Costco Tire Balance issue

[Cmobile]

I had an alignment shortly after buyinh the car just over a year ago, then again a few months ago when I had an indy euro shop replace the rear axle shaft.
They did a full inspection and only the rear shaft boot was noted. They put in genuine Volvo shaft

 

[eljefino]

You could have a bent rim. The tire techs know and put them on the rear so you roll out of the shop feeling great. Why don't they say anything? It could ruin the sale, with the customer distracted by hunting down a junkyard rim, or worse, buying rims & tires together from TireRack or whatever.

 

[Dborch41]

If this is within your abilities, you might want to try replacing each wheel one at a time (obviously) with the spare if you have one, then take it out for a drive and see if the vibration goes away. That way you can at least narrow the problem down to a single wheel.
Tedious as it may be, the process of elimination is always a good first step towards problem solving.

 

[Hall]

Why don't they say anything?

Many people will blame them for damaging it.

 

[edyvw]

If their tire balance machine says it's balanced, what else can they (Costco) do ? It's either balanced and something else is wrong or their machine is off.


Honest question: With Costco being so far away, why join there ?

Tires might be balanced, but if alignment is an issue or suspension, it doesn’t matter.
But, it seems issue started with rotation of tires. Maybe rear tires are out of balance and now that they are in front, it is more obvious.

 

[I<3oil]

I have used Discount Tire for 20 years, always happy with the service, but this year I purchased from Costco.

Was about $200 cheaper for the set compared to DT with certs.

Michelin CrossClimate 2 on the XC70 and Avalon. Love the tires.
Fast forward to first Tire rotation, Balance and pressure check on the XC70, waited 1.75 hours even with an appt., get on the HWY and feel, vibrations. Make another appt 1 week out, they Balance only. They get it done 1.5 hours later. Costco prints out the amount of weights that were installed on each tire. Depending on Tire is was .5 oz to .75 oz off.

Drive home and vibration was less, abd acceptable.

It's been a week and vibrations are back.

What is your opinion,
Go to Discount Tire and pay $50 to have them Balance, or give Costco another chance..

Not a fan of how long it takes for anything Tire related at Costco. There is only one within a 70 mile radius.

Has anyone experienced Balance issues from Costco?

DAng, that stinks. I've had 3 vehicles with tires from Costco. No issues at all here and I go between 3 different Costcos, depending on where I'm going to be taking it.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

My sons car had a vibration when we put on the all seasons that it didn't have last year. My rotations are basically at fall and spring.

I went to Honda dealer as they are actually pretty cheap and do road force balance. One of his tires had 19-20 lbs RF according to the tech but others were like 12 IIRC. He put the higher one on RR. Steering wheel vibration gone. Tires are 1.5 years old with a full 3 season on them. That higher one was on rear last year so didn't notice the issue.

The Costco's by me do not do road force balance.

 

[Dr Oldz]

1: Do you have custom wheels or wheels that need a hub-centric ring? That perhaps fell off?

2: Are the mating surfaces of the wheels/rotors/drums clean and corrosion free?

3: Have a reputable tech look at it.

 

[loneryder]

I have used Discount Tire for 20 years, always happy with the service, but this year I purchased from Costco.

Was about $200 cheaper for the set compared to DT with certs.

Michelin CrossClimate 2 on the XC70 and Avalon. Love the tires.
Fast forward to first Tire rotation, Balance and pressure check on the XC70, waited 1.75 hours even with an appt., get on the HWY and feel, vibrations. Make another appt 1 week out, they Balance only. They get it done 1.5 hours later. Costco prints out the amount of weights that were installed on each tire. Depending on Tire is was .5 oz to .75 oz off.

Drive home and vibration was less, abd acceptable.

It's been a week and vibrations are back.

What is your opinion,
Go to Discount Tire and pay $50 to have them Balance, or give Costco another chance..

Not a fan of how long it takes for anything Tire related at Costco. There is only one within a 70 mile radius.

Has anyone experienced Balance issues from Costco?

Never had balancing problems with Costco but have had tire inflation problems. They always put the maximum pressure in the tires. I have MB's that tell you to use the inflation chart on the back of the gas flat. These values are different than on the decal on the driver door sill. I realize some makes don't have any values on the gas filler cover. The max inflation is 50
# and that's what they put in them. So you get on the road and the tires increase to 7-8# over inflated. Not to mention it rides rough. They do it every time. I've argued with them but their argument is that they are instructed to go by the door sill decal. On my vehicle that is 50#. I now just back in to the self serve inflators and dial in 35# and it proceeds to let 15# out.
So long story to suggest you check your tires inflation. They may be over inflated.

 

[Marcozi]

Tires have 7000 miles on them.

First 7000 miles was vibration free. It was only after rotate balance was the vibration felt. 2nd balance after rotate resolved 95% of the balance. Was noticeable, but ever so slight, but 1 week, later the vibrations are back.


@edyvw,
Sorry, I wasn't clear. We have 1 Costco in town, next closest one os over 70 miles away

If the vibrations occurred after the balance and rotation the problem may be how the tires we mounted in their new positions. Are the lug nuts tightened to spec? Over tightening alloys can distort the alloy. Were the hubs and wheels checked for corrosion?

 

[Cmobile]

@Dr Oldz,
good questions/suggestions
Wheels are OE xc70 wheels, mating surfaces are clean, replaced rear pads/rotors, checked front, and thoroughly cleaned hub and wheel with soft wire-wheel.

@Marcozi,
Good point, I will check torque with my torque wrench. I didn't think to check torque as that often shows up with brake pulsating, but will definitely check.

@loneryder,
Good point, I will check pressure. My model doesn't have the fancy TPMS showing over pressure, nor can it tell me which tire is low, only if "a" tire is low.

Thanks all!

 

[Cmobile]

My sons car had a vibration when we put on the all seasons that it didn't have last year. My rotations are basically at fall and spring.

I went to Honda dealer as they are actually pretty cheap and do road force balance. One of his tires had 19-20 lbs RF according to the tech but others were like 12 IIRC. He put the higher one on RR. Steering wheel vibration gone. Tires are 1.5 years old with a full 3 season on them. That higher one was on rear last year so didn't notice the issue.

The Costco's by me do not do road force balance.

I will look into roadforce, I'm familiar with it, but years ago, it was kinda speedy.

I thought I'd get the 2nd opinion (have DT check regular balance) and if they balance according to the machine and I still have vibrations, ill inquire about RF

 

[Sequoiasoon]

I will look into roadforce, I'm familiar with it, but years ago, it was kinda speedy.

I thought I'd get the 2nd opinion (have DT check regular balance) and if they balance according to the machine and I still have vibrations, ill inquire about RF

When tech check the ones on my sons car first, all were perfect on the high speed balance.

Good to check anyway but plan for somewhere that cam do that. Like mentioned, maybe try yourself first. Swap RF & RR and go try it. Then do LF & LR depending on that result. that should only cost you some time in the driveway.

 

[Patrick0525]

Request RoadForce matching at direct tires $23/tire

 

[Cmobile]

Thanks, RF is cheaper than I thought.

I think a regular balance is about $50 for all 4.

I think the Michelin CC2's are directional, so I can swap fron to rear, but not cross rotate in my garage

 

[Cmobile]

Im not sure what the SOP is for a balance, do they remove all weights and start from scratch, or do they put the tire as-is on the machine, check current balance and adjust from there?

If they check first, maybe they can let me know the as-is" status. So check the balance and tell me, all is well, then RF is likely next step. However, if the balance is off without having touched the weights, then maybe proceed with just a regular balance...

I have an appointment this coming Wednesday, but might have time for a walk-in Monday morning.

 

[64bawagon]

Since its an ongoing issue I would politely ask for an appointment at Costco and insist on a manager being involved. You should not have to wait since youve already been there. You should be going to the front of the line. If the shop or store manager is any good you should get squared away quickly.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

You should be able to ask for as is status. If it needs to be redone then I would just go for the Roadforce at that time.

 

[loneryder]

Im not sure what the SOP is for a balance, do they remove all weights and start from scratch, or do they put the tire as-is on the machine, check current balance and adjust from there?

If they check first, maybe they can let me know the as-is" status. So check the balance and tell me, all is well, then RF is likely next step. However, if the balance is off without having touched the weights, then maybe proceed with just a regular balance...

I have an appointment this coming Wednesday, but might have time for a walk-in Monday morning.

I think they remove all weights before spinning. You could ask them to check balance before removing weights.

 

[Cmobile]

Did the walk-in at DT. Took just under an hour. I explained the situation, apologized for cheating on them with Costco. (been a long time customer)
I asked them to check current status and let me know.

They performed the roadforce and balance. Roadforce was good, Balance was off on RR and both fronts. LR was good.

Tire pressure was 45psi all around. Now back to 35.

All said and done, it was $40.
Not sure if they threw in the roadforce as a courtesy, or it's included, but...im a happy customer.

Got on the interstate, the car drove smooth, no undue vibrations.

All is well.