Tire or dealer problem?

[nabcracker]

Heres the deal -

2013 4runner Trail
@ 300 miles I added stock size Cooper AT/3 tires
@5000 mile service those tires were rotated from front to back
@9000 miles I added 5100 billies set at .85 and got an alignment, truck was driving awesome then

@ 10500 miles this happened.

The wife took the 4runner in to the dealership yesterday for the 10000 mile service. Basic oil change and tire rotation. On her way home after the service, she called to tell me the 4runner is pulling hard to the right, getting worse the faster she goes. She is closer to home than going back to the dealership when she calls so I tell her to take it home and I will call toyota about the mess. I took the 4runner in to the dealer this morning, its for sure pulling right hard and I told them. it was fine before the tire rotation. After an hour at the dealership, they tell me I need two new tires. The tech verified it pulled right, cross rotated the front and it still pulled right, put the tires back to the pre rotation configuration and the pull stopped. This is what they told me anyways. Dealer suggest I go to the local Cooper dealer since it would be a tire warranty matter. I head over to the local tire shop, the manager seems to agree the rear right tire needs replacement under warranty. Local tire shop is supposed to have me a new tire by next week.

My issue is - If in fact the right rear tire is bad, why did the vehicle still pull right when they cross rotated the front tires? ( The tire that was at rear right prior to the service ended up front left after the standard rotation yesterday and cross rotation of front today)

Also, anybody have a clue what else it could be?

 

[TacoRunner13]

i know it sound dumb but are all the tires the same size ? maybe they goofed and gave you one tire larger than the others. so when they rotated it to the front right it would pull your steering . or maybe the tire wore itself uneven .

 

[Scott@Hightech]

Heres the deal -

2013 4runner Trail
@ 300 miles I added stock size Cooper AT/3 tires
@5000 mile service those tires were rotated from front to back
@9000 miles I added 5100 billies set at .85 and got an alignment, truck was driving awesome then

@ 10500 miles this happened.

The wife took the 4runner in to the dealership yesterday for the 10000 mile service. Basic oil change and tire rotation. On her way home after the service, she called to tell me the 4runner is pulling hard to the right, getting worse the faster she goes. She is closer to home than going back to the dealership when she calls so I tell her to take it home and I will call toyota about the mess. I took the 4runner in to the dealer this morning, its for sure pulling right hard and I told them. it was fine before the tire rotation. After an hour at the dealership, they tell me I need two new tires. The tech verified it pulled right, cross rotated the front and it still pulled right, put the tires back to the pre rotation configuration and the pull stopped. This is what they told me anyways. Dealer suggest I go to the local Cooper dealer since it would be a tire warranty matter. I head over to the local tire shop, the manager seems to agree the rear right tire needs replacement under warranty. Local tire shop is supposed to have me a new tire by next week.

My issue is - If in fact the right rear tire is bad, why did the vehicle still pull right when they cross rotated the front tires?

Also, anybody have a clue what else it could be?

Honestly, that makes no sense. I have dealt with tons of bad tires, Everytime its the tire the pull moves. Its possible that both tires are bad. Interesting situation. IM curious to see if the one new tire fixes it with the tires rotated.

 

[1engineer]

Yep. What Scott said. Pull goes with the tire.

 

[philsey]

Only reason I can think of is that the dealer didn't really cross rotate the fronts - a stretch, I know...... but ??

 

[FrontRange4Runner]

Also seems strange that the pull would just start out of nowhere. Its not like the tires magically went bad over night. Get your warranty replacements and of that does not solve the problem, head back to the dealer. With the new tires they wont have anyone to blame it on. That is unless your wife hit some kind of giant pot hole on the way home and neglected to mention it...

 

[Canazes9]

Belts break in tires. You don't have to smash a pot hole or have any other damage to have it happen. A broken belt can cause a tire to start pulling. Its not common but it does happen, no brand or type of tire is immune.

David

 

[nevada]

Also seems strange that the pull would just start out of nowhere. Its not like the tires magically went bad over night. Get your warranty replacements and of that does not solve the problem, head back to the dealer. With the new tires they wont have anyone to blame it on. That is unless your wife hit some kind of giant pot hole on the way home and neglected to mention it...

it wasn't out of nowhere, it was after they rotated the tires.
a lot of the time a bad tire wont be noticeable on the rear.

 

[nabcracker]

Honestly, that makes no sense. I have dealt with tons of bad tires, Everytime its the tire the pull moves. Its possible that both tires are bad. Interesting situation. IM curious to see if the one new tire fixes it with the tires rotated.

Thanks Scott! I am with you on this one, I was not sure of this fact but I had a feeling this is the case.

Monday will be the true test - is it one bad tire, did the dealer really cross rotate, or is the can of worms getting bigger.

 

[gm350reratliff]

i know it sound dumb but are all the tires the same size ? maybe they goofed and gave you one tire larger than the others. so when they rotated it to the front right it would pull your steering . or maybe the tire wore itself uneven .

This^^^

Make sure all tires are the same load rating, all "P" series, or all load range C, D, E. Definitely could be bad tires though. Seen it quite a few times.

 

[nabcracker]

If new tire or tires do not fix the problem,my next stop will be the dealer!

 

[nabcracker]

i know it sound dumb but are all the tires the same size ? maybe they goofed and gave you one tire larger than the others. so when they rotated it to the front right it would pull your steering . or maybe the tire wore itself uneven .

Dumb, no way. Always check the simple stuff first. Your post inspired me to walk out to the parking lot at work and verify all tires are the same size and model

Sorry for the multiple post, not sure I know how to quote multiple post in one response

 

[nabcracker]

Update

I finally got a new tire put on today, it seems that I had one bad tire. I rotated the new tire to the front right and the pull has stopped. Thanks for the input!

Now its time to call the Dealer and call BS on the fact that they cross rotated the tires when trying to diagnose the problem.

 

[02SE]

I finally got a new tire put on today, it seems that I had one bad tire. I rotated the new tire to the front right and the pull has stopped. Thanks for the input!

Now its time to call the Dealer and call BS on the fact that they cross rotated the tires when trying to diagnose the problem.

Don't waste your time. They won't care. I'd suggest finding someplace else to service your vehicle, or do it yourself.