Costco tire balancing question

[Roadking]

I bought a set of Michelin Cross Terrains for my Toyota 4Runner about a year ago from Costco. After the install one of the front tires was out of balance…took it back for a rebalance …seemed ok, but not perfect. Second rotate and balance the same thing happen, went back again. Then yesterday I went back for the third rotate and balance and like clock work the front tire is out of balance as I drove home (I’m not sure if it’s always the same wheel/tire). I went back and talked to the manager and he told me that Toyota wheels, especially the 4 runner type are very difficult for them to balance 100%. They can get them close but not perfect and for 98% of their customers its close enough. When I brought up the point that maybe the tire is the problem he didn’t want to discuss it. He said if the tire had an issue they would have detected it during the initial mount and balance.
Has anyone run into this situation with Costco? I’m wondering why this combination is “difficult to balance”. Do I try to return the tires or contact Michelin directly, since Costco is one their major accounts? Any ideas.

 

[brandini]

Needs a roadforce balance.

 

[Smoky14]

"difficult to balance" is usually wrong equipment or the operator of that equipment.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Maybe you should contact Michelin.

 

[Quest]

sometimes, it's the tire(s) itself. I had similar problems with Bridgestone (Brazillian cast) A/S tires bought from Costco, went back 4+ times complaining about out of balance shaking (was driving a non-power-assisted car before) on highway... and it was finally deemed that the tires were defective.

Per warranty service: swap in a set of 4 Michelin T-metric (Jpn cast), put onto the same machine that previously balanced the Bridgestones, and voila! No more shakings.

Q.

 

[Rand]

probably knucklehead operator.

They need to roadforce balance it or at least
if it needs decent weights break the bead and do a turn and rebalance..


Roadforce balancing takes the "touch" out of balancing.. you follow the machines instructions and boom it does a good job.

It should also be able to determine if the tire is bad/out of round/excessive runout/not rolling smoothly..etc

 

[Hokiefyd]

I had a very similar problem with a set of tires bought at Sears. They could not get them balanced. Every time I'd bring it in for a balance, the weights would move around and something was still out of balance.

I took it, on my own dime, to a Goodyear dealer with a Hunter GSP9700 machine and they found a tire with excessive sidewall force. It was something close to 20 pounds as I recall. All of the others were in the 4-5 pound range.

I took that printout back to Sears and they replaced that one tire, and refunded me the cash I paid for the balance at the Goodyear store, and all was then good.

 

[CapriRacer]

If I remember correctly, the center hub on some Toyota wheels is pretty large and requires a centering hub that is beyond what is normally supplied. In order to deal with those, a oversized set of hubs is required - and that costs $$$!

May be that is what they are referring to.

 

[sasilverbullet]

I had a similar situation with my Titan at NTB. I've since found a local tire dealer that's been around for 50 years - their guys are amazing on a regular spin balance machine. On my 70 Lincoln, I had the tires balanced 3 times by two different national chains - took it to Hommann Tire Company in San Antonio and they said two of my rims were slightly out of round. Replaced them and then they said that two of the Hankook's I purchased at DTW were bad. Replaced those and now it's running without a vibration.

Moral of the story - you get what you pay for. Find a old-school tire dealer that knows what they're doing and stick with them.

 

[mechtech2]

A bad tire is not ruled out.
What does a simple visual inspection reveal about internal problems??
That mgr made a ridiculous and embarrassing statement.

 

[Ken2]

Next time complain of tire vibration, not balance (because we don't really know the cause of the vibration). Ask if the shop has a lug-centric adapter where the wheel is bolted to the adapter and the adapter is mounted on the machine's cones--this is the right way to balance these Toyota wheels. Not all shops have one, and most that do have them don't want to bother. The wheel MUST be correctly centered on the balancing machine, or the whole balancing effort is a waste of time. Insist on viewing each tire on the balancing machine. Have them roll it slowly looking for visible eccentricity or a bent wheel. If you get any guff from the guy in charge, tell him that you want to speak with his manager right now.

 

[Roadking]

Thanks for all the good advice.
I did talk to Michelin customer service yesterday. They were very pleasant, and basically said since I bought the tires from an authorized Michelin dealer that I need to follow up with them. They also implied that due to my vehicles age (2005) that it’s likely a suspension/driveline defect.
I guess I’ll file this under; you get what you pay for.

 

[Old Mustang Guy]

I suspect the problem is the tires if you did not have this issue before this set. The only time I have experienced this was with my one and only set of Firestones. The Firestone store kep't rebalancing them but the best they could do was to get them close. They refused to replace the tires so I've never been back to a Firestone store.

 

[tenderloin]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
If I remember correctly, the center hub on some Toyota wheels is pretty large and requires a centering hub that is beyond what is normally supplied. In order to deal with those, a oversized set of hubs is required - and that costs $$$!

May be that is what they are referring to.


I have a 2000 Honda Passport my guys use in terrain where a vehicle might get trashed a bit. Replaced some Michelins with Kuhmo's at America's Tires and it shook like crazy. Rotated and re-balanced three times at two different locations in the same day. Installer even said the wheels were out of round, showing me wobbling wheels on the balancing machine. I knew something was wrong because the vehicle was smooth as can be before the tire switch, and each time the wheels were way off when they rebalnaced them..even after only a few miles of driving.

I mentioned this to my mechanic and he said the Passport wheels had a larger opening and needed a different spacer/adapter whatever. He re-balanced them..... No wheesl out of round. No problems. Smooth as can be. I told the Americas Tire managers what happened. The knew what should have occurred and instructed their people accordingly. Learn something new everyday.