OSUTX440

Ok, so I take my car in to have the rear rotors machined because I had a vibration in the pedals and I really didn't feel like messing around with brake lines and what not. So, the guy behind the counter calls me with the estimate..no problems. Then the service dept goes into this crap on how my tires have the steel belt is bad. So I ask which one, and he doens't give me a straight answer. Then he starts in "well, you have 2 different tire sizes on your car"...and I say "yeah, they are GT500 wheels and rims, thats how they come stock." Seems to me that the guy who works for Ford would know that....at any rate...

So, I look the inspection sheet has ALL 4 tires have damage on them. Can you visually inspect tires to see if they are damaged? Seems a tad shady...but I'm not sure. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Nuke

Unless they did a RoadForce balance, there's no proof you have any tire damage. A visual might make you THINK you have a slipped belt but that's not always the case.

Are you due for new tires? Can you get the ones you have prorated IF they do, in fact, have slipped belts? I'd take it somewhere else before I trust the dealership.

allinon72

Reason #23432 to stay the heck out of dealerships for service. Service managers will tell you anything to either A) suck the most money out of you or B) get you out of the dealership

SCCAGT

Bad tires due to a slipped belt, can be noticeable. Visually and while driving. While driving, it can be easily noticable at low speeds by a shake, or tugging in the steering wheel from side to side. Visually, a lump will form in the tread portion of the tire. That lump causes the steering wheel shimmy. A higher speed vibration is usually a balance issue. Although, the lump would make it happen at higher speeds as well.
If your problem is there ONLY when applying the brakes, you have a brake issue. Rotors have probably developed excessive run-out and need to be replaced or resurfaced. There is no way to check this by eyeballing it. And that is probably all they did. Your pads are probably plenty thick, and the rotors showed no other obvious signs of being bad (cracks, high temp damage, etc).

sicride

another way to tell there is a seperated belt issue is if the tread is really low in one area of the tire and not in most/all other areas. Sometimes you'll have a tire that's bald in 2 spots on the outer edge say at 1:00 and 10:00 but everywhere else on the tire is even tire wear across the tread. If you can see these things I'd insist on having that taken care of before resurfacing any rotors. Unless they used an actual runout gauge and can give you specifications.

SpartaPerformance

You don't need a Road Force balance to see a shifted belt. A spin on any balancer can show it, they can also be seen by just looking at the tire and running your hands across the tread.