[ATL RL]

In the days when we had steel wheels and hubcaps, if the tire tech scratched/scraped the rim, it was no big deal.

We could just cover it up with hubcap.

If you have clear coated "silver" machined aluminum wheels, a scrape on the outer edge was not so obvious and a little touch up was not hard to do.

I Feared Having My Gray Painted Alloys On My 2023 RTL Scratched During A Radial Internal Patch Installation.

I realize I could have gone to a tire place and paid about 25 bucks.....or even gotten it repaired for free ( I think ) at Discount Tire....but I wanted the best odds of a mar free experience and/or a remedy for correction if a scrape occurred.

So..........I went to my local dealer......talked to my favorite service advisor (who knows I am picky)....and they assigned their best guy to the task. It came out scratch free.

Price was $40.12 as follows:

patch/plug 6.99
labor 25.00
digital service fee 1.95
shop supplies 5.76
tax .42

It was worth every penny to avoid a scratched rim

Over the years I have had many unsavory experiences at some tire shops.

PS. If there was damage, they have a touch up guy that does good work.

PSS. Notice I said punctured tire.....it did not go flat...lowest PSI was 33 compared to the others at 35 after sitting in the garage for 24 hours.

 

[fixitfred]

Did they rebalance the tire?

 

[CNC1]

Depends on your local Discount Tire. My favorite DT just changed 4 tires on the wife's SUV and their machine doesn't even touch the outside of the rim at all. Then the lubed the heck out of the new tires before installing. End result not one scratch. Plus 15 minutes and out the door.

 

[ATL RL]

Did they rebalance the tire?

Yes....I visually verified it.

On the drive home I only hit 55mph, but did not feel anything unusual.

I hope these tires last for many more years with no drama!

So glad I caught it before the tire went flat.

If parked in my garage, the "flat" would have been against the wall......No Fun!

 

[ATL RL]

Depends on your local Discount Tire. My favorite DT just changed 4 tires on the wife's SUV and their machine doesn't even touch the outside of the rim at all. Then the lubed the heck out of the new tires before installing. End result not one scratch. Plus 15 minutes and out the door.

The operator can be the variable even with a really great machine.

I used to work monthly with several makes and models at work.....we also had a Hunter Road Force balancer.

If the guy slips just once.....the scar is forever.....and it the tech is in a hurry, slips and goof ups can occur.

As a customer. I have had all kinds of "Oops!" happen to our vehicles over the past 30 plus years.

Glad you found a good team....but be aware....those tire shop guys move around a lot and so do the managers.

There has always been a lot of turnover in the tire shop business.

 

[fixitfred]

My Camry has a nail in the front tire. It goes flat in a week or two and the battery dies in about a month. I don't drive it, I keep it as a spare. I'm going to plug the tire myself. I might replace the tire with the cheapest one I can find. It got chewed up in a hit and run when I chased the guy down. Long story and the dude almost got shot.

My 24 RL rim got scuffed bad when I hit the curb in a panic u-turn. Now I know better the turning radius isn't as tight as my Camry. I should have run up on the sidewalk instead of trying to cut it so close. I posted before I'll probably replace the rim.

 

[ATL RL]

My Camry has a nail in the front tire. It goes flat in a week or two and the battery dies in about a month. I don't drive it, I keep it as a spare. I'm going to plug the tire myself. I might replace the tire with the cheapest one I can find. It got chewed up in a hit and run when I chased the guy down. Long story and the dude almost got shot.

My 24 RL rim got scuffed bad when I hit the curb in a panic u-turn. Now I know better the turning radius isn't as tight as my Camry. I should have run up on the sidewalk instead of trying to cut it so close. I posted before I'll probably replace the rim.

Your Camry needs some TLC....if the tires are old....parked outside.....and that sidewall has been folded because the tire has been flat more than once.....that tire may be compromised........not as bad as driving on a flat tire with only 10psi for a few miles.....but the sidewall is suffering.

Is the battery issue because it is old and won't hold a charge well.....or is it a parasitic draw?

You could ,if you want, to nurse the old battery... you could buy on of those battery disconnect switches to prolong replacing it.

Clearly it is best to find the root cause of the electrical issues.

Do I remember correctly that you already have some test equipment?....or was that someone else I am thinking about?

 

[fixitfred]

Your Camry needs some TLC....if the tires are old....parked outside.....and that sidewall has been folded because the tire has been flat more than once.....that tire may be compromised........not as bad as driving on a flat tire with only 10psi for a few miles.....but the sidewall is suffering.

Is the battery issue because it is old and won't hold a charge well.....or is it a parasitic draw?

You could ,if you want, to nurse the old battery... you could buy on of those battery disconnect switches to prolong replacing it.

Clearly it is best to find the root cause of the electrical issues.

Do I remember correctly that you already have some test equipment?....or was that someone else I am thinking about?

My Camry is a 2007 with 200k with more to give which is where I hope my Ridgeline will be. It's a push button start keyless entry so It's always looking for a keyfob. Whenever I get in range and pass by the interior lights come on which is a feature I wish my RL had.

 

[fdeno]

Depends on your local Discount Tire. My favorite DT just changed 4 tires on the wife's SUV and their machine doesn't even touch the outside of the rim at all. Then the lubed the heck out of the new tires before installing. End result not one scratch. Plus 15 minutes and out the door.

My Discount Tire regularly mounted and balanced tires on this car with original, one-year-only wheels ( worth $1,300 EACH) but I always took the incredibly rare hubcaps off myself. I only allowed one tech to do the work as the other impact wrench jockeys seemed to NOT understand you can only torque vintage steel wheels lug nuts to 65 ft-lbs and NOT 130 ft-lbs like modern alloy wheels:

 

[ATL RL]

My Discount Tire regularly mounted and balanced tires on this car with original, one-year-only wheels ( worth $1,300 EACH) but I always took the incredibly rare hubcaps off myself. I only allowed one tech to do the work as the other impact wrench jockeys seemed to NOT understand you can only torque vintage steel wheels lug nuts to 65 ft-lbs and NOT 130 ft-lbs like modern alloy wheels:

View attachment 463469

Your story helps to emphasize my point.

A "random guy" chosen by chance has a decent chance of being rough on the rim/tire and all the related parts they touch....including studs and nuts.

Having a relationship and the ability to have a specific talented tech work on the vehicle is the key to damage free success.

 

[CNC1]

The operator can be the variable even with a really great machine.

I used to work monthly with several makes and models at work.....we also had a Hunter Road Force balancer.

If the guy slips just once.....the scar is forever.....and it the tech is in a hurry, slips and goof ups can occur.

As a customer. I have had all kinds of "Oops!" happen to our vehicles over the past 30 plus years.

Glad you found a good team....but be aware....those tire shop guys move around a lot and so do the managers.

There has always been a lot of turnover in the tire shop business.

Yes, you are correct. I actually mounted tires after school until I graduated. I had another Discount tire shop do my Titan once. they scratched all 4 wheels on the balancer. Luckily, I always inspect my vehicles before leaving the lot. They took care of it with no problems at all. I went to a wheel refinishing shop, very high-end shop, and they fixed my paint on my wheels, they looked better than new. I actually watched them work on a 20" AMG Mercedies rim that was bent and had curb rash. They fixed it 100%, to say the least I was impressed.

 

[ATL RL]

Yes, you are correct. I actually mounted tires after school until I graduated. I had another Discount tire shop do my Titan once. they scratched all 4 wheels on the balancer. Luckily, I always inspect my vehicles before leaving the lot. They took care of it with no problems at all. I went to a wheel refinishing shop, very high-end shop, and they fixed my paint on my wheels, they looked better than new. I actually watched them work on a 20" AMG Mercedies rim that was bent and had curb rash. They fixed it 100%, to say the least I was impressed.

Great story and I am glad you had good customer support.

My probably worst story ......the tire place lost our key.....they had to pay for a new key and the programming....not cheap...but they refused to pay for a set of 2 with new "identities" and that means it is possible for a crook to get out car....but the car is garaged and so the chances are low for that to happen.

...and I learned a lesson...our "service" keys are on a keychain with our last name on them........Not Any More!....now they are just attached to a colorful plastic tag.

 

[fdeno]

I would opine that scratches occur with careless use of wheel removal tools and/or torque wrenches and/or pounding on balancing weights vs the actual balancers.

The Hunter Road Force balancers DT use just requires hoisting the tire onto a spindle with a large 'keeper' that threads onto that spindle and centers the tire, then a plastic hood is brought down over the tire before its spun up - not much going on there to damage a wheel. I've watched the process 100 times.

 

[ATL RL]

I would opine that scratches occur with careless use of wheel removal tools and/or torque wrenches and/or pounding on balancing weights vs the actual balancers.

The Hunter Road Force balancers DT use just requires hoisting the tire onto a spindle with a large 'keeper' that threads onto that spindle and centers the tire, then a plastic hood is brought down over the tire before its spun up - not much going on there to damage a wheel. I've watched the process 100 times.

Careless....not focused on a "zero damage" approach.....sometimes worn/out of adjustment equipment.....all can contribute.

Somebody here in the last 18 months had brand new rims all scratched as the (I think) impact socket danced around the cavity where the stud/lugnut reside. It was significant damage....done while installing the brand new "out of box" rim on his RL after having the tires swapped over to them.

I have not looked looked for the thread, but the pics showed how bad the damage was. It was ugly.

 

[CNC1]

I would opine that scratches occur with careless use of wheel removal tools and/or torque wrenches and/or pounding on balancing weights vs the actual balancers.

The Hunter Road Force balancers DT use just requires hoisting the tire onto a spindle with a large 'keeper' that threads onto that spindle and centers the tire, then a plastic hood is brought down over the tire before its spun up - not much going on there to damage a wheel. I've watched the process 100 times.

THAT Discount Tire had the old cone type system, and it left a perfect circle on my rims, they were painted. The problem was they didn't have the correct cone for my wheels. Since then, they have updated all the balancers, so this doesn't happen.