New tire purchase issues and questions at Costco

[bobsr]

Hello,

My 2012 Yukon Denali needed 4 new 20" tires, and it appeared that a lot of members on this forum seemed to like the Michelin Defenders.

So Costco had a sale and I bought 4 of these tires. Michelin Defender LTX All Season 275/55R20 113T BSW MSPN 04845 with a 70,000 mile warranty. They were shipped from 4 different Costco Facilities to my local Costco in NH. I made an appointment to have them installed.

They also replace some parts on each the 4 tire sensors system with a $12 TPMS generic service pack. Total price including mount and balance, old tires disposal, nitrogen "air" etc was $797.88

The first thing I did when I picked up the vehicle was notice some of the material they use to "paint" the edge of the tire was on the sidewalls. Tires were not cleaned on the outside before I got the vehicle, but maybe most dealers don't do this.

I checked the air pressure on the system and found 3 at 34 LBS and one at 33#. Truck data plate says 32 lbs is recommended. So I asked them, and they said they always put in 2# more because it was warm inside the shop. They use nitrogen air for this.

Four days later one rear tire I was down to 28 and then to 25. So I went back and they pulled the tire off and said it had something to do with some "rust on the rim" and they said they smoothed it out and it should be fine now. So far it is. No charge for this.

Any comments on the tire pressure or the OEM chrome wheel rims issue?

Thanks

 

[wjburken]

Hello,

My 2012 Yukon Denali needed 4 new 20" tires, and it appeared that a lot of members on this forum seemed to like the Michelin Defenders.

So Costco had a sale and I bought 4 of these tires. Michelin Defender LTX All Season 275/55R20 113T BSW MSPN 04845 with a 70,000 mile warranty. They were shipped from 4 different Costco Facilities to my local Costco in NH. I made an appointment to have them installed.

They also replace some parts on each the 4 tire sensors system with a $12 TPMS generic service pack. Total price including mount and balance, old tires disposal, nitrogen "air" etc was $797.88

The first thing I did when I picked up the vehicle was notice some of the material they use to "paint" the edge of the tire was on the sidewalls. Tires were not cleaned on the outside before I got the vehicle, but maybe most dealers don't do this.

I checked the air pressure on the system and found 3 at 34 LBS and one at 33#. Truck data plate says 32 lbs is recommended. So I asked them, and they said they always put in 2# more because it was warm inside the shop. They use nitrogen air for this.

Four days later one rear tire I was down to 28 and then to 25. So I went back and they pulled the tire off and said it had something to do with some "rust on the rim" and they said they smoothed it out and it should be fine now. So far it is. No charge for this.

Any comments on the tire pressure or the OEM chrome wheel rims issue?

Thanks

I think what they did with the pressure was right in line with what I have experienced.

I had a lot of issues with pitting and corrosion on the bead of my 2007 Denali to the point that I went with aftermarket rims when I needed to get a new set of tires. Never had an issue with the aftermarket rims and I ran them on two different vehicles for a total of 200K miles. I now have a 2013 with the stock chrome rims and am starting to see a little bit of seepage of air on one of them. I am also seeing some of the chrome flaking/peeling on the interior edges of the rim. Will likely be going with aftermarket rims again when these tires need replaced.

 

[Oldewing]

I have the stock "shiney" rims on my unit, 20 chrome spokes. I have had to clean each wheel for junk building up on the rim and not letting the tire seal well. Quick sctoch brite pad did the trick.

 

[drakon543]

Hello,

My 2012 Yukon Denali needed 4 new 20" tires, and it appeared that a lot of members on this forum seemed to like the Michelin Defenders.

So Costco had a sale and I bought 4 of these tires. Michelin Defender LTX All Season 275/55R20 113T BSW MSPN 04845 with a 70,000 mile warranty. They were shipped from 4 different Costco Facilities to my local Costco in NH. I made an appointment to have them installed.

They also replace some parts on each the 4 tire sensors system with a $12 TPMS generic service pack. Total price including mount and balance, old tires disposal, nitrogen "air" etc was $797.88

The first thing I did when I picked up the vehicle was notice some of the material they use to "paint" the edge of the tire was on the sidewalls. Tires were not cleaned on the outside before I got the vehicle, but maybe most dealers don't do this.

I checked the air pressure on the system and found 3 at 34 LBS and one at 33#. Truck data plate says 32 lbs is recommended. So I asked them, and they said they always put in 2# more because it was warm inside the shop. They use nitrogen air for this.

Four days later one rear tire I was down to 28 and then to 25. So I went back and they pulled the tire off and said it had something to do with some "rust on the rim" and they said they smoothed it out and it should be fine now. So far it is. No charge for this.

Any comments on the tire pressure or the OEM chrome wheel rims issue?

Thanks

so yes alot of shops dont pay attention when they use that "paint"(i think its actually an adhesive) and dont bother cleaning it off. alot of times it just comes off on its own. as far as the tire pressure goes ive never known a shop to use calibrated tire gauges and even when buying one brand new they typically dont say anything about being calibrated. so in that regards ontop of the fact most tire gauges just use hash marks with numbers at 5 or 10 psi spots exactly hitting 32 isnt really feasible. 2-3 lbs difference isn't going to make a difference. last up is pure laziness on the shop as you should always check the sealing surface before mounting a set of tires. not damaging the face of a set of rims is big but the equipment used can and usually does mark the inside sealing surface leaving it exposed to the elements. it will end up pitted causing a poor seal after a while. now the problem is the best your going to get from any shop is a quick sanding or wire brush run around that edge to promote a good seal. otherwise the rim would have to be atleast partially stripped and atleast reclear coated every time that became an issue. double edged sword of having your tires changed as it has to get done. the shop can be as gentle as can be but its not perfect.

 

[petethepug]

I love Costco tire department. You got your money worth since they took ownership of corrosion on the rim(s). Our 08 had that occurring on two of the factory chrome clad 20” aluminum rims. If you’ve got AWD be sure to have the tires rotated every 5-6 Mo. The front wheels scrub more on AWD and wear more on the outside edges.

If you get a chance draw a chalk line from the left to right side of the tire face. Verify where the chalk is remaining and air the tire up if the tire is wearing chalk off at outside edges or visa versa if chalk is wearing off in the middle.

For the particular UHP tires we ran, 36# gave our 20’s even wear across the entire face of the tire.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[bobsr]

I think what they did with the pressure was right in line with what I have experienced.

I had a lot of issues with pitting and corrosion on the bead of my 2007 Denali to the point that I went with aftermarket rims when I needed to get a new set of tires. Never had an issue with the aftermarket rims and I ran them on two different vehicles for a total of 200K miles. I now have a 2013 with the stock chrome rims and am starting to see a little bit of seepage of air on one of them. I am also seeing some of the chrome flaking/peeling on the interior edges of the rim. Will likely be going with aftermarket rims again when these tires need replaced.

.

 

[bobsr]

Thanks for the reply. Quite a lot of good information here from these replies. Seems like rust is a real problem with these factory shiny 20" rims. Probably worse in the "salt in the Winter" States. But buying new rims is something I might have done 40 years ago, but these days at my age it's not high on my list. Shouldn't GM be doing a better job on original OEM Rims on these pricey vehicles?

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." One of my 98 year old Mother's sayings. Tough old Yankee, but no longer with us. But not because of Covid 19, fortunately. But still good advice.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

My 20" stock chrome wheels needed to be dressed up with a mild abrasive pad on an air tool, at the point where they contact the tire's rubber bead, prior to mounting my Michelin Defenders. This is not an uncommon issue, but it does require attention from the technician mounting the tires. If they are under the gun for quick turnarounds of tire changes productivity in the shop, they may not elect to perform this extra task.

 

[drakon543]

Thanks for the reply. Quite a lot of good information here from these replies. Seems like rust is a real problem with these factory shiny 20" rims. Probably worse in the "salt in the Winter" States. But buying new rims is something I might have done 40 years ago, but these days at my age it's not high on my list. Shouldn't GM be doing a better job on original OEM Rims on these pricey vehicles?

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." One of my 98 year old Mother's sayings. Tough old Yankee, but no longer with us. But not because of Covid 19, fortunately. But still good advice.

there is nothing they can do to prevent this from eventually occurring. Southern areas will have less of an issue with it thats for sure tho. salt and brine they use on the road gets splashed up everywhere on a vehicle. if there's a spot thats not protected by a sealer(clear coat or whatever) it will rust and corrode. 2 piece bead lock style rims would have somewhat less of an issue but anyway you look at it that tire is forcibly removed from the rim. you can start using a more expensive tire shop thats used to mounting on real expensive rims. they will be using more advanced equipment and tools but its still not impossible to scrap the clear coat a little.

 

[HACK BLOCK]

the shop I went to put 40 psi in my 22s

 

[FrankU]

the shop I went to put 40 psi in my 22s

Costco did my 20" Defenders at 40 psi also. They did a first class install too, I was very surprised.

 

[avalonandl]

The Defenders are the ONLY tires I will use....

 

[George B]

the shop I went to put 40 psi in my 22s

#Lumberwagon.

 

[PatDTN]

The stock rims on my '09 LTZ had the bad corrosion on those sprayed on chrome rims. Costco pointed that out on the first set of tires I bought there. I bought my truck used with 150k miles. They tried some quick cleanup of the rims but it didn't hold air. I took it back something like 3 times and they finally slapped on some adhesive that fixed 3 of the rims and slowed the leak to manageable on the 4th.

The wheels always came back with a huge stack of weights because they didn't balance well.

My last time there recently they pointed out some odd wear on one tire. My truck had been feeling oddly darty on the highway for a little while. I had jacked up the front end and tried to feel any play before that visit but couldn't find any. Based on Costco's finding I replaced my left front hubs (with an ACDelco unit from Rock Auto) and the dartiness is gone. Thanks Costco!

Since then I bought a set of new Replica Wheels snowflakes in my stock size and had Wal-Mart swap the tires over for me. To Wal-Mart's credit they found an untracked center cap to give me for the wheels I took off. I need to decide what to do with those.

It's riding smooth now.

 

[CaptainAmerica1]

It’s not “paint” or “adhesive” it’s lubricant to make it easier to get the tire on the rim. It’s water soluble and slicker than baby snot. Should wash right off…

 

[PatDTN]

It’s not “paint” or “adhesive” it’s lubricant to make it easier to get the tire on the rim. It’s water soluble and slicker than baby snot. Should wash right off…

Nope. This is actual adhesive to seal corroded wheels. It definitely doesn't wash right off.