kamcad Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Well I had my first flat tire in 20 years last night. What a nightmare!! Had to have it towed because a ½ inch dia bolt 4 inches long was sticking out of the middle of the tire pattern!! After 4 hours at the Ford dealer I was told that all 4 tires had to be replaced because the other 3 tire diameters were 3/32 smaller. I have 20,000 miles on the tires. Did I just get scammed??? The guy said if all tires are not the exact size it could damage the AWD components. I had my wife get on the internet while I was at the dealer and she did find some discussions on having to buy all new tires for AWD vehicles. Has anyone else gone through this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Well I had my first flat tire in 20 years last night. What a nightmare!! Had to have it towed because a ½ inch dia bolt 4 inches long was sticking out of the middle of the tire pattern!! After 4 hours at the Ford dealer I was told that all 4 tires had to be replaced because the other 3 tire diameters were 3/32 smaller. I have 20,000 miles on the tires. Did I just get scammed??? The guy said if all tires are not the exact size it could damage the AWD components. I had my wife get on the internet while I was at the dealer and she did find some discussions on having to buy all new tires for AWD vehicles. Has anyone else gone through this? You didn't want to use your spare tire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Well I had my first flat tire in 20 years last night. What a nightmare!! Had to have it towed because a ½ inch dia bolt 4 inches long was sticking out of the middle of the tire pattern!! After 4 hours at the Ford dealer I was told that all 4 tires had to be replaced because the other 3 tire diameters were 3/32 smaller. I have 20,000 miles on the tires. Did I just get scammed??? The guy said if all tires are not the exact size it could damage the AWD components. I had my wife get on the internet while I was at the dealer and she did find some discussions on having to buy all new tires for AWD vehicles. Has anyone else gone through this? It is definitely a concern because the wheel speeds will be different fooling the PCM into thinking that one or more wheels are slipping and engaging TC and/or redistributing torque. The question is whether 3/32 of an inch is enough of a difference to cause that problem or not. I think not but I'm no expert. And I had the same question - what was wrong with the spare? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOFSTEEL Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 You didn't want to use your spare tire? +1 You could have thrown on your spare and drove it to a tire shop. Yes, the difference "could" cause damage to your AWD system over time. If it were me I would have searched for a used tire online or at least researched for the best deal on tires before I bought. Chances are the dealer really bent you over because of your situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igcitng Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 It is a considerable amount of tread, but couldn't they have put it on the back? That is an expensive flat tire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ablb Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 I would have gone to a tire store (Discount tire). Will you get free rotation every 5k miles at your dealer? Discount does. Question for the Board. Do tire stores still turn down tires so that all 4 are the same? If they do you would have only had to buy 1. But hay now you have 4 brand new tires. :shades: ab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ablb Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 It is a considerable amount of tread, but couldn't they have put it on the back? That is an expensive flat tire. It's a AWD. 3/32 X 3.14 X 1 revolution = not a considerable amount. ab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOFSTEEL Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 I would have gone to a tire store (Discount tire).Will you get free rotation every 5k miles at your dealer? Discount does. A tire rotation would be the least of my concerns when getting 4 new tires. The overall price of the tire of my choice would be the number one factor. I do the tire rotations myself because it gives me an excuse to pull each wheel for a good wash and a coat or two of wax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ablb Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 (edited) A tire rotation would be the least of my concerns when getting 4 new tires.The overall price of the tire of my choice would be the number one factor. I do the tire rotations myself because it gives me an excuse to pull each wheel for a good wash and a coat or two of wax. I do that once a year maybe 18 months, but the rest of the time it's off to Discount. Once to the MKX. ab Edited December 3, 2009 by ablb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamcad Posted December 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 +1 You could have thrown on your spare and drove it to a tire shop. Yes, the difference "could" cause damage to your AWD system over time. If it were me I would have searched for a used tire online or at least researched for the best deal on tires before I bought. Chances are the dealer really bent you over because of your situation. 1- Got the flat at night, in a driving rain storm on a 5 lane highway. 2- Ford auto service would not change the tire there. Too dangerous, had to tow. 3- Flat tire had a ½” hole in it. Could not patch tire. 4- Told Dealer to put spare on and that is when he said “only if the tire is the same dia” 5- Three hours later when he got around to looking at my tire did he come back and say I need all 4 tires. 6- He sold me the tires for $100 ea including balancing. Michelin P245/60R-18 In retrospect I would have told him to go ahead and put the spare tire on. Go home and do some research before replacing all four tires. But after a 5 hour ordeal, all I wanted to do was go home!! Thanks for the responses. Live and Learn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 1- Got the flat at night, in a driving rain storm on a 5 lane highway. 2- Ford auto service would not change the tire there. Too dangerous, had to tow. 3- Flat tire had a ½” hole in it. Could not patch tire. 4- Told Dealer to put spare on and that is when he said “only if the tire is the same dia” 5- Three hours later when he got around to looking at my tire did he come back and say I need all 4 tires. 6- He sold me the tires for $100 ea including balancing. Michelin P245/60R-18 In retrospect I would have told him to go ahead and put the spare tire on. Go home and do some research before replacing all four tires. But after a 5 hour ordeal, all I wanted to do was go home!! Thanks for the responses. Live and Learn I don't know what type of Michelins he put on, but at $100 each you shouldn't feel so bad, you got a great deal. Cheapest Michelin on Tire Rack in that size is $168 and that doesn't include mounting and balancing. Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamcad Posted December 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 I don't know what type of Michelins he put on, but at $100 each you shouldn't feel so bad, you got a great deal. Cheapest Michelin on Tire Rack in that size is $168 and that doesn't include mounting and balancing. Congrats! That's good to know. Makes me feel a little better. They are MICHELIN LATITUDE 245/60/18. Maybe he felt bad for screwing me over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igcitng Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Sounds like a trick they would play on a girl. :angry: I find it odd that it was SO worriesome to that guy. Last month I had my tires rotated for the first time and it immediately started pulling to the left really bad. Took it to another dealer and they had the nerve to tell me it was within Ford standards when I could barely keep it driving straight. So I guess the need is based on them selling something. And I understand your frustration. All of the flat tires I have had have been in bitter cold weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOFSTEEL Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 That's good to know. Makes me feel a little better. They are MICHELIN LATITUDE 245/60/18. Maybe he felt bad for screwing me over. ... or maybe he had some lying around the shop that had been pulled from another car. $100 for latitudes are under cost so I highly doubt they were new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
end Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Any ford guys know if putting the mismatched tire on one of the back wheels would help minimize the risk of damage? My thought is that since the rear doesn't get engaged that often it doesn't matter as much.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdgeNut Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 (edited) 3/32" of tread depth is on the significant side of things, but might not be much different than the mismatch between the mini-spare and a brand new tire. For future reference, you probably would have been fine driving around a little while on the new, mismatched tire, but it could cause some stress on the AWD system in the long-term. For what it's worth, there's a local shop here that will grind down a tire to size for $15. All depends on how much usable tread you have left on the remaining tires. Edited December 4, 2009 by EdgeNut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will S. Posted December 5, 2009 Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 Just my .02, but I think you were had. 1. Check to see the manufacture date code on all of those tires. 2. New tires, any manufacturer, are out of round, right out of the mould, and may not even be exactly the same diameter. 3. The loaded radius of your tires with 20k mi is probably not 3/32" less than the new tire. I would have to see that the tire pressures were the same, and see how he measured it. 4. As someone else said, you could have bought one tire, and had it shaved to the diameter of the others. That being said, you now have new tires, so move on. I do hope that you did not pay a disposal fee to the dealer for 3 of those tires. His method of disposal will no doubt, be to sell them to someone as used tires with many miles left on them. As I said; just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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