thomas1

Well here's the story, I had a road hazard failure on one of my front tires (Michelin Cross Terrains) and they have 5/32 left of tread. When I went to Costco to get that tire replaced under warranty, I was informed that because my vehicle is AWD that they could only replace all 4 tires because of safety concerns. (Costco Policy) which by the way was never stated when I purchased the tires four years ago. Man, four tires when I only planned on one. I called Lexus of AMerica to get a statement of their policy, and they would not commit, but passed me to the local dealership (Lexus of Sacramento) Where I spoke to the Service Manager who said they had replaced a single tire many times with no problems, except that they would not back that up because I was at a third party vender(Costco). I am furious, one because when I bought the tires I was promised road hazard which they would commit to, but only on that one tire, the other 3 would be at full cost, two: because when I bought the tires nowhere on their contract does it state the weird warranty for the AWD/four wheel drive vehicles, and THree: No where in the owners manual does it state their is a problem other than using different size tire on the vehicle for replacement with the other ones being a different size. I finally got mad enough to get all four tires to be adjusted, but it was only $18 per tire for a $165 tire. They did not charge for mounting, but all taxes and disposal fees applied. Nice to have all new tires but quite frankly they would have gone another 20k miles on the old tires. What does everyone think about this????

RayN

Costco and Sams will replace 1 tire with your road hazard warranty. It all depends who you talk to.

thomas1

Not if you have AWD/four wheel drive and the tires are worn over 50%.....I called Sams and they responded the same as Costco...

bob2200

Yes, I would be very angry. I have FWD and have a new spare, so I don't anticipate that problem. I agree with RayN, it likely depends on who at Costco you talk to.

carguy07

Just take the wheel in (off the car) and have them replace it. If they ask tell them it is FWD. Then take your new tire to a speed shop to have it shaved to match the others. IMO

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=18

thomas1

You know I could have tried that, just was trying to avoid taking the wheel off myself, my daughter makes me go through that seemingly 3 or 4 times a year. She is death on tires. The reason Costco and Sams dont want to do it is because of possible safety and transmission problems, sounds like somebody must have sued them after having the tires replaced. Nothing is simple anymore, I am out $550 for the one tire after replacing all four, but I am not done with Costco yet, The manager was not in and I had to deal with the assistant manager. We'll see. I was just wondering if anyone felt it was a safety or mechanical issue to put one new tire on with three worn tires..???

carguy07

I would say that is one of those "potential" problems. I bet you could drive around with mismatched tires for years and never even notice. But the potential liability is probably is not worth the risk for Costco. Honestly other than the center differential thing, you could have the same antilock/stability control issues on any car.

trhs75

That's too bad, Thomas! I see Costco's point, but it does seem like you're getting screwed a little here.

RayN

I've been doing this at Sams and Costco and have no problem at all on changing just one tire. Will be going to Sams this week for a replacement.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

ALL major tire companies have this same policy...

I bought an AWD Eagle Talon off a kid who destroyed the center diff because of this exact same problem... for me, it was a cheap, easy fix, but for most, it is an expensive, time consuming problem if/when the center diff fails...

differences in rotating diameter overheat the coupling from front to rear - same goes for vehicles with limited slip differentials, though not as severe...

Firestone, Costco, Sams, Walmart, Discount Tire / Americas Tire, NTB, and more all have the exact same policy - more than 2/32's tread worn down / difference in tread depth, and you are replacing all 4...

I worked for Discount Tire at the time when we had to replace the center diff (not my store, another) in an AWD Subaru... not a cheap proposition at all...

Why do you think Lexus wouldn't commit to an answer - look in your owners manual - IIRC, it states something along the lines of all 4 tires should match in tread design, size and manufacturer, and diameter should not be different...

thomas1

My 1999 manual does not state the diameter or manufacturer requirements, ony the same size and design. Lexus dealership stated no problem, but would not put it in writing.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

I'd just get one tire. The difference in rotational diameter due to wear is no different than when one is underinflated and another is overinflated by a couple of PSI.

("The sky is falling!!!")

RayN

Check this link.
http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/diffautoAWD_AWD.html

mwbuck

Costco refused to replace my 225's with 235's because 235's are not listed in their book as an acceptable tire for the RX.

mikey00

I hit something on the road the other day and sliced the sidewall of my Costco Michelin Cross Terrain. I put the spare on and was about to head to Costco when I remembered this post. Instead, I went home and put the bad tire in the trunk of my other car and then proceeded to Costco. They replaced the one tire, no problem. But I did have 7/32nds left on the tire.