Beware Munro Tire Centers

[hmp10]

We have used Tire Choice since 2004 for tire changes on all our cars and always had good results. Munro, Inc. bought the chain a while back, and several things changed. They no longer did complimentary nitrogen pressure top-offs even if you had paid for the nitrogen package. (They later discontinued the nitrogen fill option altogether, saying it was not feasible to maintain the equipment.) I also found the staff more hurried and more clipped in dealing with customers.

Before our recent road trip I had a new set of Pirelli LM2 tires put on the car at the Tire Choice store I've used for years, though they did tell me they were under new management. About halfway through the trip the tire pressure warning light came on in the car although all four tires were maintaining proper pressure.

Since the car was scheduled to go to a Lucid Service Center upon our return, I just waited for Lucid to check out the tire situation. They just sent me a picture of what they found inside the left front wheel. A broken tire pressure sensor had been strapped together with a plastic zip tie and had broken loose inside the wheel. Now I'm wondering if I need Lucid to pull the other three wheels to check them out.

 

[terrycs]

That sensor looks pretty beat up.

 

[hmp10]

That sensor looks pretty beat up.

Well, it did spend about 1,000 miles rattling around inside a wheel on the second half of our trip. I'm surprised I didn't feel the weight imbalance while driving.

 

[MGRMLN]

Tire people like this are why we can't have nice things...

 

[skomarla]

I most certainly would have lucid unmount and check everything and put all 4 back on the right way. i'd even check the balancing to see if it was done right.

i'm risk averse like that. its a high performance car and i'd treat it as such

 

[hmp10]

I most certainly would have lucid unmount and check everything and put all 4 back on the right way. i'd even check the balancing to see if it was done right.

i'm risk averse like that. its a high performance car and i'd treat it as such

I'm very diligent when it comes to wheels and tires. Since our EVs have unusually high lug nut torque requirements (129 lb/ft for the Tesla and 111 lb/ft for the Lucid), I write down the correct torque and have it attached to the work order whenever I have tires mounted. And I have a torque wrench at home to check for myself when I get home, as most tire shops use impact wrenches set to ~90 lb/ft. (Once I had our Tesla tires changed at the Honda dealership that services our Odyssey. When they saw the torque specs they actually sent one of their mechanics to an auto supply shop to buy a torque wrench, as they did not have one with that high a capacity in their shop.)

I also have accurate tire gauges and a home air compressor which I use to check tire pressures weekly on all our cars -- and the first thing the morning after a tire change (once the tires have cooled down.)

I watch for uneven tread wear that could be caused by misalignment, and I know what an unbalanced tire feels like at high speed.

I have used Tire Choice for 20 years with performance cars, including my Audi R8s and MB AMGs. I have only had one issue -- tires that were overinflated during mounting on the wheels without then releasing the pressure back to spec when the wheel was put back on the car. (I knew from the feel of driving the car home that the tires were over-inflated, so I backed the pressure off myself when I got home and then set it more accurately the next morning.)

I'm sorry this once reliable, semi-local (Florida only) tire chain was bought out by a pump-'em-out-the-door corporate outfit, as getting tires changed at a Tesla or Lucid service center is not an easy exercise in logistics.