Today's TIREsome adventure

[KBabione]

And lastly, I keep a printed copy of this (PDF attached if you're interested) with the pucks so there's really no way someone can screw it up:

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[Cycliste]

Yep, I need to practice some drills on this process

 

[Yota2R1T]

I decided

So yesterday I ran into and issue where my front passenger tire started to leak a ton. I went to my nearest tire store which had the stock pirellis but it was like 2k out the door or something. I need to replace all 4 because my back two are worn and of course one of my good ones is the one that got the flat.

I decided that I wanted to move to 20s and grab a package from evsportline if these 21s were going to be that expensive every time and I was excited to. Would've been about 2900 out the door.

But then I found Costco and they had the defenders for 1627 out the door and ofc they come with the 5 year road hazard. So, logically I couldn't still get the 20s.

But.. when I got the call from Costco and brought in the truck, after I leave, they call me for the pucks.. in my mind I'm like they should def have the pucks. But this is my first run in with Rivian tire things and I look all over but only have Tesla pucks. They let me know if I can find some that I can bring them in to use.

So I reach out to rivian, they won't let me borrow or buy. And I reach out to discount tire (official partner of Rivian) and they surprisingly let me borrow some! Sweet right? I go across town pick up all 4 and head back to Costco. Then the dude is like, oh, we can't use that one. We need the magnetic one. Super annoying. Fair but super annoying.. had they told me they needed magnetic, I could've checked with discount tire beforehand lol but I was like okay, I'll just drive back across town and take these back.

While I was there, the discount tire guys shot their shot and told me they'd price match me. So I'm going with them. Luckily they included the protection and everything and I actually saved $10 bucks! Lol

So I'll probably just skip Costco next time but the best part is, they're going to do the mobile service in the Costco parking lot

Just figured I'd let y'all know and rant a bit.

I still wish I had F U money to get the evsportline kit. Oh well.

Skipping Costco may have been a great idea in the end, I only wish I had Discount Tire to lean on...

My current situation is that I bought a new set of 21" Bridgestone Alenza Prestige, after my Pirellis wore out.
Because I run a winter set of wheels (20" Steelies from EV Sportline with Hakkapolitas), I was able to bring Costco my wheelset and avoid ignorant drama / damage on the vehicle.
Unfortunately, they decided to go the way of unforced error and scratch up all four of my rims with the machine - head!
I'm currently waiting to hear what their (Costco) insurance company will do for settlement. But, I think I'll just keep bringing the vehicle to Rivian service for general labor too - just can't trust ham-fisted morons these days.
The Bridgestones are great by the way!
Anyway, thanks for the rant - guess mine was pent up too!

 

[2kwik4u]

Just wish they did alignments in my neck of the woods. All the locations in my city only do rotations, balances and sales.

Find a non-chain independant shop. That's what I did and it's never been better. Cost more, but you get techs that don't just align to "within spec", but "to spec". Then multiple test drives with adjustments to make sure it's setup right. Well worth the $200 or so it cost.

 

[VandalSibs]

Find a non-chain independant shop. That's what I did and it's never been better. Cost more, but you get techs that don't just align to "within spec", but "to spec". Then multiple test drives with adjustments to make sure it's setup right. Well worth the $200 or so it cost.

I've got a few tracked down, just need to make sure they have the right spec of lift. Luckily, Rivian has a guide just for that!

 

[iamnid]

I decided

Skipping Costco may have been a great idea in the end, I only wish I had Discount Tire to lean on...

My current situation is that I bought a new set of 21" Bridgestone Alenza Prestige, after my Pirellis wore out.
Because I run a winter set of wheels (20" Steelies from EV Sportline with Hakkapolitas), I was able to bring Costco my wheelset and avoid ignorant drama / damage on the vehicle.
Unfortunately, they decided to go the way of unforced error and scratch up all four of my rims with the machine - head!
I'm currently waiting to hear what their (Costco) insurance company will do for settlement. But, I think I'll just keep bringing the vehicle to Rivian service for general labor too - just can't trust ham-fisted morons these days.
The Bridgestones are great by the way!
Anyway, thanks for the rant - guess mine was pent up too!

Discount/America's Tire scratched up my rims quite badly a couple years back when I was there with my Model Y. They ended up sending out a rim repair guy to fix them in the parking lot at my office. I has happy with the results, hopefully they offer you something similar.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

TL/DR version: When you've seen one store in a big chain, you've seen ONE STORE.

I'm thrilled with the competence and diligence of our local Costco Tire in Warrenton, Oregon. In spring 2024, @Mark_AZR1T and I taught Costco/Warrenton's tire manager how to do everything on our first R1S. I scheduled Rivian work only when the manager was there. And they used our JackPucks until they had acquired and checked out their own. Now the whole staff is trained to handle Rivians, so we schedule tire work at Costco/Warrenton whenever we want.

In 2024, that level of excellence couldn't be counted on. When we picked up the R1S in February 2024, we pre-ordered snow tires through the Costco in Aloha, Oregon onto the Rivian 22" wheels we'd pre-ordered at Portland Service Center. (We had called ahead and Costco/Aloha had said they could work on Rivians.)

When we got to Costco/Aloha, with boxed rims loaded in R1S, Costco/Aloha's tire manager decided they lacked the training to lift our new R1S safely. Portland Service Center, meanwhile, wasn't authorized to work on aftermarket tires. And we couldn't legally drive home (at least on the Oregon side, which is much faster) without installing the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) traction tires.

So we hauled rims, tires, and ourselves to Discount Tire in Hillsboro, Oregon, where they said they were Rivian-certified and could do the job. Discount/Hillsboro cheerfully installed the snow tires that Costco/Aloha wouldn't do. As far as I could tell, Discount/Hillsboro did an excellent job!

***

We still carry our own JackPucks in each Rivian, because who knows what we'll need to handle at the roadside or at a strange mechanic's shop? We're still prepared to explain Rivians and JackPucks to new tire stores if needed. And we still take all our scheduled tire service to Costco/Warrenton.

Some Costcos are great, some are not. Some Discount Tire stores are great, some are not. If you don't know they know, ask questions and pay attention to the answers (including nonverbal cues).

Best to all!

 

[VSG]

Costco/Aloha's tire manager decided they lacked the training to lift our new R1S safely

And that too is the mark of a good tire shop. The problem you have to watch out for is some yahoo deciding they know everything and lifting the vehicle anyway without the proper equipment.

There were no independent shops with Rivian experience when I did my first rotation back in 2022, but I have continued to find it easier to go to the service center and pay the $60 for a rotation than to take my chances at some unknown shop. Plus at the SC they will also perform any customer satisfaction campaign fixes that your VIN needs and give you a loaner if it's going to take longer than expected (less than an hour for just the rotation).

 

[Dave Cundiff]

And that too is the mark of a good tire shop. The problem you have to watch out for is some yahoo deciding they know everything and lifting the vehicle anyway without the proper equipment.

Agreed, @VSG. My distress wasn't that they changed their mind about safety -- it was that they made it my problem to locate and implement a "Plan B." It wasn't easy to load all the rims and tires in the R1S along with the rest of the cargo. They could have detailed an employee to help move the tires a few miles to Discount Tire.

That being said, "All's well that ends well." We love our R1's!

 

[VandalSibs]

Costco/Aloha's tire manager decided they lacked the training to lift our new R1S safely.

And that too is the mark of a good tire shop. The problem you have to watch out for is some yahoo deciding they know everything and lifting the vehicle anyway without the proper equipment.

This is the worry I have trying to find a place near me to do an alignment. With my nearest service center being four hours away, and the local Discount Tire not doing alignments... Don't think my nearby Costco does them either...

 

[Dave Cundiff]

This is the worry I have trying to find a place near me to do an alignment. With my nearest service center being four hours away, and the local Discount Tire not doing alignments... Don't think my nearby Costco does them either...

Bummer. We haven't needed alignment, and we're on the opposite side of I-5, but I hope some forum members might have alignment suggestions.

This might require a new thread title in order to get the right views.

Very best wishes!

 

[Gurule92]

This is the worry I have trying to find a place near me to do an alignment. With my nearest service center being four hours away, and the local Discount Tire not doing alignments... Don't think my nearby Costco does them either...

Tireworld said they'd do it for me if needed. Idk if that's a big chain or not

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