Discount Tire no longer raising all 4 tires due to safety concerns?

[NMflyfish]

Discount Tires in Tempe always lifted only one side at a time versus the lift for the R1S. I did not ask if there was a reason - I see no issues with lifting one side at a time for rotation or replacement.

Sponsored

 

[LivingInKaos]

It wasn't my vehicle, but I was at a DT near me a couple of weeks ago and I watched them rotate an R1T - they lifted one side, removed the two wheels and then place some old looking wheels on with what looked like 3 lugs only, went to the other side, swapped, then went back to the other side and then swapped the temps out with the ones from the other side. I asked about it and they told me it was just because they couldn't use the lift, it was busy - but I wonder if that is a potential workaround for what seems like a new policy? It would require them to have a couple junk wheels/tires to do that with.

 

[rhumbliner]

So I have a question. I own 2 sets of wheels so I cross-rotate my tires myself. But this means that the outside edge of my tires are always the outside edge. If I had DT rotate just tires (i.e. remove tires from wheels) then the outside edge would become an inside edge when rotated. Is it important to rotate just tires so there is even wear on both edges of the tire?

 

[VSG]

does this mean (if we prefer cross vehicle rotations) we have to pay the ridiculous rotate and balance fees Rivian charges?!

Rivian charges $60 for a five tire rotation.
Ridiculous!!

 

[mkhuffman]

So I have a question. I own 2 sets of wheels so I cross-rotate my tires myself. But this means that the outside edge of my tires are always the outside edge. If I had DT rotate just tires (i.e. remove tires from wheels) then the outside edge would become an inside edge when rotated. Is it important to rotate just tires so there is even wear on both edges of the tire?

I am also interested in what people think about this.

IMO there is risk of damage to the rims every time a tire is flipped, but maybe that risk is minimal.

There is extra cost associated with removing/installing tires and maybe the life gained is not worth the cost of flipping with every rotation. In the end, the reason to flip tires instead of just rotating is about cost.

 

[eleanor22]

Dear @Discount Tire, is this true? Any additional information you can share?

From someone else’s social media post- Perhaps I've missed it, and apologies if I have, but I found this interesting. I buy my tires (20" AT) from Discount Tire, and have all my rotate/balance work done there ... Today was my first service on my new set of tires and I noticed they are only jacking up one side at a time, when only a month ago for the new shoes, they had all four corners jacked up... When I asked how they intend to do a crossover rotation, I was informed "Discount Tire is no longer simultaneously jacking up all 4 tires on Rivian vehicles due to several incidents nationwide where the vehicles fell off their jacks"... does this mean (if we prefer cross vehicle rotations) we have to pay the ridiculous rotate and balance fees Rivian charges?!

Could you use the spare ? It might take a little longer .

 

[Dark-Fx]

Total cost is a wash, without 5 tire rotation you buy them more often. All tires have to be replaced after 6 years anyway, even if they are only a spare, the rubber degrades/dry rots.

Last time I checked the cost of the hazard warranty at Discount, it was 25% per tire, so buying 5 and not getting the warranty is a break even.

I like buying three new ones and keeping a worn tire for the spare. 5 tire rotation is tough on the Rivian because the vehicles don't like when one wheel spins at a different speed than the others. You're going to always have one tire with a little less wear on it until it gets rotated back out.

 

[LivingInKaos]

So I have a question. I own 2 sets of wheels so I cross-rotate my tires myself. But this means that the outside edge of my tires are always the outside edge. If I had DT rotate just tires (i.e. remove tires from wheels) then the outside edge would become an inside edge when rotated. Is it important to rotate just tires so there is even wear on both edges of the tire?

I am also interested in what people think about this.

IMO there is risk of damage to the rims every time a tire is flipped, but maybe that risk is minimal.

There is extra cost associated with removing/installing tires and maybe the life gained is not worth the cost of flipping with every rotation. In the end, the reason to flip tires instead of just rotating is about cost.

Couple schools of thought on that -

If you drive in the ride height that the alignment is set for and your alignment is good, it should theoretically wear evenly inside and out. Only edge wear would be from driving hard into corners or underinflation on corners.

If you drive in two different ride height constantly, but your alignment is set for only one of them, you can get uneven wear - you can compensate and set the alignment for in between the two heights and it should balance out. BUT if you only do 20% in one and 80% in the other, eventually you would see uneven wear.

Now, this is relative for the front only, so if you are rotating regularly, it should minimalize the issue.

On the OEM Pirelli tires, none of this matters too much as they wear so fast, they are done before you get that far .

The SC's have had a change in their service advice and you should see anytime you take your vehicle in for service, they will put it in standard height - not auto any more. Just to add to this.

 

[DD4ST]

My local DT has always used floor jacks, never a lift, on my Rivian. But I also do my own rotation with two floor jacks. It is entirely possible to do so that way.

 

[beatle]

So I have a question. I own 2 sets of wheels so I cross-rotate my tires myself. But this means that the outside edge of my tires are always the outside edge. If I had DT rotate just tires (i.e. remove tires from wheels) then the outside edge would become an inside edge when rotated. Is it important to rotate just tires so there is even wear on both edges of the tire?

You're talking about "flipping" tires which is not popular on vehicles like this. You'd usually only flip a tire that is non-directional (check), expensive (check) and wears heavily on one edge due to lots of camber (nope). If you are burning through the outside edge of your tires, you either need an alignment with more camber, more air in the tire, or both. Rivian tires may wear quickly, but they don't wear unevenly to the point that flipping would help extend their life very much unless you're driving around in conserve mode all the time.

 

[eRacer]

Take it for what it's worth, I inquiried about this method when we had our truck serviced at America's Tire a few months ago. The service manager explained that a memo was sent out that Rivian's are only supposed to be jacked up one side at a time as there were a few cases that the Rivian's experienced a failure of the frame welds. According to the manager, he explained that the some of the Gen 1 Rivians are susceptible to the frame bending if the sides are not lifted evenly. He claims that America's Tire had to pay to resolve the issue with a few Rivian owners. So, in response the corporate policy is to only lift up one side at a time. He mentioned that the frame failure (weld surface cracks) appeared at the rear subframe.

I kind of find this hard to believe as I would expect that jacking up one corner would do the same damage if the frame is that flexible.

 

[Cascadian]

In 3 visits they have only ever jacked one side and swapped front to back.

 

[rhumbliner]

The SC's have had a change in their service advice and you should see anytime you take your vehicle in for service, they will put it in standard height - not auto any more. Just to add to this.

Interesting. I’ll use Standard from now on.

 

[mkhuffman]

Couple schools of thought on that -

If you drive in the ride height that the alignment is set for and your alignment is good, it should theoretically wear evenly inside and out. Only edge wear would be from driving hard into corners or underinflation on corners.

If you drive in two different ride height constantly, but your alignment is set for only one of them, you can get uneven wear - you can compensate and set the alignment for in between the two heights and it should balance out. BUT if you only do 20% in one and 80% in the other, eventually you would see uneven wear.

Now, this is relative for the front only, so if you are rotating regularly, it should minimalize the issue.

On the OEM Pirelli tires, none of this matters too much as they wear so fast, they are done before you get that far .

The SC's have had a change in their service advice and you should see anytime you take your vehicle in for service, they will put it in standard height - not auto any more. Just to add to this.

I assume if you lower the suspension, it will wear on the inside of the tires? And if you raise it above standard height, it will wear the outside of the tires?

My highway driving is always at the low or lowest height. Local driving is Standard, except when I want to have some fun in Sport mode. I have noticed the outside of the tires wearing, and they are not under inflated.

 

[BrayBay]

I'll share my personal experience. It's definitely a risk to rotate tires at Discount Tire. Not sure if it was because I was one of the first Rivian drivers, but I had to break the rules and walk into the service area to let the workers know a puck was about to slip.

If a puck almost slipped for me, I can definitely imagine it actually slipping for a few customers. Seems to me Discount Tire would rather be safe than deal with the anger of customers driving a six figure vehicle getting a free tire rotation.

I think for me, I'd rather pay Rivian the $60 for future tire rotations instead of trusting a crew that doesn't see that many Rivians.

Sponsored