Replacement tires for 300C AWD, where iarethe pressure sensors?

What's not to trust? It's a simple task that they perform all day long,
it's pretty hard to screw up. I use Mobil 1 which comes from bottles not
from a barrel so they aren't going to be slipping some low grade oil in.
I've been using the same place for 10 years and I've never had a problem.

 

The Mobil Lube places are good. We get the Mobile One and actually
watch them pour it in by the bottle. We can also see the guy changing
the filter. We have never had a bad experience at a Mobile, but I
have heard of bad experiences at Jiffy Lube.

 

I consider changing engine oil (or any other work on a car) FAR more fun
than assembling computers.... that's way too close to what I do for work.


But then I enjoy mowing my own lawn (and fixing my own mower), planting
my own flowerbeds, wiring my own house, planting my own garden,
remodeling the house, building my own deck, etc. etc. etc. too. F**k
golf and jogging, give me a hobby with tangible results!

 

That they use the correct oil.
That they use the correct AMOUNT of oil.
That they put it in the right hole (engine oil in the transmission anyone?)
That they drain the old oil.
That they don't strip the drain plug.
That they tighten the filter.
That they don't OVER tighten the filter.
That they put the right fluids in the differential and transmission.
That they don't overtighten those fill plugs.
The list goes on for pages.... I just got through un-screwing a long
list of things that Jiffy Lube (used religiously by the previous owner)
screwed up on my Cherokee.

So's flipping burgers.... how many times does your lunch order get
screwed up?

 

Why is someone who does 40-50 oil changes a day using pneumatic tools and
standing comfortably in a pit with decent lighting more likely to make a
mistake than someone who does 2 oil changes a year, with a socket wrench
that has no torque calibration, laying on his back in a driveway with a
flashlight for illumination? I do count the bottles of Mobil 1 that use,
just to be on the safe side, but I've never seen them use the wrong number.

 

and lets not forget.........the ones who actually pull the filter and put a
new one on (instead of just cleaning your old one and telling you they did)
and when they change it out, forget to check if the old o- ring come off
with the filter???


remember most of them deal in volume of work, not quality of work.

 

you let them use air tools on your drain plug?

 

Why are quick lube places inherently untrustworthy and dealerships or
Joe's Auto Service inherently trustworthy?

A few decades ago in another country my cousin was getting oil filters
free or cheap from a friend who worked in an auto service place and was
checking new filters out from the store and not installing them.

Perce

 

It would probably be impossible for a DIY'er to strip an oil pan plug
with normal size wrenches - lying on their back or otherwise. However
it is routine for "professional" mechanics to do it with either impact
wrenches cranked all the way up or with extra long wrenches and pulling
as hard as they can (maybe they are trained to do so or just lack
intelligence, or are mad at the world and are intentionally destructive
- who knows why or exactly how?). Regardless of *how* or *why* they do
it (I almost believe that a person would have to *want* to do it to
accomplish it), they do manage to do it quite often, whereas I can't
imagine a DIY'er, competent or not, accomplishing it (unless they are
using an impact wrench and have no brains).

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Good point. I actually - before and after - visually checked the oil
filter and the color and level of the oil in my elderly mother's brand
new car the first time she took it in for an oil change at the local
Chrysler dealer. When she got it back, it still had the flat black
filter on it with "ORIGINAL FACTORY FILTER" paint stamped on it, and the
oil level and color were the same as when she took it in. It was not a
"free" "change" - they charged her for it. Do you think it was an
honest mistake?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Precisely BECAUSE they do so many that they're on autopilot whereas I'm
thinking clearly about what I'm doing. And by the way, if I caught
anyone using pneumatic tools on my oil drain plug I'd storm into the
work bay and shove the tool where the sun don't shine! Pneumatic tools
have NO place in an oil change.

Secondly, they're more likely to make a mistake because its not their
car and they don't care about it.

 

The problem with Jiffy Lubes (and all the quick lube places) is that your
experience with them is -highly- variable, as you get a different guy every
time you pull into the place. The majority of guys there are good, but some
are bad. They also are under tremendous pressure to get the cars in and
out.

We have a local Jiffy Lube about 5 blocks from here. They advertise 19.95
oil changes all the time. Now, they buy the oil in bulk but they still are
paying
somewhere around a buck a quart, and a decent oil filter at retail is about
$5,
they are probably paying $3, so that leaves a profit of about $10 per oil
change.

Now assuming they are paying minimum wage of $7 an hour, plus payroll taxes
and all the rest their labor and overhead costs are likely $15 hour. Then
there
is the building mortgage/lease. So to make a profit at all they have to be
doing
a minimum of 2 oil changes an hour for -each- guy working there. And a lot
of the times the guys are sitting around doing nothing. During the busy
times
they are probably running the cars in and out every 15 minutes.

It's easy to see that if they are just doing oil changes they likely are
running in
the red.

To make up for this they upsell all manner of stuff - wiper fluid, wipers,
you
name it, at outrageous markups. But not everyone buys them.

It's definitely a hard way for a business to make a living. And you can
imagine
that they can't afford to pay much above minimum.

A guy coming in to work there who is good is going to work the minimum
amount of time needed to get a better job. And a guy who is an idiot isn't
going to
be able to find anything better and will probably be stuck there.

Now, as to your Costco "deal-o-the-month"

I have a set of Costco tires on my van. At the same time I bought that set
I also bought an equivalent set of Firestones for my other van. I bought
the
extended warranty at Firestone.

The Costco tires are way more expensive. The reason why is that the Costco
extended warranty is only in force if you maintain your Costco membership.
Thus, unlike the Firestone warranty where you pay about $80 or whatever when
you buy them, you have to pay your $60 costco membership every year or
you lose the warranty.

Secondly, the Costco warranty DOES NOT COVER YOU if your tire wear
is NOT within 3 32nd of each other. So, you basically have to get the
vehicle
aligned before you even put the tires on (which is not a dumb idea) and you
have to maintain it's alignment. AND you must regularly rotate your tires
at
Costco. It is NOT DIFFICULT for 4 tires on a vehicle to get further than
3/32 of wear from each other.

Last, the Costco coupons for special pricing ONLY APPLY to a set of FOUR
tires. Thus, if you have a tire failure, (road hazard or whatever) then
sure you get
a new one. But, guess what. You have an AWD. Your owners manual will tell
you that running 1 new tire in a set of 3 ones with 1/2 tread left on them
is
verboten on AWD - because the tires are different radiuses. And naturally,
once one of the tires is different, then Costco won't honor the warranty on
the set of tires - because now they are not within 3 32 of wear of each
other.
The upshot is if 1 tires fails they will replace it but you have to buy the
other
3 at regular retail - you can't use a coupon. Thus you end up paying the
same for the remaining 3 as for the 4 you bought originally. Some deal.

The last trick I've seen them pull is NOT recording the vehicle mileage
when they installed the tires. I caught them doing that on mine and the
lame line was "I forgot" Oh sure you did. Without a mileage reading
at time of installation Costco will simply say there is no proof the tires
were within warranty.

Costco isn't stupid, they have figured this thing out. They give with the
coupons and the discount tires, and they take away with the membership.
And the membership fee is set as high as it is because it makes people
think that they gotta get their mileage out of their expensive membership
by shopping at the place all the time. So people do that and quit
comparison
shopping with other retailers and grocery stores and such. And, Costco
is a specialist in mixing regular priced stuff in with their low priced
great
deals. Most Costco shoppers get used to going there and end up
spending more than they need to, and their average grocery bill is no
better than a regular store.

Ted

 

the sensors are a delicate device and thye should be retrained after tire
replament if the rims move on the car but if they stay in the same place they
should be ok

 

I agree.
On the longer term Michelins are the best deal and they are safer as
well. I've bought Michelins since 1978, although since then I've had
other make tires on new cars, all those had to be replaced prematurely.

 

A floor jack and 1/2 hour of my time in the spring and fall and I've
swapped my tires.[/QUOTE]

All season tires eliminate that effort and the cost of another set of
tires/rims.

 

All season tires are pure shit if you experience snow and sub-freezing
weather for several months each year, and you want to preserve your
original (expensive, aluminum) rims from the effects of salt as well as
skidding into curbs and hitting pot-holes in late winter.

Snow tires are no gimmick. They have a different tread pattern and
rubber formulation designed for low temperatures. And the milage you
put on them in the winter will extend the life of the regular tires you
have for the other 3 seasons.

Although this is drastic (and some would argue that the gov't is going
too far), it is now manditory to have snow tires in Quebec after Nov
15. Apparently they have this in Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia as
well.

--------------
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/12/20/quebec-snowtires.html

As of Nov. 15, 2008, drivers will have to equip their vehicles with snow
tires from that day each year through to April 15. The province
estimates that 90 per cent of vehicles already use snow tires though an
estimated 500,000 people rely on all-season tires.
--------------

 

Can you cite objective material supporting this "safety" claim - other
than TV advertizing showing a baby riding around in a tire?

 

AWD and automatic traction control has pretty much eliminated the need for
snow tires. I live in New England where snow and ice are not a stranger to
us. I've found the handling of my 300C AWD with the original Continentals
to be just fine even on black ice. On several occasions I've hit ice
patches and the car was able to stop straight and true while the other
cars that were on the same road were doing 180s. If you have a rear drive
car then you would probably need snow tires, however I would never
consider buying a rear drive car in New England, they make those for the
California market.

 

AWD is more mechanical garbage than I want to have in a car. It's a
poor trade-off between increased cost in terms of up-front intial cost
and long-term maintainence and decreased MPG vs the few occasions when
you really need it. A FWD car with snow tires (without needing fancy
traction control) will easily do the job in winter.

All season tires that are hard (hard because they're designed to be
high-milage tires, and are even harder in the cold) are brutal in ice.
The AWD argument is bogus when you're braking. All cars have 4-wheel
brakes.

And with snow tires you'd be able to stop in a shorter distance.

 

AWD is more mechanical garbage than I want to have in a car. It's a
poor trade-off between increased cost in terms of up-front intial cost
and long-term maintainence and decreased MPG vs the few occasions when
you really need it. A FWD car with snow tires (without needing fancy
traction control) will easily do the job in winter.

All season tires that are hard (hard because they're designed to be
high-milage tires, and are even harder in the cold) are brutal in ice.
The AWD argument is bogus when you're braking. All cars have 4-wheel
brakes.

And with snow tires you'd be able to stop in a shorter distance.[/QUOTE]

Hear, hear, I second what you say.
I've had both FWD and RWD for many years, FWD anytime.
My newer FWD car has traction control, we'll see if it is an advantage
next winter. Our winters have been getting colder with more snow the
last several years.

-A skier from snow country.