer tech showed me an air filter and cabin air filter in need of replacement I told him OK, go ahead. Then I noticed that the bill included both the retail price of the two filters, but also $25 labor charge for each replacement.

Think about that for a minute. If I said "no thanks" they would have to re-install the old dirty filters for nothing.

Now, when they tell me I need a new air filter I say "Thanks for checking, I have those at home and I'm happy to spend 3 minutes changing them out".

Refuse to be a victim every time you can do so.

See my post a few months ago about the dealer charging me for tire rotation without doing the work, and my correspondence with the dealership and the auto maker's customer service people (all of which was totally ignored for weeks). Long story short: I bought 4 new vehicles at that dealership over the past 18 years, and two within the past 5 years. Now they know that they will never see another dime from me or anyone who will listen to me about my experiences with them.

Incompetence, arrogance, and a "screw the customer" attitude don't go very far with me.

 

[fordson]

Not as bad as the dealership that didn't tighten the lugnuts- TWICE on Two Different Cars!!!

Needless to say, we don't go there anymore.

I have a story about lug nuts. One day when you all are really bored, let me know and I'll tell you my story.

 

[LVSteve]

Now, when they tell me I need a new air filter I say "Thanks for checking, I have those at home and I'm happy to spend 3 minutes changing them out".

There speaks somebody who hasn't changed the interior filter on a Mercedes GLC or a BMW 3 series.

 

[hittman77]

Even Costco use torque sticks for heaven sake.

And the Walmart here does too.

They use the stick, then drive the vehicle around the block a couple of times and re-check with a torque wrench.