"Outspoken"
Fitting of new Tyres on Prado by Greene's Tyre & Brake Service
Also know as Greenes Tyre Plus Wanneroo
(written 25 Nov 2013)
Recently,
I purchasesd 4 new BFG All-Terrain tyres and had them fitted to my
Prado, resulting in a problem. Here is a copy of an email that I wront
to the manager Rod Greene.
30 Oct 2013
Hi Rod,
I brought in my 2009 Prado GXL to you on 21st Oct 2013 to have 4 x BFG All-terrain tyres fitted.
When I spoke to you over the phone, and again when I arrived, I told
you that I did not want my wheel nuts over-tightened, and that I wanted
them done up loosely, then finished off by hand using a torque wrench
to the correct tension.
Whilst waiting in your reception area, I heard a rattle gun in use, and
it was clearly turned up high. I know the sound that a rattle gun makes
when it is turned down low, and clearly the sound I heard was very much
more aggressive.
A few seconds later, a young fitter came to reception and spoke to
Chris, saying that he had snapped a wheel stud on my Prado (left
front). I am very disappointed that my instructions were clearly
ignored, and of the fitters incompetence.
You did not have a replacement stud in stock, and so I was then kept
waiting whilst someone drove to a supplier to get a replacement.
But on his return, it was the wrong stud. At this time, Chris suggested
that it was ok to drive with only 5 wheel nuts on, and so I could take
it to a supplier and get it fixed. I believe that this is a total
disregard for my safety and I am sure that this advice was completely
incorrect and dangerous.
At this point I suggested to Chris that I was not willing to drive it,
and that he should just call Toyota and get the correct stud. Chris did
this and organised someone to go to Grand Toyota in Wangara to get the
stud.
The stud arrived, and was fitted, and after waiting for 3 and a half
hours, I was on my way. I even had to cancel a work appointment.
When I got home, I checked the tension on the wheel nuts, and found the
left front to still be way over tight, having to use all my strength to
“crack” them and loosen then off to a more correct tension.
3 days later (Fri 25th), I noticed that the surface on my left front
Toyota factory alloy wheel was “bubbling up” and peeling off, and
seemed moist. I drove the car to my mechanic in Landsdale, who quickly
identified the fluid as brake fluid, and that the bubbling up was the
surface of the Alloy wheel being dissolved. On inspection, he found the
brake line fitting where it connected to the calliper, to be completely
loose, and able to be turned by hand. It was leaking brake fluid
substantially every time the brake was used, and over half of the brake
fluid was missing from the reservoir. Clearly this was very dangerous
as my brakes would have failed within a day or 2. My mechanic tightened
up the fitting and so fixed the leak. He confirmed that to replace the
wheel stud, the disc had to come off, which means removing the
calliper, which required removal of the brake line, so your fitter was
responsible.
As for the wheel, it’s a write off, badly damaged, and has had to be
replaced. The inside of the rim looks even worse than the outside, like
it’s been eaten with acid… clearly the brake fluid reacts badly with
these alloy rims.
As the brake fluid was leaking onto the wheel, so to it was spraying
down the side of the car, and has damaged the paint by “spotting” it,
with the worst effected area being the left rear wheel arch flare. It’s
permanent damage, and although I managed to improve it via using
cutting polish aggressively, some spots are etched in too badly.
I have attached photos of the damaged wheel, and wheel arch flare paint.
I also discovered that all tyres were inflated to 42.7 PSI (verified on
2 independent digital gauges), which is way over the vehicle’s
recommended pressure, and caused the vehicle to handle badly, in
particular, causing excessive bump-steer. I have lowered to the
recommended pressure of 32 to 34 PSI and the vehicle drives much better.
My mechanic also commented that you used the “Old style” wheel
balancing weights. He also commented that 3 wheels (and 1 in
particular) seemed to have excessive weights added, and suggests that
the fitter was careless and did not balance them very thoroughly, nor
take the time to rotate the tyre on the rim to offset the “heavy” part
of the tyre to opposite any possible heavier part of the rim.
I am very angry over this entire incident. Your business has clearly
demonstrated gross negligence, incompetence, carelessness, and utter
disregard for driver’s safety, and I am sure that the Motor Trade
Association would have something to say about all this.
I want to know what you are going to do about it. Sack the employee?
Re-train him? Compensate me for the damaged wheel and paint, and
possible risk to my safety?
I look forward to your reply ASAP, and give you 7 days to respond in writing or email (deadline 5pm, Wed, 6th Nov).
30 Oct 2013 - EMAIL RECEIVED FROM ROD
Hello Alan, I have just tried phoning you, the call was I thought
answered then went quiet, I assumed it went to message bank and left a
message for you.
Are we able to have a look at your vehicle tomorrow?
In theory I am off tomorrow for a week and returning into Perth
Wednesday 6th November and back to work following day. I can be at work
till noon tomorrow.
Should the morning not be practical for you can you phone us on 93062999 and organise a different time with our Manager Chris?
We take very seriously any queries against our workmanship and would
like the opportunity to set right anything that could be wrong.
Having run this business for over two decades we value highly our reputation.
Would really like to catch up tomorrow morning.
31 Oct 2013 - PHONE CALL RECEIVED FROM ROD
Although I dont have a transcript of the entire phone call, in summary,
Rod basically said that all his staff were competant and well trained,
and denied all of my complaints. I explained to him that there was no
point in bringing the vehicle back, further waisting my time, as my
mechanic had already fixed the problem, I had and I had already used
cutting polish on the effected paint to reduce how visible the damage
was. I asked if he was prepared to compensate me for replacing the
wheel, fixing the paint, and mechanical costs, for which he would not
agree.
31 Oct 2013 - EMAIL RECEIVED FROM ROD
Alan further to todays phone call can you forward to me copies of invoice and receipt of work you have had done?
This to show evidence and I also need to communicate with the other party.
CLEARLY I have not taken this any further for several reasons.
1. I do not want to put my mechanic in the awkward situation as to
defend himself against Rod. (My mechanic actually knows one of the guys
at the tyre shop)
2. I purchased the replacement wheel from a private seller for cash and so had no invoice.
3. I do not want to disclose my mechanic's invoice, again, so as to protect him.
4. The final invoice was from Bob Jane tyres, who did an expert job
swapping the tyres and wheels between the damaged left front and the
spare, and only cost me $30 (I have this invoice).
5. I have not had the paint professionally repaired, and so there is no invoice.
I had decided to drop my claim for compensation, and instead make
sure that others are aware of a potential problem using this Tyre shop..
These pages were last
updated on 25 Nov 2013.