Recently I drove the family Sprinter van over to the local tire retailer for a simple tire rotation. They were busy so I dropped the van off so they could take their time. They called me a few hours later and I paid for the service and drove the van home to my driveway for the night.
I started to drive out of my driveway, the next morning and my dashboard lit up red with lights to warn me that my tire pressure was way out of whack. Apparently they rotated the tires and failed to adjust the tire pressure, which is a pretty huge difference in the Sprinter.
The front tire pressure is supposed to be 47 psi and the rear tires should be at 70 psi on my Sprinter. Being in a rush to help a friend in need I had to first drive to the tire shop and have them add air in the tires that needed it, as I released the excess air pressure in the other two tires. Fortunately it didn’t take long to get the tires aired up correctly and I was on my way.
Fortunately a voice in my head suggested that I hand check the lug nuts on my wheels, to which I decided to do for my peace of mind. It turned out the the front driver’s side wheel had lug nuts so loose that they were about to fall off! I called the tire shop and drove back the short distance, just before closing time and had them all tightened. The tire shop had not adjusted the air pressure in the tires and had also left lug nuts dangerously loose. I won’t be going back to this tire shop again.
If your vehicle has exposed lug nuts like my Sprinter or my VW Golf it’s easy to verify they are tight. If the lug nuts are covered or otherwise too much of a hassle for you to personally check, just take them by someone who knows what what they’re doing for a double check, as it could save a life, possibly yours and a whole lot of misery, for all involved.
I started to drive out of my driveway, the next morning and my dashboard lit up red with lights to warn me that my tire pressure was way out of whack. Apparently they rotated the tires and failed to adjust the tire pressure, which is a pretty huge difference in the Sprinter.
The front tire pressure is supposed to be 47 psi and the rear tires should be at 70 psi on my Sprinter. Being in a rush to help a friend in need I had to first drive to the tire shop and have them add air in the tires that needed it, as I released the excess air pressure in the other two tires. Fortunately it didn’t take long to get the tires aired up correctly and I was on my way.
Fortunately a voice in my head suggested that I hand check the lug nuts on my wheels, to which I decided to do for my peace of mind. It turned out the the front driver’s side wheel had lug nuts so loose that they were about to fall off! I called the tire shop and drove back the short distance, just before closing time and had them all tightened. The tire shop had not adjusted the air pressure in the tires and had also left lug nuts dangerously loose. I won’t be going back to this tire shop again.
If your vehicle has exposed lug nuts like my Sprinter or my VW Golf it’s easy to verify they are tight. If the lug nuts are covered or otherwise too much of a hassle for you to personally check, just take them by someone who knows what what they’re doing for a double check, as it could save a life, possibly yours and a whole lot of misery, for all involved.
RSS Feed
