Tires rotated @ Costco - any special protocol?

[VQTRVA]

Getting my tires rotated @ Costco this weekend.

Never have let a stranger drive the M.3 before.

I'm thinking valet mode is not necessary & wouldn't deter any wrongful operation or accidents.

Any special settings or instructions I have to provide to the technician to ensure no issues?

 

[AndrewAllen]

Make sure they have the actual model 3 pucks. They have S and X ones too and sometimes they don’t understand the difference.

I had mine on valet mode. I also walked around the car when they were done to ensure they didn’t scratch my wheels with curbs or the air gun.

my Costco does a ton of Tesla so it worked out well.

 

[Matsayz]

It’s a car, not an alien spacecraft. Ask if they have the lift adapters for a Tesla Model 3, if yes or have the ability to lift it properly then give them money to complete the service they have been trained to do.

Don’t over think it.

 

[crackers8199]

when i had mine done at america's tire, they couldn't figure out how to put the car in gear. i had to pull it in and out for them. they figured out how to use the card to unlock the door, but not how to drive the car.

aside from that, i told them and showed them the jack pads and left my set on the front seat, along with a printout from the manual showing how to use them and the jack points. may have been overkill, but better safe than sorry i figured...

 

[VQTRVA]

when i had mine done at america's tire, they couldn't figure out how to put the car in gear. i had to pull it in and out for them. they figured out how to use the card to unlock the door, but not how to drive the car.

aside from that, i told them and showed them the jack pads and left my set on the front seat, along with a printout from the manual showing how to use them and the jack points. may have been overkill, but better safe than sorry i figured...

Yeah the putting in gear was the first thing I thought. LOL

But that jack pag instructions is a great idea thanks!

 

[AndrewAllen]

I have this saved on my phone and always show them too.

 

[AndrewAllen]

It’s a car, not an alien spacecraft. Ask if they have the lift adapters for a Tesla Model 3, if yes or have the ability to lift it properly then give them money to complete the service they have been trained to do.

Don’t over think it.

You underestimate the issues people have had with their undercarriage due to idiots at the tire shop.

 

[mswlogo]

Why oh why can’t folks do stuff them selves these days. Will they clean the inside of the rims for you? That’s what I do when ever a wheel is off. Even wheels with Aero covers on. I love the wheel to look clean when you look through the spokes. I’ll know it’s rotated my way. No risk letting someone drive it. I swap seasonally and rotate at the same time. So I label the wheels. 10x more convenient to do it myself.

I’d make sure creep is on if you let someone drive it.

 

[M109Rider]

Had mine done at Costco. All worked out, but you definitely need to make sure they have the model 3 pucks, (not the S and X pucks).
Also, they have an assembly line system there.
Someone might put the car on the lift, another removes the tires, and other torque’s the lugs down etc.

When my car was driven in, a tech immediately started to slide the stands under to lift the car. I had to stop them, and let him know they need special pucks.
The guy that drove it in, new this, but the tech that started lifting the car without him knowing didn’t.

After that incident, all went very well.
I did have to remind the torque tech about the increased lug torque though. Not sure they would have caught that.

So you do need some hand holding. I also know that after a few more Tesla’s, I’m sure those things wouldn’t happen again.

Mine was one of the first to get tires done there.

Good luck.

 

[hungryjonjon]

Why oh why can’t folks do stuff them selves these days. Will they clean the inside of the rims for you? That’s what I do when ever a wheel is off. Even wheels with Aero covers on. I love the wheel to look clean when you look through the spokes. I’ll know it’s rotated my way. No risk letting someone drive it. I swap seasonally and rotate at the same time. So I label the wheels. 10x more convenient to do it myself.

I’d make sure creep is on if you let someone drive it.

I got mine rotated at AAA yesterday for $15 and faster than I could do it because everything is slower with a single jack.

 

[postersw]

Why oh why can’t folks do stuff them selves these days. Will they clean the inside of the rims for you? That’s what I do when ever a wheel is off. Even wheels with Aero covers on. I love the wheel to look clean when you look through the spokes. I’ll know it’s rotated my way. No risk letting someone drive it. I swap seasonally and rotate at the same time. So I label the wheels. 10x more convenient to do it myself.

I’d make sure creep is on if you let someone drive it.

If you rotate your own tires, do you use 2 jacks? If you just use one jack, what is your process?

 

[mswlogo]

If you rotate your own tires, do you use 2 jacks? If you just use one jack, what is your process?

I rotate with Winter tires. But if I didn’t, I’d use two jacks or a jack stand or a spare. With Model 3 the Mobile guys use one jack and the whole side goes up . I forget if they jack from the rear or front. The body is so stiff it all goes up. I’m old school I only rotate front to back. Partly also many of my tires have been directional. So I never bother to cross. Never had an issue with not crossing tires that could have been crossed.

 

[KenC]

I was thinking about this topic yesterday since my snow tires just arrived. I'm going to hang the pucks I made for them, since it's a tireshop that doesn't see many Teslas. My pucks have just enough friction around the nub so that they hang by themselves. Of course, I'm more likely to forget they're hanging, and drive away, but better that than trust they'll remember to put the pucks in.

Then I'll set the driver profile to SnowDay, since that's the one I set up with low regen and chill mode. Definitely no one-pedal "Hold", as that'll be tricky if they've never done it before. That's the driving feel most like a regular car. When they did my wheel alignment, they were so afraid to drive the car, they made me drive it on to their alignment rig, and set the steering wheel straight.

And, after a day, I'll retorque the nuts, because I don't trust them to torque up to 129ft-lbs.

 

[Magnets!]

yes, special protocol is you must have a hot dog with sauerkraut (special request) while waiting ;-)

 

[mswlogo]

I was thinking about this topic yesterday since my snow tires just arrived. I'm going to hang the pucks I made for them, since it's a tireshop that doesn't see many Teslas. My pucks have just enough friction around the nub so that they hang by themselves. Of course, I'm more likely to forget they're hanging, and drive away, but better that than trust they'll remember to put the pucks in.

Then I'll set the driver profile to SnowDay, since that's the one I set up with low regen and chill mode. Definitely no one-pedal "Hold", as that'll be tricky if they've never done it before. That's the driving feel most like a regular car. When they did my wheel alignment, they were so afraid to drive the car, they made me drive it on to their alignment rig, and set the steering wheel straight.

And, after a day, I'll retorque the nuts, because I don't trust them to torque up to 129ft-lbs.

You’ve made your own pucks, you retorque their nuts. Why not change the tires yourself?

 

[Fredneck]

Geeze, so even having tires rotated is a big deal with a Tesla? At what mileage should they be rotated. I am so used to not doing that I forgot to think about it.

My other cars have been trucks and I've never had a set of tired wear oddly. 50,000 miles plus on each set.

 

[mswlogo]

Geeze, so even having tires rotated is a big deal with a Tesla? At what mileage should they be rotated. I am so used to not doing that I forgot to think about it.

My other cars have been trucks and I've never had a set of tired wear oddly. 50,000 miles plus on each set.

It’s no bigger a deal than on any other vehicle. I also jack them up all the same way, under the suspension. No special jack pads needed. I do have them though in case the car is ever put on a lift at a non Tesla service station.

BTW, I used to get 70,000 miles on my truck (SUV) tires but I always rotated anything with 4 wheels.

 

[KenC]

You’ve made your own pucks, you retorque their nuts. Why not change the tires yourself?

I do, but I've got to get the snow tires mounted first.

 

[mswlogo]

I do, but I've got to get the snow tires mounted first.

Ah, I see. I bring the wheels and rims I think one of the biggest reasons I like to do it myself is some bozo's over torque them. So I try to avoid even the first time mount as well.

 

[KenC]

Ah, I see. I bring the wheels and rims I think one of the biggest reasons I like to do it myself is some bozo's over torque them. So I try to avoid even the first time mount as well.

Normally that's what I do too. I order tires with rims, and never visit a tire shop ever, except for alignments. But, if you've done it, you realize that you're ordering snow tires with 3rd-party rims, and you wish you could put your OEM tires on the 3rd-party rims, and the snows on the OEM rims. So, this time, I'm buying snow tires to go on the OEM rims, and I'll buy summer tires to go on 3rd-party rims come Spring.