lee

ive searched but havent found much to match my symptoms. i hit a series of 3 potholes on saturday. potholes are everywhere here , and i usually go in and out with no problem, so i wasnt worried until after i took the next turn and felt a minor vibration from my front left tire.

it comes and goes, but its there. at higher speeds it feels a bit more prevalent... but i drove it all weekend and it never got worse and performed normally.

i had an oil change / tire rotation scheduled for this morning luckily, so its sitting at the dealership. i mentioned it to them, but would like to have a clue as to whether its a bent rim or a messed up tire, etc before they call me with their "diagnosis".

thoughts?

thanks!

r854rnr

Maybe when you hit the pothole you lost, or even slightly moved, one of the balancing weights causing the truck to be out of balanced. When my tires were first put on the morons at the tire place forgot to blalance them. It was ok until I got to about 35mph and my truck was almost uncontrollable. So I figure if a weight was just slightly in the wrong spot it could cause the minor problem you described. Just a thought.

FilthyRich

I would start by having your tires rebalanced. If a weight is off, it can make the whole ride shack.

lee

yea, that was my initial thought. its really ONLY that tire in particular, and its not even all that bad. its just a slight vibration that im very sensitive to!

i bent a rim on my old saab (actually 2!) and my tire went totally flat on both occaisons.... is that common? like, if its a rim problem, shouldnt the tire have gone flat?

thanks.

lee

stealer called and did the typical stealer thing.

nothing wrong with the tire, its fine. oil change & tire rotation is complete. im getting ready to hang up when he says
"also, while rotating the tires, they found your rear brakes need to be cleaned and realigned, your tires will need realignment and balancing, you need a new air filter, a new rear wiper and a new battery".

wow. they wanted over $350 for all of this.

i said ok on the air filter cause i do know thats a good idea at this point... fine on the brakes.. but ill put in my own optima, thank you. i also said no to the $30 rear wiper.

so now my total is like $200.

lee

so now the quesiton is optima red or yellow? im thinking red...

payyourtoll

Not all the time Lee. You can certainly bend a rim and NOT break the bead, so you dont lose air.

FilthyRich

Red. 34 R.

lee

thanks!

leebee

you just have to copy me, dont you!!!

lee

lee

hah. us lee's gotta stick together.

as a followup.. i got to the dealership to pick up my runner and they had a new battery on my bill. i grabbed the key, went out to the truck and popped the hood... no new battery.

so they tried to charge me for a battery i didnt want or get.

lucky i looked...

FilthyRich

damn stealer. Get the 34R, you won't be disappointed

lee

im going to buy it and put 'er in this weekend.

by the way, is there a way to tell if i really do need it? like, the truck starts right up and ive had NO indication that my battery is failing...

either way, i now have a reason to buy a great battery!

MTL_4runner

Lee, I doubt you needed a new battery at all.
The correct way is to remove it and load test it (which I doubt they did since they charged you for not putting one in!).
You can put one in just for good measure or if it makes you feel better but load test it if you want to know for sure.

I would have been absolutely irate for them to pull that type of stunt they did.
Most dealers are just rotten to the core (believe me I know from working in that industry at one time).
.....note I said most, not all! There are a few good ones out there but it's like a needle in a haystack to find them.

terryjmatthew

I'm betting its a bent wheel. I see them every day(bent wheel w/ tire holding air)

lee

how do i load test it?

they say they did and it failed. what are the symptoms of a battery that will fail a load test?

i was pissed, but this dealership is setup so you dont talk to someone about your car when you go pick it up, esp. if its nearing closing time. you go to the cashier to pick it up.

they apologized profusely and gave me a 10% discount coupon. weak.

lee

they checked the wheel, its fine. it now rides fine after rotation, balance and alignment.

MTL_4runner

You would be best to take it to a parts place and have them test it for free. Takes like 2 secs to pull it out and take it in or you could use something like this (they are not a true heavy load because it only uses a 100 amp draw, but it will usually catch a battery on its last legs):



I still bet that dealer was pulling a fast one on the battery, but you never know.

lee

they sounded disappointed that i didnt want to go with it to say the least