Who does 5-tire rotations? Getting pushback from service.

[Rjacks258]

To all the service advisors, techs, and Ford employees reading this thread…

We get it. You’re human. And many of you - most, even - are competent, informed, and hard working. HOWEVER…

Is it really hard to understand all the ”hate” for dealerships when you see stories like this? Maybe I’m misinformed, but when a manufacturer starts producing an all-new vehicle (or even a refresh on an existing one, for that matter), do you not receive some kind of training manuals or bulletins that lay out differences in maintenance techniques? Or peculiarities with the new vehicle they should know about? I mean, think of the Mach E and the Lightning. I’m quite certain Ford didn’t just tell all their service advisors to treat them like any other Mustang or F150 when servicing them, right?

Like, seriously, Ford never made it clear to their service departments that the Bronco has self-learning TPMS, and that there’s a sensor in the spare? Really? Is there anything else they should know? Because there are quite a few features on the Bronco that are unique within the Ford lineup! What happens if a tech hits the sway bar disconnect switch on somebody’s BL? Are they going to replace the whole SB system because it’s “broken”?

I realize the last thing techs want to hear is some Joe off the street telling them about what they read on the internet. But you shouldn’t just dismiss people right off the bat. Think about how many widespread issues have been exposed by actual Bronco owners here on B6G that dealerships flat-out disregarded and denied, only to have some of them end up as recalls and/or TSB’s…

It seems like some of these dealers spend more time training their employees about billing policies than vehicle maintenance.

”What?! I’ve never heard of that before, and nobody ever does it. I guess we can try it, but it’ll be $168.70 plus tax for the parts and 1.3 hours of labor…”

yes

1. I don’t know if I’m going with the same tires when it is time to replace them so I may be replacing all 5 tires no matter what. Might as well get my money’s worth out of that spare too, right?
2. If you get 20% more life out of your tires by rotating in the spare then the cost difference between 4 or 5 is a wash AND you get to wait 20% longer before replacing
3. By the time you’ve purchased 5 sets of 4… I’ve purchased 4 sets of 5. So I’ve saved time (which is money).
4. If you do as suggested, it is suggested that spare be replaced every 6 years or so anyways even if not in rotation. So if it is gonna be replaced anyways, wouldn’t it be better to have gotten use out of it and put the miles on it instead of throwing away an unused tire?
5. One of the tech’s reasoning to not do the 5-tire rotation is even the slightest variance in tire wear could cause more wear elsewhere if you wait too long to rotate in the spare. So by that reasoning I asked if he had a tire blow out at 15,000 miles in would he replace all 4 tires? He said yes. With me rotating in that spare every 5,000 miles I wouldn’t need to replace all 4 tires after a blowout so soon. I’d rotate in the spare that has been in regular rotation and simply buy ONE new tire to now be the spare that would then stay out of rotation until replacing all 4 at which point it would then .

There is way more advantage to a 5-tire rotation than there is a 4-tire rotation. The only reason for the push back at the service counter is they don’t want to take the little extra time to do it.

When I said I can do the tires myself he said “but we do them for free with your oil change.” So they do 4 tires for “free”, but that 5th tire requires a charge of a half an hour of labor? That’s a stretch.

Double mic drop
Thread should’ve been locked after these two. Nothing more to say.

Sponsored

 

[DD214]

Had it done this morning as part of my 10k service. All 5 tires rotated.

 

[BlueBronco]

Next time you come in and complain about your spare getting rotated, you are getting the next kid fresh off the streets with no training or customer service skills.

Yall doing this to yourselves!

It has been a while since I have taken my vehicles in for any basic services such as an oil change or tire rotation. Is the tech the one interacting with the customer and not a counter jockey or service manager? Is that typical now a days?

Blaming the customer for a terrible business model that admittedly hires unqualified workers who don't receive the proper training is certainly an interesting approach. Also serves as a good reminder of why I will continue to do my own basic service work and avoid any type of quick lane.

 

[daddycreswell]

2nd oil change at the dealer, both times they had no problem doing the 5 tire rotation. Just had to tell them which way to go. But they charged me $25.00 more to do it this time.

 

[dmtry]

Just had my first service and the dealer refused to do a 5 tire rotation just saying its policy. Gonna find a new dealer for the future, but does anyone think there will be any issues if I just swap the rear right and the spare myself?

 

[Scott R Nelson]

...but does anyone think there will be any issues if I just swap the rear right and the spare myself?

That's what I would do.

 

[RHeinz]

Had a discussion with the service manager, that won’t happen next time he’s assured me.

Had a discussion with the service manager, that won’t happen next time, BECAUSE I’M NEVER COMING BACK!

 

[RHeinz]

When I said I can do the tires myself he said “but we do them for free with your oil change.” So they do 4 tires for “free”, but that 5th tire requires a charge of a half an hour of labor? That’s a stretch.

I respectfully disagree. If a dealer’s pricing for a tire rotation is based on 99% of their work/labor being 4 tires, then I believe it is fully justified for them to have a different price for 5 tires Since there is more labor involved.

OR

You can go to Discount Tire and get it done for free and you will be so impressed, you will start buying your tires there.

I once was using a tire manufacturers store for tire rotation, until I discovered they fully charged me but did nothing….

When I don’t have Discount Tire do it, I do it myself. However, since I’m 72 YO that will have to stop at some point. Before having it done “by others”, I would always mark the tire locations in a fully visible location for verification purposes and so the “shop” can see they are marked. No questions, no trickery.

 

[stickshifthappy]

Had a discussion with the service manager, that won’t happen next time, BECAUSE I’M NEVER COMING BACK!

Well, I’ll give them a chance to redeem themselves.

 

[Discount Tire]

I respectfully disagree. If a dealer’s pricing for a tire rotation is based on 99% of their work/labor being 4 tires, then I believe it is fully justified for them to have a different price for 5 tires Since there is more labor involved.

OR

You can go to Discount Tire and get it done for free and you will be so impressed, you will start buying your tires there.

I once was using a tire manufacturers store for tire rotation, until I discovered they fully charged me but did nothing….

When I don’t have Discount Tire do it, I do it myself. However, since I’m 72 YO that will have to stop at some point. Before having it done “by others”, I would always mark the tire locations in a fully visible location for verification purposes and so the “shop” can see they are marked. No questions, no trickery.

Thank you for the shout out and your patronage!

 

[whiteox]

Master Mechanic who has owned his own small shop for 40 years told me a few years back to have your first tire rotation for 4 or 5 tires after 3K miles. He cited 2 or 3 logical reasons why this is better than the often quoted 5K rule. Can't recall his remarks from then but the 3K stuck in my head. For my new Bronc, headed to Discount Tire, chalked each tire numerically, gave the kids a sketch of the rotation pattern, the lug key and they went to work. It was a slow afternoon then and the rest of the kids all came around and talked with me about the Bronc. They hand tightened every single lug with a torque wrench, checked pressure and even wiped clean the silver steelies. Great work and no charge! 5K rule applies after the initial 3K rotation. Maybe some of you car wisemen out there can explain if this 3K initial rotation is better than the standard 5K rule or not? Always seeking other opinions. Thank you kindly, Tommy Bronc

 

[AZ_Liberty]

Just had my first service and the dealer refused to do a 5 tire rotation just saying its policy. Gonna find a new dealer for the future, but does anyone think there will be any issues if I just swap the rear right and the spare myself?

That's what I would do, swap spare and right rear, as I am convinced the right rear gets the most wear anyway.

Got the oil changed in my wife's F-150 last month. 4-tire rotation and the shop didn't actually do it. I had chalked the tires before I went in. There were words...

 

[Heart2]

My selling dealer did a 5-tire rotation without any pushback.

 

[Bird Dog Off Road]

Requesting 5-tire rotation. Service guy is pushing back saying “nobody does that.” Spare didn’t have TPS so I ordered one. They want to charge a full hour to reprogram the sensors with each rotation. Also got some story with enough uneven tread wear with that 5th tire being rotated in every 5,000 miles that it is gonna create unnecessary wear on the transfer case and other stuff. Is it this much of a headache with those of you doing 5-tire rotations? Is Ford Service giving you grief or are you getting them done elsewhere? They are making it sound like it is never done ESPECIALLY on new Broncos. I was under the impression it was a fairly common thing.

I can say that Discount tire does them. Atleast in the Chicago market they do.

 

[scotman623]

I’m just glad I’m mechanically inclined and do most everything on my vehicles myself.. My Bronco came with FREE.. Oil changes and tire rotations… NO Thanks!!! I have owned 3 Jeeps before my Bronco, so 5 tire rotations has been the norm for the last 10+ years for me.. My Bronco will NEVER see a ford service unless it needs warranty work.. Problem solved..

Sponsored