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Tire/d of BS

Bannedjoe

Well-known member
I bought the wife a new car about 8 months ago.
I spent more for this car than anything I've ever bought in my life.
A few days after getting it home, the fancy schmancy tire pressure readout on the dash showed a low tire.
I aired it up.
A week later it's back down.
Air it up.
A week later.......

This goes on and on.
I keep reminding the wife to take it back in where we bought it, and have them fix the damn tire.

We're not going to make a special trip for it though. (100 mi RT) so it has to be on one of the bi-weekly or monthly trips to town for shopping, which the wife does.
I remind some more, but understand her not wanting to eat up an hour or two dealing with it, but on the same note, I'm tired of having to fire up the compressor, drag out the hose and air it up.

I forgot....I didn't have time.....I get it.

Last week, the tires were due for rotation. I pleaded, please take the car back to the stealership, get your tires rotated, and get that damn tire fixed!

So she did.

It took them over an hour to fix the tire and do the rotation.
There was a nail in it.

The next day, one of the tires is losing air.

Could it be they didn't do a good repair on it?
Could be.
Could it be she picked up another nail?
Could be.

What are the odds that the leaking tire is in the same position as the one we were having problems with?
What are the odds that they did a shit job, and didn't even do the rotation?

Having to do shit over and over again until someone gets it right just pisses me off to no end.

And no, the wife didn't lie. She gave me the bill.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
A lot of tire places don't do a very good job on patching tires. They won't use plugs anymore. I prefer plugs.

Tire pressure sensors are the bane of my existence. I hate them.

I got so tired of dealing with tire issues, I bought a wheel balancer and manual tire changer. I do all my own tire stuff now. Depending on the vehicle it is a bit of a workout but at least I only have myself to blame for bad patches and all the other crap.
 

Bannedjoe

Well-known member
If
A lot of tire places don't do a very good job on patching tires. They won't use plugs anymore. I prefer plugs.

Tire pressure sensors are the bane of my existence. I hate them.

I got so tired of dealing with tire issues, I bought a wheel balancer and manual tire changer. I do all my own tire stuff now. Depending on the vehicle it is a bit of a workout but at least I only have myself to blame for bad patches and all the other crap.
If I could afford to get into one of those brand new high tech changer/balancers that are almost robotic I would, but the best I could probably do is something from the folks at hijacked freight, and I'd probably kill myself trying to muscle shit around.

I kinda like having the tire sensors. My wife is somewhat mechanically inclined, as she used to help me piggyback big rigs, and was familiar with some mechanical aspects and got right in there with me turning wrenches and all, and she even drove 4 semi tractors all strung together.
But since then, I think anymore she just gets in her car, shuts the windows, turns up the stereo and drives.

Her last car was a Jeep GC.
One day we went somewhere together in it, I was driving.
We got stuck in really slow traffic, and I rolled the window down.
I began hearing a scraping kinda crunchy sound.
I asked, how long has that been going on?
She said, I don't know.

It turned out the transfer case was bone dry, and had pretty much devoured itself.

The mechanical issue wasn't really her fault though.
I think the gang at Jerky lube forgot to refill it, or maybe a seal went, no telling, but for now, I want her car to have every idiot light, bell or whistle that it can.
 
Last edited:

m1west

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
A lot of tire places don't do a very good job on patching tires. They won't use plugs anymore. I prefer plugs.

Tire pressure sensors are the bane of my existence. I hate them.

I got so tired of dealing with tire issues, I bought a wheel balancer and manual tire changer. I do all my own tire stuff now. Depending on the vehicle it is a bit of a workout but at least I only have myself to blame for bad patches and all the other crap.
I also hate the tire sensors, one just went bad on the wife's car. Cost $106.00 and took them 2 hours to do it, seems they had trouble programing it to the Computer. The only reason I fixed it was to turn the wife mouth off.
 

mla2ofus

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
They oughta have a way to shut that "handy" little feature off in the vehicle ECM. Or else have them trigger at 20 psi. I'll bet the tire shops just love 'em!!
 

m1west

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
My understanding how it came about from my car insurance broker is. Remember years ago the ford trucks that were having blowouts and then they rolled most of the time. It seems that the tires were under inflated when they blew out for the weight of the truck. The fix? you guessed it. The fucking tire sensor. How bout better tires that don't blow out if they are a little low ??
 

Bannedjoe

Well-known member
My understanding how it came about from my car insurance broker is. Remember years ago the ford trucks that were having blowouts and then they rolled most of the time. It seems that the tires were under inflated when they blew out for the weight of the truck. The fix? you guessed it. The fucking tire sensor. How bout better tires that don't blow out if they are a little low ??
They just don't make 'em like they used to.
I have a few old tires around on some pretty old vehicles and trailers.
We're talking 30 year old tires.
I wouldn't set out across the country with them, but they still hold air and go 'round and 'round.

I knew a guy who worked for a tire place back during the Ford Explorer/Firestone fiasco.
They were swamped with folks responding to the recall, they could barely keep enough tires coming through the place to meet the demand.
Oddly, at some point someone noticed an "imbalance" ;) and began paying attention.

In the end it turned out there was a group of folks from south O the border coming at night and stealing the "defective" tires.
They ended up back on cars in mexico, which were then driven back across into the US to receive the new replacements.

Once they figured it out, they began drilling holes in the sidewalls with holesaws to make them useless.
 

Kaper

Member
I just recently brought a tire from my John Deere 318 garden tractor to Discount Tire because it had a slow leak and I wanted them to put a tube in it. They told me they couldn't work on the tire because it was too old. Apparently there's a law. It's the original tire (37 years old) but it's on a garden tractor and shows literally no wear at all. I believe it was the stem leaking. I said what difference could it make, I don't drive the damn thing on a road, only use it to cut my grass. They refused to do any repair so it ended up costing me $110 for a new tire. Aren't modern times wonderful ?
 

m1west

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I tried to order a morse taper drill bit for my lathe in 1-15/16". I need a #4 taper and there are only 2 places I could find it. One didn't answer and I will try Monday, the other answered and when I gave them my address they told me they could not ship it to Ca. WTF a drill bit?? No explanation, just can't ship it to Ca.
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
GOLD Site Supporter
I know guys that have spent thousands trying to get the TPM's to work. I'm one of them
On my Chrysler Crossfire the TPM's a Mercedes. But Mercedes won't work on them. And Chrysler dealers don't know how. The tire shop i use said they could so I bout the hardware from Mercedes.

But Mercedes won't give them the codes. So, I fixed it with a piece of black tape over the light.

I have no problem checking my tires before I start the car. Been doing such, before starting the car in the morning, for over 60 years now.
 

300 H and H

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Aluminum wheels are a problem as well.
Porosity in that Aluminum can cause a slow leak as well. After ruining a couple of tires on a Crossfire we had, and the daughters drove, I determined it had to be a leak in the wheel itself. Some judicious sanding of the inner wheel/rim surface, and an entire can of clear pain, applied in several coats between the rim beads, a new tire and that issue was finally solved. :thumbup:
Aluminum wheels can be the problem...

Regards, Kirk
 

waybomb

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I know guys that have spent thousands trying to get the TPM's to work. I'm one of them
On my Chrysler Crossfire the TPM's a Mercedes. But Mercedes won't work on them. And Chrysler dealers don't know how. The tire shop i use said they could so I bout the hardware from Mercedes.

But Mercedes won't give them the codes. So, I fixed it with a piece of black tape over the light.

I have no problem checking my tires before I start the car. Been doing such, before starting the car in the morning, for over 60 years now.
Frank
See if a local MB indy shop has Mercedes SDS software; they should.
They just may be able to get the senders to be recognized, and working.
 

Bannedjoe

Well-known member
If
I just recently brought a tire from my John Deere 318 garden tractor to Discount Tire because it had a slow leak and I wanted them to put a tube in it. They told me they couldn't work on the tire because it was too old. Apparently there's a law. It's the original tire (37 years old) but it's on a garden tractor and shows literally no wear at all. I believe it was the stem leaking. I said what difference could it make, I don't drive the damn thing on a road, only use it to cut my grass. They refused to do any repair so it ended up costing me $110 for a new tire. Aren't modern times wonderful ?
If you want a REAL challenge, try to get a tire replaced on a split rim!
 

Ceee

Well-known member
Site Supporter
I also hate the tire sensors, one just went bad on the wife's car. Cost $106.00 and took them 2 hours to do it, seems they had trouble programing it to the Computer. The only reason I fixed it was to turn the wife mouth off.
Sorry for the bump from the past.

Once you spent the $106 and spent the 2 hours down there, is it still working correctly?
I don't mind spending the $106 if they're really going to fix the thing.
I did a chart earlier of the manual PSI readings vs the sensor readings for my tires. It is just totally screwed up.
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
GOLD Site Supporter
Frank
See if a local MB indy shop has Mercedes SDS software; they should.
They just may be able to get the senders to be recognized, and working.
I missed this earlier.

The Local MB shop won't touch my Crossfire. That's the issue. And m response was " Then don't expect me to come here for a new Benz."

However the Crossfire Forum has links to guys who will fix the issue. They are hundreds of miles away but likely worth the trip. Meanwhile the black tape has functioned flawlessly. One of the few parts of the car that has given me no trouble at all.
 

Ceee

Well-known member
Site Supporter
I did a chart earlier of the manual PSI readings vs the sensor readings for my tires. It is just totally screwed up.
I called the dealer, told them what was going on, and was told that it was probably just a re-learn thing and wouldn't cost anything and would only take a couple of minutes. I'm going to try that tomorrow.
 

CrakHoBarbie

Active member
I bought the wife a new car about 8 months ago.
I spent more for this car than anything I've ever bought in my life.
A few days after getting it home, the fancy schmancy tire pressure readout on the dash showed a low tire.
I aired it up.
A week later it's back down.
Air it up.
A week later.......

This goes on and on.
I keep reminding the wife to take it back in where we bought it, and have them fix the damn tire.

We're not going to make a special trip for it though. (100 mi RT) so it has to be on one of the bi-weekly or monthly trips to town for shopping, which the wife does.
I remind some more, but understand her not wanting to eat up an hour or two dealing with it, but on the same note, I'm tired of having to fire up the compressor, drag out the hose and air it up.

I forgot....I didn't have time.....I get it.

Last week, the tires were due for rotation. I pleaded, please take the car back to the stealership, get your tires rotated, and get that damn tire fixed!

So she did.

It took them over an hour to fix the tire and do the rotation.
There was a nail in it.

The next day, one of the tires is losing air.

Could it be they didn't do a good repair on it?
Could be.
Could it be she picked up another nail?
Could be.

What are the odds that the leaking tire is in the same position as the one we were having problems with?
What are the odds that they did a shit job, and didn't even do the rotation?

Having to do shit over and over again until someone gets it right just pisses me off to no end.

And no, the wife didn't lie. She gave me the bill.
Most dealerships warranty wear and/or manufacture defects. Nails are not covered. Just bite the bullet and you ( not your wife) take it to a mom & pop tire store (not a chain) have them find the leak and patch it from the inside. Do not have them plug it. Patching from the inside costs a little more, but they don't have a propensity to leak as the plugs do. You want to take it yourself because some places take advantage of females. Take it to the right place, then $25.00 and a half hour of your time, the problem will be fixed.
 

waybomb

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Franc
The guy that sold me the R129 SL600. left some stuff in the trunk for me. Brand new Bilstiens (these are the $400.00 each hydraulic) a new starter, and some other goodies, along with an Autel Mercedes diagnosic tool. I'll check it this weekend to see if it has the ability to do the TPMS system like my SDS does. If so, I'll mail it to you if you want, so you can do the programming yourself, then you can mail it back.
 

m1west

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Sorry for the bump from the past.

Once you spent the $106 and spent the 2 hours down there, is it still working correctly?
I don't mind spending the $106 if they're really going to fix the thing.
I did a chart earlier of the manual PSI readings vs the sensor readings for my tires. It is just totally screwed up.
Its still working
 

Ceee

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Its still working
Thanks for the reply. I'm going to see what happens tomorrow. I have this funny feeling that the dealer is going to look at it and tell me that the sensor needs to be replaced. Even if I do have to have it replaced for about a hundred bucks and it is really fixed, I'll be happy.
 
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