| Dalite |
I have 46K miles on my 04 MO. I replaced 2 of the tires at 18K due to sidewall puncture (actually within the first tread near the sidewall). Both were put on the front.
At the first Rotation interval, the dealership said to leave them alone and let them wear a bit more before rotating. Now, I am informed that all 4 tires are at or close to the wear bars, and they have dry rot on the sidewalls and between the treads.
Inspection shows they do have the dry rot between the treads as well as on the sidewall. I had to see this for myself
I am looking at replacing the all 4 tires at the 46K mile mark.
That gives 46 K for 2 tires, and 28K for the other 2.
I do not drive this car agressively. Most road miles are below 2k RPM. Dealership has handled all maintenance since it was new.
Is there any chance of getting some kind of pro-rating on the tire wear? The MO is at the dealership, so I don't have access to the paperwork or warranties.
Having to put another set of tires with a lifespan of 30K before dry rot makes them unsafe doesn't seem like an option that a sane person would choose, but the dealership has no problem suggesting that path.
The first set (2) were $300 installed. This set of 4 will be $110 each, with free mounting and balancing.
I guess the price is right, and the safety factor makes it seem a little less than blackmail, but I feel that ther tires should hold up a bit better.
I know Chrysler used them on the PT Cruiser, and actually limited the speed in the computer programming to coincide with the speed rating of the tire.
Apparenlty, Goodyear makes some special pricing to the dealership for these to be used OEM.
I am not sure if that is a good thing or not... |
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| njjoe |
Dalite-
The OEM tires have no guaranteed tread life, so there is no warranty consideration in your case.
TireRack sells the OEM Goodyears for $134 each, so $110 with mounting and balancing is a very good deal.
I would not be concerned with dry rot. Those small cracks you see between the treads and on the sidewalls are not really dry rot. They do not affect the structural integrity of the tire. That is just as ploy used by the dealer to scare you into getting new tires.
The OEM Goodyears are a decent tire. They are quiet, have low rolling resistance, and offer good all-around handling and traction. They really are not a bad tire. Many Mo owners have opted for them when their originals became worn.
-njjoe |
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| Tyler_Canada |
| That amount of wear for 28,000 miles seems like a bit much. Have you ever had an alignment? Nissan's can get out of whack pretty fast. I always had mine aligned in the spring every year. |
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| elliotgb |
I went about 65k miles on the OEM Goodyears. Three tire still had pretty good tread, but the fronts were worn enough to start hydroplaning in wet weather. I had them rotated on a regular basis and that definitely helped.
I now have Kumho Solus KR21's and they are performing remarklably well. Inexpensive and supposed to be good for 80k miles. |
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| Kris |
Dalite,
Joe is right. Just for your info - my first set lasted 30k miles, the same second. I put 34k on the third before trade in and there was decent amount of tread left. I would say I could get most likely 45k Miles out of that set of tires. I always had tire rotated and alignment done regularly. I believe for tire to have good wet and dry traction, handle well and have good smooth ride they cannot last too long. If I get 30k - 40K miles out tires and they perform well I am happy. I still do not know how people get 60k+ miles out of GDY LS....
They are decent tires, not great but decent. They do everything well and for the price it is not easy to fined a better one. |
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| Dalite |
Well, I went to pick up the car today and was met with the usual treatment that I have come to expect from the Nissan "Stealership"
The dealership had subbed Kumho Solus KR21's, told me they were a better tire......
I had already prepared myself for another set of Goodyears, and was content to sacrifice wear-ability for increased traction and safety.
In addition, there was a fairly large degree of vibration from 55 to 60 MPH.
Plus all the "normal" dealer enhancements - $59.95 charge for free mounting and balancing, $79.95 for the $59.95 alignment..
Finally, I notice the front mud guard (Mud Flap) pulled away from the front bumper cover with part of the front bumper attached.
I guess it shouldn't have been much of a surprise.
I also got a replacement battery, as somehow the dealership had determined that the battery was only putting out 250 of the rated 350 CCA. I didn't ask if they replaced it with the same undersized battery it came with.
The car is back home now.
The tires were rotated again to find the least amount of tire mismatch to reduce the vibration. Parts department wrote me a 60K mileage warranty on the tires; and signed it. bill was voided and rewritten correctly at quoted prices. Stealership will replace the subbed tires with the stock Goodyears any time in the coming 7 days, if I so desire.
I couldn't actually say that the damage to the bumper cover was done while there, so it wasn't mentioned. I believe I would have noticed it before, but cannot be 100% positive...
The car was supposed to be parked inside while staying there. I let them bump it yesterday for completion today, thinking I was helping them in scheduling.
Also, they did vacuum the inside.
To me, this was a bunch of lovin' and no kissin'.
Is it any wonder that folks are leery of going to the dealership for service?
Any response on the desirability between the Goodyear and Kumho would be appreciated.
I have a 300 mile trip this weekend to see how they ride. |
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| njjoe |
Dalite-
Did they replace the battery without asking you? If so, did they do it under warranty?
And the tires... they substituted the Kumhos without telling you? What did they charge you for the new tires? For comparison purposes, TireRack sells the Kumhos for $80 each.
-njjoe |
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| Dalite |
quote:
Originally posted by njjoe
Dalite-
Did they replace the battery without asking you? If so, did they do it under warranty?
And the tires... they substituted the Kumhos without telling you? What did they charge you for the new tires? For comparison purposes, TireRack sells the Kumhos for $80 each.
-njjoe
I was informed about the battery by phone and had aproved it's replacement. I was in another city on a cell phone in a resturant at the time, so there may be a chance of less than ideal conditions to discuss the finer points, but I was informed that it was 100 CCA below specs when tested. I come from old school (Sun VAT 2040) and I didn't know that the current testing could be that quantitative....
There was no mention of warranty, and when I asked if there was any prorata on the battery, I was told no.
I do remember reading through the archives here that the original battery was chosen do to stock available, rather than actual reserve capacity. I am sure that I got the same as what came out. It was $92.00 plus 25.00 installation. I believe that included CoPro.
The tires were chosen by them.. While I didn't specify the Goodyears, they were what I expected.
I was informed about the need for replacement due to dry rot and being close to the wear indicators during the same phone conversation while 70 miles away. I was quoted 110.00 each with free mounting and balancing, but not informed of the brand substitution.
Brand name was never mentioned.
They (Service writer. Service Manager) were taken aback when I seemed unhappy.
I was told the KumHos were much better tires and how all of them used them on their cars and their grandmiothers would settle for nothing less to go on their walkers.
I am really not a happy camper.
I have an out of town trip planned for the weekend that has been in the works for a few months now.
My current state of mind tells me to take it back tomorrow, ask for my original Goodyear tires back, as well as my original battery.
The battery was deep discharged to 9 volts at one time, so I expect that there may be validity to the diminished capacity test results, however, it cranked without objection when the temps here were in the mid 20s. I don't know of a better real-world test than cold weather cranking potential.
Now, the real tear jerker conclusion.
I am retired on disability.
Both my Mother and Mother-In-Law live with my wife and myself.
The wife has the good fortune of working 8 to 12 hours a day, so I am it on the home front.I can't take any chances on not having dependable transportation available.
The monthly payment on the MO is 1/3 of what I bring in monthly. None of us are missing any meals, but we aren't putting much in the bank; especially with the dealership playing fast and loose with my pension.
I have the 60K service coming up this year. I believe this is the one in which they service the transmission to the tune of around $500.00. Without even adding insurance and gas into the mix, the MO will cost me $10K this year alone with the combo of payments, this service and the 60K upcoming service.
I bought a super nice '94 S-10 pick-up with the 4.3 Vortec 6 cylinder engine a few months back. It is paid for, has great tires and gets as good, if not better gas mileage using technology that is 10 years earlier. $10K could do a lot of restoring to a $2K truck, and it still would be paid for. :3: |
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| Kris |
Dalite
sorry to hear your ordeal...
This is the reason I hate dealers.....I cannot stand their sneaky scary tactics.....
Be carefull with the 60k service...they will try to get you on at least $500! They will want to change coolant, belts, flash steering system, flash brakes, flash CVT etc. You can very easily end up with something close to $800 - $900....most of which would be waste of money... |
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| Tyler_Canada |
The stock '03 batteries were supposedly 483 CCA. I can't remember if the newer ones were 500 or 550 CCA. I bought a 600 CCA for $90 elsewhere after laughing at my dealer's parts department for offering a 500 CCA for $150.
After almost 5 years of comparisons, the local Nissan dealers charge an average of double the price at parts stores on all parts. If it's not a Nissan specific part, I get it elsewhere. |
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| njjoe |
Dalite-
The OEM battery has a pro-rated warranty limited to 3 years/36,000 miles. If your OEM battery was approaching 4 years old then it was a good time to get a new one.
The Kumhos are a good alternative to the stock Goodyears. Here's a link to a thread that discusses the Kumhos -
CLICK HERE . I think they have an 80,000 mile treadwear warranty, so they should last quite a while. Several members have opted for the Kumhos, and to the best of my recollection there have been no complaints. $92 is a bit steep for the Kumhos, but not that bad when you consider they were purchased through the Nissan dealer. Was the $25 installation fee for the total job or for each tire? I thought they were offering free balancing and mounting?
If you want to save a few hundred dollars I suggest you go elsewhere for the 60,000 mile service. No transmission service is needed at 60,000 miles. All you really need to do is change the oil and filter, replace the air filer, rotate the tires, and empty the ashtray. Oh yeah, that's right, no ashtrays. You can get all that done for less than $100. If you lived near me I'd do it for cost, which is $18 for the oil and filter, air filter is $12, the cabin air filter is $13, for a grand total of $43.
-njjoe |
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| njjoe |
quote:
Originally posted by Kris
This is the reason I have dealers.....I cannot stand their sneaky scary tactics.....
Kris-
I think it is safe to say that you meant to write "...I hate dealers...", right?
-njjoe |
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| Dalite |
quote:
Originally posted by njjoe
Dalite-
The Kumhos are a good alternative to the stock Goodyears. Here's a link to a thread that discusses the Kumhos -
CLICK HERE . I think they have an 80,000 mile treadwear warranty, so they should last quite a while. Several members have opted for the Kumhos, and to the best of my recollection there have been no complaints. $92 is a bit steep for the Kumhos, but not that bad when you consider they were purchased through the Nissan dealer. Was the $25 installation fee for the total job or for each tire? I thought they were offering free balancing and mounting?
If you want to save a few hundred dollars I suggest you go elsewhere for the 60,000 mile service. No transmission service is needed at 60,000 miles. All you really need to do is change the oil and filter, replace the air filer, rotate the tires, and empty the ashtray. Oh yeah, that's right, no ashtrays. You can get all that done for less than $100. If you lived near me I'd do it for cost, which is $18 for the oil and filter, air filter is $12, the cabin air filter is $13, for a grand total of $43.
-njjoe
The $92.00 + $24.95 was fpr the battery and installation.
The tires were $109.95 each, mounted and balanced. They got me for $50.00 each on each tire above what Tire Rack would charge for the Kumhos as opposed to the Goodyears. I thought the $110.00 each was for the Goiodyears.
That is pretty much it. It is on my shoulders now if I wish to continue to encourage their tactics by shrugging it off.
I have (on more than one occaision) considered getting rid of the MO for payoff, just to get away from reliance on the dealership.
It is a shame to admit that, but without a suport mechanism, the consumer is unprotected. Driving around with the CVT on the engine size of the MO, I was forced to purchase the extended warranty (additional 1.5K$) and feel compelled to have it serviced by the dealer just to keep the cost down when the tranny does go south.
From what I understand, the only way to fix a ten cent bolt inside the CVT is pay $8K for a new transmission., When I last checked, the dealerships had no plans on geraing up in terms of tools and tecnician knowledge to attempt any repair on the transmission at all.
I would try to avoid the 60K trans service fee, but can't take the chance of voiding the extended warranty that I purchased to replace the tranny when it fails. The tail is wagging the dog here, and the dealership knows they have a fish on the line. When I bought this car, I became an early adopter, and will be forced to endure what all early adopters characteristically have to endure.
It is the most costly lesson that I have had to learn, and the dealership had certainly not missed a chance to reinforce their position in the lovefest. |
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| Kris |
quote:
Originally posted by njjoe
Kris-
I think it is safe to say that you meant to write "...I hate dealers...", right?
-njjoe
You are perfectly right Joe, ;) |
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| Dalite |
quote:
Originally posted by Kris
Dalite
sorry to hear your ordeal...
This is the reason I have dealers.....I cannot stand their sneaky scary tactics.....
Be carefull with the 60k service...they will try to get you on at least $500! They will want to change coolant, belts, flash steering system, flash brakes, flash CVT etc. You can very easily end up with something close to $800 - $900....most of which would be waste of money...
I know... I went through this on the 30k service. I think it was around $500.
I haven't insisted on getting the trans fluid index recorded at each service to have a record of how it is "wearing", so I don't have much to go on as far resisting geting it changed.
This dealership says they won't flash anything unless the system throws a failure code. From my experience with ECM operating systems and task managers, minor failure and anomalies are stored on the computer, but do not signal a failure code.
I have tried for the past 3 years to get them to do something about the driver's sealt belt from locking up under minor acceleration. It is a safety issue, and will ultimately cost lives.
So far, they have replaced it once, and insist that the sensors are mechanical and it isn't something that can be corrected in software (firmware).
That makes me feel really good about the money spent is all those airbags. Digital technology with analog thinking triggered by 20th century sensors.
I have a friend that is an investigator for a firm that does a lot in the state courts here. I may have him drive down for the day when I take it in for 60K service and let him give the dealership a rectal exam through careful inspection of what they say and do. He owes me a few, and has the kind of sense of humor that would appreciate this tasking.
It is all a game to them (dealership) and I am tired of financing their lack of skill in playing. |
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