America's Tire says 19" factory tires underrated for vehicle

[ceekz]

America's Tires refused to rotate my wheels today. They said they are unable to service the car because the 19" tires are underrated for the car. Long story short- I took delivery on Sept 30, 2018. I ordered the car with 19" wheels, but due to a delivery mishap (one of many) my car was still in Fremont at the time of pick up and I ended up with a substitute car with 18" wheels and an IOU for the 19s. Tesla rolled out a ranger and swapped the wheels in my office parking lot a few months later. It took a few more calls to have the avatar on my screen updated, but I thought I was done.

According to the technician, the placard in the door sill shows the car as built with 18" wheels, and the FACTORY 19" wheels have tires mounted on them that do not meet the load standard for the car. One option was to take it the Tesla service center who rotated them last time. Another was to replace the tires (not), and the third one was to contact Tesla and ask them to replace the VIN placard with one showing a build with the 19" wheels.

I called Tesla Roadside service, spent 20 minutes on hold and now have an appointment at the Rocklin service center next week for a complimentary rotation. A replacement VIN placard has been ordered, but it may take months before that arrives.

Long story short, if you have swapped your factory 18" wheels for the 19" ones, either plan to take your car to a Tesla SC for rotation, or start the ball rolling to replace the placard. In the two years the Tesla rep has been working, he's never heard of this problem. I wonder why the 19" tires DON'T meet the load requirement, regardless of the diameter of the wheel...

Me again, blazing trails for previously unknown Tesla issues.

 

[dhanson865]

The 18" wheels support a higher vehicle weight than the 19" which support a higher vehicle weight than 20" or 21" and so on.

That doesn't mean the 19" aren't sufficient for the load, just that they have a lower load rating than the 18".

 

[SomeJoe7777]

The 19" do meet the load requirement for the vehicle, but the stated load requirement is different on the placard for 18" and 19" wheels. America's Tire is just doing CYA because the placard says one thing and the 19" tires say another.

Once the placard is changed you won't have any issues.

 

[Fusion]

Um... I think America's Tire was trying to sell you FUD. They can easily look up the tire rating and know it's not a problem. So every car with aftermarket wheels should get a new placard? I would skip that location entirely.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

Um... I think America's Tire was trying to sell you FUD. They can easily look up the tire rating and know it's not a problem. So every car with aftermarket wheels should get a new placard? I would skip that location entirely.

This^^^

someone tried to "Tesla Tax" you.

 

[Viking79]

Maybe go somewhere else that won't bother to check. How lame. I suspect you can get a replacement sticker for the 19" wheels, but I wouldn't know who to call for that.

 

[ceekz]

Maybe go somewhere else that won't bother to check. How lame. I suspect you can get a replacement sticker for the 19" wheels, but I wouldn't know who to call for that.

I called Tesla Roadside Assistance, selected the option for service (non-emergency). The rep put me through to what I believe is my local SC. The replacement sticker has been ordered. The tire tech didn't even try to sell me a new set of tires- I have only 13,000 miles on these. He just said they couldn't service the car. I suspect that any tire business that inputs the tire and VIN information into a computer system will come up with the same conclusion. Obviously, the SC that rotated them the last time didn't have a problem with the mismatch... Too bad Rocklin is a little far out of my way to bring it in every 6000 miles!

Thanks for the loading explanation, it helps me to understand why one set of factory tires would be rated differently than another.

 

[ceekz]

Another big score for Tesla's service center. After my failure with America's tire, they scheduled a complimentary rotation for me and I took my car in to Rocklin yesterday. Not only did they rotate my tires, they had the replacement door pillar sticker to install so now the information on the car matches the wheels. They fixed a loose wiper fluid hose on my windshield wiper, replaced the pins on my charging port (under a service bulletin I was not aware of), and took the extra time needed to clean my HVAC system and install a much-needed filter ($73). And gave me an Uber voucher so I could meet my kid for lunch in Auburn.

I've had more than my share of issues with my Model 3, but every time the service people come through and do more than make it right.

 

[KenC]

Or you could rotate the wheels yourself. Never hurts to take a look at your suspension, brakes, rotors, etc.

 

[ceekz]

Or you could rotate the wheels yourself. Never hurts to take a look at your suspension, brakes, rotors, etc.

A sloping driveway precludes it.

 

[ngogas]

Wow didn’t realize a sticker would cause this much crap.

 

[ceekz]

Wow didn’t realize a sticker would cause this much crap.

It is just another chapter in the ongoing drama that started with accepting delivery of a car that wasn't QUITE what I ordered on the last day of the 3rd quarter last year. I think the rep could have looked up the tire rating to confirm that they meet the Model 3 requirements, but in the end, having a matching sticker is foolproof.

 

[phaheem]

Thanks for this info. I, too, ordered my car with the 19” sport wheels but they didn’t have them in inventory at pick up so I received an IOU. Tesla has since installed my 19s and updated the avatar in the screen, but I’m not yet due for a tire rotation so I’ll refer to this thread if I run into the same issue. I’ll probably take my car to Costco for the rotation...

 

[Wennfred]

If you do get the new placard, do not put it over the old placard, just stick it side by side just Incase you do go back to the 18’s later.

Go to Discount Tires next time, besides they will fix any flat for free.

Fred

 

[Uncle Paul]

America's tire (and Discount Tire) typically rotate for free. For that price I understand why they would not be willing to accept any additional liability.

Glad you got it all sorted out.

My policy is to check the wear on my tires. If the wear is even, I never do a rotation.

My X had 30,000 miles on them when I sold it. Never rotated. Still had lots of tread left.

 

[wycolo]

Swapping those rims does change direction of rotation and torque application profile (don't know what else to call it) so presumably the tires benefit from being used/abused in different ways. [mantra of all good tire jockys].
--

 

[ecarfan]

I wonder why the 19" tires DON'T meet the load requirement, regardless of the diameter of the wheel

But that is not correct. They do.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Believe the problem is the last minute wheel size swap, combined with the now inaccurate door sticker.

 

[P-Lo801]

I had this sam exact issue because I intentionally opted for the aeros knowing I would eventually want to get lightweight aftermarket wheels anyway. But I had no luck whatsoever with America's Tire no matter how much I tried to explain that the 235/40/19 tires comes OEM with the sport wheels.

I even called the Rocklin SC and the guy I spoke to didn't think they could replace the placard. I'll have to call back and reference this thread.

 

[Glamisduner]

If they were going to lift your car not using the jack points, OP may have just dodged a bullet. Seems discount / america tires thinks they know more than the manufacturer when it comes to lifting teslas.