Winter Tire Experience - Be Careful

C

Chris Messer

Member
Being in Quebec, winter tires are mandated by law. So I did what I have done for all other vehicles, ordered some tires from Costco and booked installation.

I did this last Friday, and then on Sunday I had a flat. Somehow the interior sidewall had a hole in it. Probably a defective tire...so gotta deal with that. The sealant wouldn't work for a sidewall so I am now a victim of the lack of spare tire to get to Costco and have the tire replaced.

So...I used Honda roadside assistance who towed it to the dealership. I had the dealership put on one of my summer tires so I could get over to Costco and get the other tire swapped out and then put on.

Honda dealership informed me that during installation Costco broke the antivibration mechanism which to my understanding is part of the mag. It's about $500 to replace. I brought this up with Costco, and their manager was not in so I am supposed to get a call back. That was two days ago, still no call. I also called Costco customer service who told me a tire specialist would get back to me....also no call back. Now I am stuck where I'll have to chase them around to get them to pay for the damage. I'll also have to check the other 3 tires to see if the same damage was done on them.

I am hoping Costco makes this right, but in the interim thought I would put this out there so you can all warn garages about this anti-vibration mechanism to make sure they know how to deal with it and not wreck it. It's not a safety issue, but I did lease my vehicle and Honda knows about it. I won't be able to return my lease without paying for this.
 
Thanks for the info. I think I'll just ignore the extra cost and have Honda replace our tires when we need new ones.
 
This alarmed me a bit, as someone who is getting my set of snow tires/wheels installed tomorrow by NTB. So I coughed up $10 to learn more about the wheel replacement process and the resonators on Honda's service site, in case there was something special.

Documents are attached. There's actually nothing special after all about the process, but it does have a nice picture of the resonator we can show any potential installer. I'm not sure what a "mag" is but, as was said above, looks like Honda considers the resonator to be part of the wheel, and to replace it you need to replace the whole wheel.
 

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jorgie393 said:
This alarmed me a bit, as someone who is getting my set of snow tires/wheels installed tomorrow by NTB. So I coughed up $10 to learn more about the wheel replacement process and the resonators on Honda's service site, in case there was something special.

Documents are attached. There's actually nothing special after all about the process, but it does have a nice picture of the resonator we can show any potential installer. I'm not sure what a "mag" is but, as was said above, looks like Honda considers the resonator to be part of the wheel, and to replace it you need to replace the whole wheel.
Click to expand...

That's exactly it. Have to replace the whole rim (they call it a mag here I guess , French canada). Happy to have helped, now you can warn your garage to be careful.
 
Great thanks @jorgie393 !

Here is the important one:

upload_2018-11-22_12-8-36.webp


So looks like its Accord EX, Hybrid, Plugin and Claritys.
 
Mags = magnesium alloy wheels
The first alloy wheels were magnesium based, now they are mostly aluminum alloy.
I'm in the US and we used to call them mags.
And thanks for letting us know about the resonator issue at Costco.
This is the kind of thing that seems to happen to me.
And that's where I get tires also.
I bet the tire machine grabbed onto it while unseating the bead if the tech shoved the fork in too far.
Interesting that Costco didn't tell you about the damage when you paid for the tires.
"Oops, maybe no one will ever see this, I don't even know what it's for....."
 
Thanks for pointing this out. I got wheels from Costco to put my winter tires on, and they are slightly noisier. I attributed this to the winter tires but now I know that it could also be due to the lack of resonators to reduce road noise.
 
Chris Messer said:
Being in Quebec, winter tires are mandated by law. So I did what I have done for all other vehicles, ordered some tires from Costco and booked installation.

I did this last Friday, and then on Sunday I had a flat. Somehow the interior sidewall had a hole in it. Probably a defective tire...so gotta deal with that. The sealant wouldn't work for a sidewall so I am now a victim of the lack of spare tire to get to Costco and have the tire replaced.

So...I used Honda roadside assistance who towed it to the dealership. I had the dealership put on one of my summer tires so I could get over to Costco and get the other tire swapped out and then put on.

Honda dealership informed me that during installation Costco broke the antivibration mechanism which to my understanding is part of the mag. It's about $500 to replace. I brought this up with Costco, and their manager was not in so I am supposed to get a call back. That was two days ago, still no call. I also called Costco customer service who told me a tire specialist would get back to me....also no call back. Now I am stuck where I'll have to chase them around to get them to pay for the damage. I'll also have to check the other 3 tires to see if the same damage was done on them.

I am hoping Costco makes this right, but in the interim thought I would put this out there so you can all warn garages about this anti-vibration mechanism to make sure they know how to deal with it and not wreck it. It's not a safety issue, but I did lease my vehicle and Honda knows about it. I won't be able to return my lease without paying for this.
Click to expand...

I try not to be cynical, but in the back of my mind I wonder if there is any chance the dealer broke the resonator when re-mounting the OEM tire and is blaming it on Costco. From my experience at dealers, there is no reason to think the tire guy there knows any more about these special wheels than Costco. Anyway, sounds like you have quite an ordeal to get a set of winter shoes on.
 
Vezz66 said:
So that would be another good reason to get winter rims and reduce the risk of damage twice a year.

I didn’t know the North American versions had this gadget, good to know!
Click to expand...
I noticed a little more vibration when I installed my new 17" wheel/winter tire combo on the car. Nothing serious but this explains why. I cannot comprehend abusing one set of wheels with twice a year changeovers when nice mag wheels are only $100 each.
 
David Towle said:
I noticed a little more vibration when I installed my new 17" wheel/winter tire combo on the car. Nothing serious but this explains why. I cannot comprehend abusing one set of wheels with twice a year changeovers when nice mag wheels are only $100 each.
Click to expand...
Vibration might be caused by your aftermarket wheels centre bore not matching our Clarity's 64.1mm hub diameter and if the proper hub-centric rings to adapt the wheel centre bore diameter down to 64.1 weren't installed. This situation may allow wheels to be slightly off-centre causing vibration.
https://www.tsw.com/explore-tsw-custom-wheels/wheels-hub-centric-rings.php
https://www.hubcentric-rings.com/why_hub_centric_rings/
 
David Towle said:
I noticed a little more vibration when I installed my new 17" wheel/winter tire combo on the car. Nothing serious but this explains why. I cannot comprehend abusing one set of wheels with twice a year changeovers when nice mag wheels are only $100 each.
Click to expand...

The tire shop I use does not abuse the wheels because the tire changer doesn’t even touch them. And, they do the seasonal change with balancing and rotating for free because I bought the winter tires there. Sure, it might be nice to have 2 sets of wheels, but not because of abuse.
 
Sandroad said:
The tire shop I use does not abuse the wheels because the tire changer doesn’t even touch them. And, they do the seasonal change with balancing and rotating for free because I bought the winter tires there. Sure, it might be nice to have 2 sets of wheels, but not because of abuse.
Click to expand...
Moving those 55-lb Clarity wheels/tires around is a lot tougher than it is for my Insight's 21-lb wheels/tires! However, I bought a 2nd set of rims because I like being able to change them myself for three reasons. First, even if the changing might be free at a tire store, I'd be at the mercy of the tire-store's scheduler. Second, cramming those giant wheels/tires into the Clarity to get them to and from the tire store would be a PITA. Third, there's less chance of damage to the tire, the rim, or the resonator if the tires always stay on the rims.

My A01 service, which hasn't come up yet on the Mileage Minder despite 50 weeks of ownership, will cost me less because I'm handling the tire rotation myself. I'm willing to pop for the oil change after a year of stressful engine operation caused by burning 4 tankfuls of gasoline.
 
insightman said:
Moving those 55-lb Clarity wheels/tires around is a lot tougher than it is for my Insight's 21-lb wheels/tires! However, I bought a 2nd set of rims because I like being able to change them myself for three reasons. First, even if the changing might be free at a tire store, I'd be at the mercy of the tire-store's scheduler. Second, cramming those giant wheels/tires into the Clarity to get them to and from the tire store would be a PITA. Third, there's less chance of damage to the tire, the rim, or the resonator if the tires always stay on the rims.

My A01 service, which hasn't come up yet on the Mileage Minder despite 50 weeks of ownership, will cost me less because I'm handling the tire rotation myself. I'm willing to pop for the oil change after a year of stressful engine operation caused by burning 4 tankfuls of gasoline.
Click to expand...
20 something gallons in one year, 20 something gallons in one year!!!
You gashog you! (Sorry, can’t find the sarcastic font). Bet it beats your old Insight.
 
KentuckyKen said:
20 something gallons in one year, 20 something gallons in one year!!!
You gashog you! (Sorry, can’t find the sarcastic font). Bet it beats your old Insight.
Click to expand...
You're right about that. My Insight sucked down 5 times that amount of gasoline last year, but it was easier on the electric bill.
 
V8Power said:
Vibration might be caused by your aftermarket wheels centre bore not matching our Clarity's 64.1mm hub diameter and if the proper hub-centric rings to adapt the wheel centre bore diameter down to 64.1 weren't installed. This situation may allow wheels to be slightly off-centre causing vibration.
https://www.tsw.com/explore-tsw-custom-wheels/wheels-hub-centric-rings.php
https://www.hubcentric-rings.com/why_hub_centric_rings/
Click to expand...
Discount Tire provided plastic rings and I installed them but I didn't verify they fit tight over the hub. I will take one off and check when I get a chance. I do very much like that the ring is needed, since when the wheel exactly matches the hub it is sometimes very difficult to get the wheel off after the salt of winter corrodes the 2 metal pieces together. For my old Volvo I had to build a jig out of 2 x 4s so that I could knock the wheel off with a sledge hammer from the other side. They wouldn't budge with normal kicking even when seated and my back against the wall!
 
David Towle said:
Discount Tire provided plastic rings and I installed them but I didn't verify they fit tight over the hub. I will take one off and check when I get a chance. I do very much like that the ring is needed, since when the wheel exactly matches the hub it is sometimes very difficult to get the wheel off after the salt of winter corrodes the 2 metal pieces together. For my old Volvo I had to build a jig out of 2 x 4s so that I could knock the wheel off with a sledge hammer from the other side. They wouldn't budge with normal kicking even when seated and my back against the wall!
Click to expand...
I've had difficulty for some older wheels & rims. To deal with that, just apply a coating of brake lubricant only on the surface where the wheel mates with your hub. Makes it way easier to remove.
 
Chris Messer said:
Being in Quebec, winter tires are mandated by law. So I did what I have done for all other vehicles, ordered some tires from Costco and booked installation.

I did this last Friday, and then on Sunday I had a flat. Somehow the interior sidewall had a hole in it. Probably a defective tire...so gotta deal with that. The sealant wouldn't work for a sidewall so I am now a victim of the lack of spare tire to get to Costco and have the tire replaced.

So...I used Honda roadside assistance who towed it to the dealership. I had the dealership put on one of my summer tires so I could get over to Costco and get the other tire swapped out and then put on.

Honda dealership informed me that during installation Costco broke the antivibration mechanism which to my understanding is part of the mag. It's about $500 to replace. I brought this up with Costco, and their manager was not in so I am supposed to get a call back. That was two days ago, still no call. I also called Costco customer service who told me a tire specialist would get back to me....also no call back. Now I am stuck where I'll have to chase them around to get them to pay for the damage. I'll also have to check the other 3 tires to see if the same damage was done on them.

I am hoping Costco makes this right, but in the interim thought I would put this out there so you can all warn garages about this anti-vibration mechanism to make sure they know how to deal with it and not wreck it. It's not a safety issue, but I did lease my vehicle and Honda knows about it. I won't be able to return my lease without paying for this.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this, I appreciate your sharing the info you learned. Sorry for your troubles though.
 
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