[Tao Jones]

You guys ever call one of those? They're supposed to say "It's a good day at Mr. Tire..." blah blah blah...

So I had my General Grabbers delivered and installed there from the TireRack back in Nov. Several days ago the right rear tire was flat. I took it off expecting to find a nail.. no nail. Sprayed it down, no bubbles.
Brought it back in to Mr. Tire and they fixed it. It was on the house because they said over the phone it was the valve stem. When I went in to pick it up the guy over the counter very vaguely mentioned something about not really sure what happened and the guy who installed it before didn't clean the rim off properly because there was rust on it so that attributed to a slow leak.
I talked to my mechanic friend about it and he said it sounds like the bead seal didn't conform to the rim properly because of the rust hence wasn't seating properly.


Should I be concerned about the other three tires? What would you do?

(The story is a bit longer because it appeared to be losing psi the other day so I called and confronted them about it. The guy kinda blew me off and said I would just have to bring it in for them to check that ONE tire again and see if it's their fault or not. Of course if it's not then I'd have to pay. But didn't we already establish from the first visit that it was their fault??!?)

 

[Dom.five]

You guys ever call one of those? They're supposed to say "It's a good day at Mr. Tire..." blah blah blah...

So I had my General Grabbers delivered and installed there from the TireRack back in Nov. Several days ago the right rear tire was flat. I took it off expecting to find a nail.. no nail. Sprayed it down, no bubbles.
Brought it back in to Mr. Tire and they fixed it. It was on the house because they said over the phone it was the valve stem. When I went in to pick it up the guy over the counter very vaguely mentioned something about not really sure what happened and the guy who installed it before didn't clean the rim off properly because there was rust on it so that attributed to a slow leak.
I talked to my mechanic friend about it and he said it sounds like the bead seal didn't conform to the rim properly because of the rust hence wasn't seating properly.


Should I be concerned about the other three tires? What would you do?

(The story is a bit longer because it appeared to be losing psi the other day so I called and confronted them about it. The guy kinda blew me off and said I would just have to bring it in for them to check that ONE tire again and see if it's their fault or not. Of course if it's not then I'd have to pay. But didn't we already establish from the first visit that it was their fault??!?)

Yes ! I use Mr. Tire all the time. I have for over 35 years.

I think your expecting too much!

If it was rust at the valve stem on your rim, that's not really their fault. They may have expected the installer to notice it, but, the corrosion issue is not in any way connected to what they have done. I think the person on the phone gave you the only realistic reply he could give you.
It is impossible to diagnose the currant issue over the phone. If in fact the rim has gone pours, and is leaking air, what do you expect them to tell you. They are not going to pay for a new rim. They are not going to do the work for free. It would be ludicrous to expect any business to do that.

The bead area of the tire is located on the inside of rim near the outside edge. the valve stem is located at the rim's center. Don't confuse one with the other. A bead seal issue has nothing to do with the valve stem leaking.

I still don't understand how you think that a corrosion issue is their fault.

Dom

 

[Tao Jones]

Actually I'm not expecting anything except for what I payed for. The guy at Mr Tire is the one who said that it was their fault because the guy who did the initial install didn't clean the rim off. He's the one who admitted to me that that is most likely why the tire is leaking. Over the phone he said valve stem. When I went in to pick it up he said the rim not being cleaned off. I'm not trying to get more than what I've payed for nor am I trying to put the blame on them if it is indeed the rim. I'm only going by what HE said. So the fact that the tire appeared to be leaking the next day I figured they didn't fix right it the day before. I am not trying to get them to fix something that isn't their fault. I just wanted to see what you guys thought before I continue with talking to them. Hell I thought I was going to have to pay them 20 bucks to fix it but they admitted to them not cleaning the rim properly so I didn't have to pay.

But seriously I appreciate your view on this, that's why I posted.. I want different perspectives on this because I know nothing about tire installation and if I'm wrong then fine.. I've been wrong before no big deal.

 

[ApriliaGuy]

The corrosion on the rim (especially the bead area) seems to be a common problem. My wife's '03 Subaru had it. Here is a thread about it.

My tire place used a liquid paint type brush/roll on "sealer" on the bead area before mounting the tire to prevent issues like yours.

If you took it in tothem to have fixed, they did their thing, and you're still having the same (or similar) problem the next day.....it sounds to me like they didn't do their job. (maybe they did ok when first mounted, but certainly not when you went back to them with an issue)

Try the soap and water thing again. I like 50%water, 50% dish soap in a spray bottle. spray plenty around the rim and valve stem. Even if it is a slow leak you'll usually get some sort of bubble to indicte the location of the problem.

 

[desinia]

It used to be pretty much standard for the better tire shops to paint a strip of red "boot latex" around the rim when seating a tire. That sealed things pretty dependably and you didn't have any more problems with the rim leaking. These days, about all that anyone uses is some soapy water if anything at all.

If you get a bad rim leak, it's easy enough to break the bead and use your finger to wipe a strip of silicon caulk around the rim and then re-inflate.

Doggone it! I just found my last big can of boot latex about a month ago and it was hard in the can. I suppose it was 40 years old or so but you'd think it would've... oh, never mind.