Manufacturer Fitted Tyres Fault

[ABZ-T2]

Hi

Having owned an auris for nearly 3 years now, done 20000 miles! Just reached 20 K today! :(

I went into kwikfit last month to have my tyres checked as my steering wheel was pulling to the right even though the pressures were fine. I was told there are 'CRACKS IN THE RAIN GROOVE' and this is a manufacturing defect. Have been advised to purchase new tyres and have existing ones sent to goodyear for reimbursement. The tyres were Goodyear - Excellence. Just thought id share it incase anyone else has this problem too. I didnt even know what a raingroove is and its not easy to identify. So keep a lookout! Ive enclosed a pic.

ABZ T2

[don21]

The day I would ever believe anything a Kwik Fit robber sorry fitter said to me would be the day pigs indeed started to fly.Nothing but a bunch of thieves my friend.

You were indeed lucky you were able to escape without 4 new tyres a full set of shock absorbers and a complete brake re-line.

Sick of dealing with customers who have been quoted many hundreds of pounds for work that just does not need doing.

Sick of dealing with customers whose cars I have passed at M.O.T. and have visited Kwik Fit with a puncture etc only to be told the car should not be on the road.

The employees only make bonus by selling things.Work it out for yourself.

[cfc1]

The day I would ever believe anything a Kwik Fit robber sorry fitter said to me would be the day pigs indeed started to fly.Nothing but a bunch of thieves my friend.

You were indeed lucky you were able to escape without 4 new tyres a full set of shock absorbers and a complete brake re-line.

Sick of dealing with customers who have been quoted many hundreds of pounds for work that just does not need doing.

Sick of dealing with customers whose cars I have passed at M.O.T. and have visited Kwik Fit with a puncture etc only to be told the car should not be on the road.

The employees only make bonus by selling things.Work it out for yourself.

Dito, we get costomers coming to us for tyres because they don't want to pay sh*t fit's price only for us to tell them their tyres have plenty of life left in them.

As for the damage to your tyre, I see that all the time, especially on Continental eco 3's and the Goodyear Excellence (to name but 2) I would bet you that if you sent those tyres back to goodyear (**which you can't as you bought the car already fitted with them so have no contract with Goodyear) they would tell you that is is a sign of low tyre pressure and tell you it's caused by the rubber getting streatched during cornering, even if they admitted a it was a faulty tyre, they would only reimburse you for the tread that is left on the tyre, you still have to pay for what you have used... so if you have used 70% of the tyre they will reimburse you the remaining 30%, to do this you would have to get a tyre dealer to send it back for you (paying for replacements in the meantime) the tyre dealer is then given a 30% credit on the cost of a new tyre at wholesale prices, they in turn pass this 30% onto you. **In your case you will find it very difficult to get a tyre dealer to send it back as they will be reluctant to get involved as you didn't buy the tyre from them and it could leave the tyre dealer out of pocket, they will end up with a 30% credit on a tyre they might not need for a while (most people buy budget tyres) whilst having to give you 30% of what you paid.. which could be more than 30% of the price the tyre dealer would actually sell it for themselves.

[ABZ-T2]

Thanks for the comments.

I totally disagree that Kwikfit is out there to rob you or that they do not know what they are doing. Toyota failed to identify this fault. I contacted toyota first. Only when i learnt this rain groove terminology from kwikfit was i able to explain to relay this information to them. Otherwise they wouldnt have told me at all.

As for the tyres they have already been sent back via Toyota and i have received a letter stating 45% reimbursement will be issued. It is infact Kwikfit who told me to contact the dealer and have them sent back via them as my car is still under warranty.

Thanks for the detailed advice CFC1. That is exactly what happened.

I was just sharing this incase someone else faces this issue!

ABZ T2

[Rick D4D]

Thanks for the comments.

I totally disagree that Kwikfit is out there to rob you

ABZ T2

I dont, I once had a car tracked at quick fit and they said I needed 2 x front shocks as they was leaking oil and showed me the oil, I said ok and went home and bought 2 x new front shocks. 5 days later when fitting the 1st front shock I thought it was strange that there was no oil leaking but proceed to fit these, once I had fitted both I found there was nothing wrong with the others apart form someone had sprayed some oil on them I let you guess who did that . All I can say take a car to a tyre company who do other work and ask for there free safety check and I am sure they will find some work/

[don21]

Thanks for the comments.

I totally disagree that Kwikfit is out there to rob you or that they do not know what they are doing. Toyota failed to identify this fault. I contacted toyota first. Only when i learnt this rain groove terminology from kwikfit was i able to explain to relay this information to them. Otherwise they wouldnt have told me at all.

As for the tyres they have already been sent back via Toyota and i have received a letter stating 45% reimbursement will be issued. It is infact Kwikfit who told me to contact the dealer and have them sent back via them as my car is still under warranty.

Thanks for the detailed advice CFC1. That is exactly what happened.

I was just sharing this incase someone else faces this issue!

ABZ T2

I did not say Kwik Stitch did not know what they are doing.On the contrary they know exactly what they are doing.To say more could be seen as libel and possibly against forum rules.

Let me put it this way I would rather a blind man with no mechanical knowledge whatsoever decide if I needed new tyres.His answer would be as honest if not more so than a Kwik Stitch fitter.Oh dear said too much.

If you brought me a car with 5 thousand miles on it I could construct a case for recommending the replacement of worn components if I had been trained to do so.However that is not the same as if they actually had reached the end of their service life.

The second you drive your car from brand new components are worn.The art some establishments employ is to convince you they require changing before they actually do.

You decide.

[Nerfie]

Kwik Fit are a bunch of ubiks. Caused massive amount of damage (exhaust) to my sister's Yaris. She didn't realise she had RAC cover with her Toyota so took it to the nearest Kwik Fit. Told her the Toyota branded backbox wasn't genuine etc etc and ... ahh no point going into it now it's all done and dusted and my local Toyota dealer helped sort out the matter.

Needless to say Kwik Fit won't be getting a penny from me again (not that they did anyway, but as far as first impressions go.. lol). Barstools.

Sorry to hear about your Tyre troubles though ABZ. Hope you get it sorted.

[ABZ-T2]

Thanks Nerfie, i hope so too. I didn't intend to initiate argument or discuss how good or bad kwik fit is! According to my experience on this occasion i found them helpful. Im sorry if you do not think so. But thats your opinion. My toyota dealer probably isn't as helpful as yours. And i have found that there are major differences between dealers themselves.

The main aim of my topic was to make u guz aware of the problem or see if any1 else has faced the issue. Afterall, we all have 1 thing in common - our cars! :)

ABZ T2

[Jamesbelfast]

From personal experience I have had problems with at least so-called quick or rapid fit outlets and would only use them in an emergency. My reasons are that many of these outlets are part of a national chain and there is little or no incentive to carry out quality work by some of their employees..

But no doubt they did spot the problem with the crack in the tyre and did the decent thing and advised as to what action you could take. But as already said the contract of purchase was with the Toyota dealer and not the tyre manufacturer.:)