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Frustrating experience at Discount Tire - HELP!
- Thread starter WATT TF
- Start date
$50 + tax @ Plano TX SC last year. (they offered free car wash, which I declined since I washed before visiting SC).
Since then, I bought QuickJack so I can rotate tires at home.
Two Jackstand jack stands. One jack. Jack the disk up on the mount point, place the base under the disk, lower. Repeat for the other mount point.
I’ve owned an S for many years and now plus a 3. Buy the adapters. Keep in the car. If you need a rotation give to the shop and ask they use these. If they look at you with a blank stare go to your car and show them where they go. All 4 if needed. Tell them to use there jacks at these points. Watch from the window if they have a clue. Costco now has adapters in all there shops because they tore up a few batteries resulting in a lot of damage. Don’t let someone left your car from the incorrect spot. It might takes weeks before you know there is a problem. Invest in the 100 adapters.
The desk guy reassured me many times they know how to jack Model 3 properly. They "see a lot of Teslas around here." Well, not Model 3, and they did NOT jack it properly. Lesson for me was always bring your own jack pads and keep a very close eye. I will also try to find someplace over-priced.
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
For a Model 3, all you need is one aftermarket jacking pad, one floor jack and a level spot. Block the two opposite wheels for safety (I use bricks) although if your spot is actually level and you're using a floor jack, it's not going anywhere. I jack both wheels on the same side from the front jack point (although I bet the rear one would work too). For a simple tire rotation just move the front to the rear and vice-versa. You will want a torque wrench that goes up to 150 ft/lb or more (torque spec is 129 ft/lb). You don't need the jack stands because you're not getting under the car.
The Costco anecdote is the first I've heard of Tesla battery packs being damaged by improper jackiing, is that really a thing?
After learning about the Tesla undercarriage lift points, I expected to see red and white "NO LIFT" warning stickers on the bottom of the Model 3 battery pack area, like they put on fragile machinery, crates, boxes and large packages. The fact that Tesla DOESN'T attach warning labels (that I'm aware of) or color any particularly fragile battery pack areas yellow or orange implies to me that improper jacking is actually not much of a problem. I get that there's a protective bottom metal plate and steel crash shields along the front and on the sides of the battery packs. am I missing something? Maybe if you slightly bend or warp the frame (by improper jacking) it will make battery pack removal difficult later?
I bought a set of 4 jack pads for our Model 3 - I hand them to our local Discount Tire guys and look them in the eye before they rotate or work on our tires. We know them, they're honest and competent, and give us free, accurate tire inflation checks any time. After all, tires are a Tesla's primary (and nearly only) maintenance.
Be aware that Tesla (and other BEVs) buy specially-modified tires directly from the tire manufacturers, they have sound-dampening foam inserts adhered to the inside of the tread surface, to significantly reduce certain frequencies of road noise. You need to know that if you get a tire tread puncture, tire shops have to deal with the foam insert before they can properly patch the tire; they might refuse, they might remove some of the foam, or try to loosen and re-attach it, and it could later come loose; either could throw the tire out of balance. The Tesla shops are trained, equipped and experienced and will often give you a replacement tire. So when Tesla charges you more for their OEM tires, there IS a reason. I believe Discount Tire and some other chains can now special-order OEM Tesla tires complete with the sound-dampening foam inserts, but I haven't tried.
PS: I noticed that in their latest release about no more required annual service, Tesla has backed off on recommended tire rotation to 10K-12K miles (or sooner for "aggressive" driving). It had been 6250 miles for Model 3 and 7500 for Model S/X. Experts will now tell you that for modern vehicles and tires, once your tires wear enough that they no longer match, you must put your tires with the best tread on your rear wheels to minimize the risk of loss of vehicle control from rear wheel hydroplaning. So - rotate often, or not at all.
After learning about the Tesla undercarriage lift points, I expected to see red and white "NO LIFT" warning stickers on the bottom of the Model 3 battery pack area, like they put on fragile machinery, crates, boxes and large packages. The fact that Tesla DOESN'T attach warning labels (that I'm aware of) or color any particularly fragile battery pack areas yellow or orange implies to me that improper jacking is actually not much of a problem. I get that there's a protective bottom metal plate and steel crash shields along the front and on the sides of the battery packs. am I missing something? Maybe if you slightly bend or warp the frame (by improper jacking) it will make battery pack removal difficult later?
I bought a set of 4 jack pads for our Model 3 - I hand them to our local Discount Tire guys and look them in the eye before they rotate or work on our tires. We know them, they're honest and competent, and give us free, accurate tire inflation checks any time. After all, tires are a Tesla's primary (and nearly only) maintenance.
Be aware that Tesla (and other BEVs) buy specially-modified tires directly from the tire manufacturers, they have sound-dampening foam inserts adhered to the inside of the tread surface, to significantly reduce certain frequencies of road noise. You need to know that if you get a tire tread puncture, tire shops have to deal with the foam insert before they can properly patch the tire; they might refuse, they might remove some of the foam, or try to loosen and re-attach it, and it could later come loose; either could throw the tire out of balance. The Tesla shops are trained, equipped and experienced and will often give you a replacement tire. So when Tesla charges you more for their OEM tires, there IS a reason. I believe Discount Tire and some other chains can now special-order OEM Tesla tires complete with the sound-dampening foam inserts, but I haven't tried.
PS: I noticed that in their latest release about no more required annual service, Tesla has backed off on recommended tire rotation to 10K-12K miles (or sooner for "aggressive" driving). It had been 6250 miles for Model 3 and 7500 for Model S/X. Experts will now tell you that for modern vehicles and tires, once your tires wear enough that they no longer match, you must put your tires with the best tread on your rear wheels to minimize the risk of loss of vehicle control from rear wheel hydroplaning. So - rotate often, or not at all.
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Silicon Desert
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure if this is what you are talking about or not...... when a Tesla ranger came to my home last year to check on the front suspension, I noticed that he jacked up the right front wheel off the ground about 18 inches at just that one pad point while he looked under the car. Then he lowered it and did the same to the passenger front side. I was impressed that the car could take that. Oh and that was on a Model X
The obvious thing missing from this thread
How does the Tesla SC do tire rotations? Flat pan? Jacks?
Not the tech in your driveway - since it’s my understanding they don’t cross tires, just switch front passenger to rear passenger and rear passenger to front passenger.
How does the Tesla SC do tire rotations? Flat pan? Jacks?
Not the tech in your driveway - since it’s my understanding they don’t cross tires, just switch front passenger to rear passenger and rear passenger to front passenger.
Silicon Desert
Well-Known Member
But you know that some cars, you can't switch front to back due to different size.
Silicon Desert
Well-Known Member
agree
Just clarifying in case some people might be thinking they can swap front to back on any Tesla. ie my neighbor who tried it 
insaneoctane
Well-Known Member
Bought a 2nd jack shortly after I got my Tesla. I have the pucks too. Small investment for peace of mind IMO. I'm at 23K miles and a little overdue for my second rotation. I get to try out my new high torque impact wrench (Christmas gift) this time.
My $0.02.....Either A) Do it yourself, B) Bring it to Tesla, or C) Be VERY involved with the shop you ask to do it, bring your own adapters, and take no one's word/assurances. The percentage of erroneous "talk" from various service centers that think they "got this" is high enough that you need to be very involved.
My $0.02.....Either A) Do it yourself, B) Bring it to Tesla, or C) Be VERY involved with the shop you ask to do it, bring your own adapters, and take no one's word/assurances. The percentage of erroneous "talk" from various service centers that think they "got this" is high enough that you need to be very involved.
Beprimeau
Member
My sons work at the Gigafactory building batteries. Even a small dent in one cell can reduce the current from that cell, so part of the quality control is inspecting the battery packs to look for any damage. So an improperly jacked car could damage the battery without rendering it nonfunctional, but reducing its capacity or longevity.
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
I would caution about jumping to conclusions based on no "no lift" warning labels. All modern cars have factory approved jack points, all other areas are "no jack" areas. But I've never seen a "no jack" area designated with stickers or colored paint on any car. Does that mean you couldn't get away with jacking in a "no jack" point? Of course not.
The fine young men at Les Schwab thought it was OK to jack my $60,000 Volvo from the thin sheet metal passenger floor pan. Yes, it damaged it. The same crew jacked my VW Eurovan from the rear A-arm. Which they thought was a good idea until the big rig slid off their floor jack and sheared off the anchor for the front/rear braking proportioning valve. That cost them around $2500. None of these areas have "no lift" warning stickers so don't assume that means no damage will occur.
Yes, you're missing the fact that the crash shields are designed to protect the battery from side impact, not a misplaced jack. The bottom metal plate is designed to decrease vulnerability to puncture by road debris, not to serve as a jack point.
My last car, a Mazda CX-5 had structural side rails designed to protect the occupants and provide better driving dynamics. But the side rails were strictly off-limits for lifting due to a welded metal seam that protruded downwards (except for two designated spots per side). And, no, it wasn't painted with yellow and black stripes and a "no lift" warning! That didn't prevent some tire shops from crushing that metal seam which is actually structural chassis damage. The problem here is that too many workers in the industry are improperly trained (training costs time and money).
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