Just had the TCH serviced for 7,500 miles today. I had a small 'beef' with them about my last service.. I had specifically requested 36psi in the tires.

A couple days later in the AM, I decided to check them prior to a trip.
2 were at 31.5 , one was 32 and one was 33. AND two valve stem caps were missing.

This time, I again specified 36 psi in the tires and the service manager argued with me that the recommended presssure is 32 psi. He showed me the door sticker and wasn't hearing my request.. Finally, I said put them at 36.

Just wondering why the push-back on this.. It has been clearly documented and mentioned in various threads that this can and does increase fuel economy and some will even say, control and stabilty.

Regarding the missing caps.. They said they would have to ORDER them..

HUH?


Oh well. I couldn't be happier with my FE or the TCH after 8,350 miles and just wondering what others may have experienced when asking for certain tire pressures.

 

They probably need to cover their azzes on the legal front.

In this day and age I can see if they get into an accident then blame
the dealership for letting them overfill the tires and not properly explaining
the "risks" etc etc and then blaming the accident on the tires.

You get the point.

 

The dealership has to follow Toyota's recommendations, not Green Hybrid's. It may seem perfectly fine to you, and I just upped the pressure in my tires to 40 psi. But they don't want to make judgements as to what is a reasonable deviation from Toyota's specs and what isn't.

What do they do if people come in and say less oil will get me better fuel efficiency? Do they leave out a quart because someone asks them to? I think it's perfectly reasonable for them to set the car to Toyota's specs. It's easy enough to go to the gas station and put a little more air in yourself.

 

Agree with the posts above that Toyota needs to cover their own rears.

The "legal" way for you to avoid this is to tell them when you drop off the car "please do not check the tire pressure, they are set the way I want". They will note your request on your work order, and thus you have waived any liability regarding the tires because you specifically told them not to check it. But you definitely can't tell them to set the pressure at a non-factory specified pressure and expect them to comply.

 

If the dealer makes note of a deviation from factory spec's., it could make a difference when it comes to your warranty being honored. Beyond that, my dealer has an Extra Mile Option Package that includes an Extended Life Tire Program. It's a "no charge" benefit that keeps you coming in to have your tires rotated at the dealer every 5,000 miles along with your oil change. If you're faithful to this extent, the dealer will replace your tires if they wear out before 100,000 miles.

I'm sure that if I deviated from the recommended 32 psi that the dealer wouldn't replace my worn tires. I wouldn't mind airing up to 36 psi to get the better mileage, but for me, I'd rather have the warranty benefits.

 

Forget the dealer. Get a $29.95 portable compressor for your trunk and keep your tires at the level you want. That's what I did. Dealer deflates them to 32 PSI at oil change, I just re-fill them back to 50 the next morning.

No worries !!!

 

What lars-ss said. It's not reasonable to ask a dealer, who has a potential liability, to set the tires to *your* specs over factory specs.

 

After the FORD Firestone fiasco I can't blame any dealer for refusing to do anything other than the sticker on tire pressure. I honestly don't trust the dealer or any tech with that stuff. I check my tires every 2-3 weeks and adjust as necessary. I run 36PSI all around, better to be a few over than under.

 

Actually $10 at Walmart. And I considering dealers and oil change places are often checking warm tires they are probably actually lowering your PSI below spec. I check them first thing in the AM when I know car has sat over night.

 

Good Point.. I don't really feel badly about them, just wondering. I have my own compressor so it's easily done at home and I have a digital tire guage which makes it accurate to the tenth of a pound.
Thanks for your input.