What the hell with tire rotation at dealer?

Guess I was surprised by the “free service for two years”....free stripped lug nuts by some hack who thinks he’s playing pit crew at the Indy 500

 

It is recommended by all mfg's that metal caps are NOT to be used with TPMS systems (the stems are aluminum and easily damaged) due to corrosion. At my shop before I retired any car that came in with metal caps on TPMS valve stems had them removed, put in a small zip loc bag and handed to the customer with the recommendation to not use them. They also had a new set of plastic caps installed by me, on my dime to either leave or toss. Their call.

 

Yeah if its metal valve stem caps I've had to use pliers to remove many of them, I generally put a rag around the cap so not to scar it but if I can't get a good enough bite like that I remove the rag and use the pliers directly on the fancy metal caps, it scratches them but I can't figure out a better way to remove them. Only wheel with a metal cap I have is the spare and I put a tiny dab of antiseize on the threads so it doesn't get seized.

 

I bought a bag 'o plastic caps at Napa Auto a while back. Any mismatched caps I have after tire work, I just slap a new one on. Some shops don't give a hoot, and will just throw any cap laying around back on a wheel. Unless you buy a new set of tires, the only shop that always matches them is Costco with their little green jobs.

 

my friend has 2021 with a few more miles than mine. He was here yesterday with the same green metal valve caps, he has had 3 rotations and his caps look new and they are all there.
Guess I am overreacting but I'm gonna have the dealership fix this anyway.
Don't like my new truck having 1 good cap , one smashed cap and two missing.
Maybe I won't mind so bad when I get a scratch or two on it.

 

Green caps = Nitrogen filled.

 

And that green stuff is just floofy business.

 

Very very true. Pisses me off how much sales charges for it.

 

Anyone that falls for putting nitrogen in their tires is better than the air that we breath daily, completely missed 7th grade science class.

 

Aircraft tires get nitrogen air...but they're built for that!

I better not see green caps on my tires! ARGHHHHH!!!

Ed

****

 

My understanding is that 100% nitrogen does not react to heat as much so the tire pressure doesn't fluctuate between cold and hot, also that the molecules are bigger so they cannot as easily slip out of the tire. This is all great for when you are racing cars(Nascar,ect) and need tires to react the same everytime at 100+MPH, and since people want to be like Nascar they think nitro in their normal car will make a difference driving 50-80MPH, which of course if doesn't.

 

100% nitrogen os exactly that, 100%. The air we breath and pump into our tires is just over 75ish% nitrogen, 20ish% oxygen and the rest argon and other gasses, bacteria, mold, pollen, bugs, etc...

Yeah, so unless someone drag races their Tacoma with stock or off road tires, it is really kinda silly to rely on the 100% nitrogen nonsense.

 

Nitrogen doesn’t expand/contract as much with temperature change as ambient compressed air however most other dry gasses are the same. Dry nitrogen however is pretty common on an airfield as the gas struts used for just about all aircraft landing gear and hydraulic accumulators for propellers and brakes use a nitrogen charge. A/P mechanics usually have tanks full of it as a common tool of their trade for those purposes.

In an aircraft tire like a jet, minimal expansion/contraction is desired. The jet I fly has just under 200psi in the tires and those tires are not enclosed completely in flight when retracted. They are exposed to 50 below zero for hours in flight then they have to be able to take a 95K pound landing immediately followed by braking said weight from 160 mph to about 20.

In the above case consistency is essential, in a road tire, not so much.

 

manfred twd [OP], too bad about the damage that the dealership caused. At least you may find out what sort of dealer you are dealing with. Even if they deny everything and don't fix it, you will still get out of it fairly cheaply.
I've had several similar situations go both ways, even though I worked at a dealership, a few (35+) years back, and thought that I knew all of the tricks. I try to take pictures of the area that I know that the dealership is going to work on, but that hasn't always helped (dented passenger rear fender when I was getting a front end alignment). (They said that they had noticed the dent when they brought the car in from where I parked it. Cough-bullshit-cough)

BTW, the 24 Month/25K mile "Toyota Care" package does not cover all of the items that should be serviced in the first two years. At least, at my dealership.
At the 10K service for my truck, I asked if they were going to check the rear brake pads. The Customer Care Representative said that that was not covered by the "Toyota Care" package, I argued that that "just had" to be part of the "Multi-point inspection" that the sales rep told me about when they sold me my truck. They said that I assumed incorrectly. I was given two free oil changes, two free tire rotations, a cabin filter at 20K miles (?), and a "visual" inspection each time. That is all. (I did have to go back another time for them to do the fuel pump recall.) That's OK with me though, I don't trust them to do anything correctly when I have them service my truck. After my two TC services I checked the engine oil level before I left the lot, and loosened and re-torqued the lug nuts when I got home. Hopefully, I'll never have to darken their doorstep again.

On another note, while I was buying my truck they introduced me to the Parts Department reps. I asked them if the 0W-20 synthetic oil they used was "full synthetic", or "100% synthetic". The parts boys said that "Full synthetic", and "100% synthetic" were the same thing. I said that that was all I needed to know.

 

I always though that... I had a puncture in my tire a few months ago, had the guys at Costco patch the tire while I was shopping and they filled it with Nitrogen. The whole deal cost 10 bucks so it wasn't expensive. What I have now is 3 air filled tires and 1 Nitro. I'm in N Louisiana working right now, I've seen air Temps swing from the 90s to mid 30's. Nitro tire stayed within 1-2 psi, the air filled varied 4-5 psi. The Nitro definitely holds more consistent PSI. What does a normal shop charge for nitrogen?

 

I avoided the 2-year maintenance because of the upsell tactics. They make a note you refused the filters then your A/C or engine shits out, you're SOL.

 

I have no idea what shops charge for Nitrogen, I don't bother with that nonsense.

I use my truck offroad and I air down quite often. I also have on board air plumbed to the front and rear of the truck for quick refill. I'm not going to worry about "contaminating" the pure % dry nitrogen with the inferior air from my air compressor.

 

So that definetly makes sense for you, not everyone has on board air though. I do however wish all 4 of my tires were Nitro so I don't have to deal with psi fluctuations. I'm Off road quite often( I work Tline utilities), but I'm back on the pavement not long after, multiple times a day. 5 psi under inflated has a decent affect on mpg. Especially if I'm driving 400 miles home.

 

You don't air down when off road?

Might consider getting a tank of nitrogen to carry with you so you can air down/up and not have to worry about a few PSI fluctuation.

 

Don't want to say it... But no tech will hand torque a wheel. They either will use a torque stick or their trigger finger is the torque wrench.

Ita flat rate... Don't get paid to use torque wrenches.

And nitrogen is a gimmick. 80% of air we breathe is nitrogen.