Complaint Review: Scher Tire - Huntington Beach California

Gee, I owned a 1989 Ford Taurus that had 3 lug nuts on a 4 lug wheel and it DEFINITELY was deliterious to the drivability of the car. It did not matter how tight the lug nuts were. There are certain trucks that have been produced since the turn of the century that it is inadvisable to run without the full complement of lug nuts. Not that the previous posts aren't good advise, you just never know everything. Well done to Scher Tire in Huntington Beach, California for doing what it takes to satisfy a customer complaint.

Please re-read my comments, the vibration points directly to a heat-warped rotor. Now that you have the right nut, it should be plain that a warped rotor is causing both the vibration and noise from the brake. While it's relatively harmless, it's annoying, and can probably be fixed simply by re-machining the rotor or rotors smooth again. This should be under your warranty, unless you need a new rotor, they'll probably charge for that part only if it needs replacement. Since you got the brakes done last October, it's probably under warranty. If you distrust them, have the work checked by any other brake shop, there should be minimal wear on the pads in only 5 months, and unless the rotors are deeply grooved, the pads should not need to be replaced. The big clue here is that you said the vibration only shows up when braking, this rules out tires out of balance, tires out of round, loose wheel, bad wheel bearing, or bent wheel rims, all of these would shake all the time, not shake only when braking. Also you said that the vibration showed up lately, and not that it was shaking all along. Answer me this, did you have to panic stop lately, some idiot cut you off? That puts a hell of a strain and very much heat on the rotor, and if you also hit a puddle when very hot the sudden cooling will warp a thin rotor every time. Likewise if you have to come down a steep hill then hard-stop. (Sudden red light) Still a simple fix, and not the lug nut. Be sure to have the thickness of the rotors checked (Standard with any brake job) and see if there's enough metal left to machine smooth once again. (My bet is they are right at minimum thickness, that's when they warp the most easily)

Please re-read my comments, the vibration points directly to a heat-warped rotor. Now that you have the right nut, it should be plain that a warped rotor is causing both the vibration and noise from the brake. While it's relatively harmless, it's annoying, and can probably be fixed simply by re-machining the rotor or rotors smooth again. This should be under your warranty, unless you need a new rotor, they'll probably charge for that part only if it needs replacement. Since you got the brakes done last October, it's probably under warranty. If you distrust them, have the work checked by any other brake shop, there should be minimal wear on the pads in only 5 months, and unless the rotors are deeply grooved, the pads should not need to be replaced. The big clue here is that you said the vibration only shows up when braking, this rules out tires out of balance, tires out of round, loose wheel, bad wheel bearing, or bent wheel rims, all of these would shake all the time, not shake only when braking. Also you said that the vibration showed up lately, and not that it was shaking all along. Answer me this, did you have to panic stop lately, some idiot cut you off? That puts a hell of a strain and very much heat on the rotor, and if you also hit a puddle when very hot the sudden cooling will warp a thin rotor every time. Likewise if you have to come down a steep hill then hard-stop. (Sudden red light) Still a simple fix, and not the lug nut. Be sure to have the thickness of the rotors checked (Standard with any brake job) and see if there's enough metal left to machine smooth once again. (My bet is they are right at minimum thickness, that's when they warp the most easily)

Please re-read my comments, the vibration points directly to a heat-warped rotor. Now that you have the right nut, it should be plain that a warped rotor is causing both the vibration and noise from the brake. While it's relatively harmless, it's annoying, and can probably be fixed simply by re-machining the rotor or rotors smooth again. This should be under your warranty, unless you need a new rotor, they'll probably charge for that part only if it needs replacement. Since you got the brakes done last October, it's probably under warranty. If you distrust them, have the work checked by any other brake shop, there should be minimal wear on the pads in only 5 months, and unless the rotors are deeply grooved, the pads should not need to be replaced. The big clue here is that you said the vibration only shows up when braking, this rules out tires out of balance, tires out of round, loose wheel, bad wheel bearing, or bent wheel rims, all of these would shake all the time, not shake only when braking. Also you said that the vibration showed up lately, and not that it was shaking all along. Answer me this, did you have to panic stop lately, some idiot cut you off? That puts a hell of a strain and very much heat on the rotor, and if you also hit a puddle when very hot the sudden cooling will warp a thin rotor every time. Likewise if you have to come down a steep hill then hard-stop. (Sudden red light) Still a simple fix, and not the lug nut. Be sure to have the thickness of the rotors checked (Standard with any brake job) and see if there's enough metal left to machine smooth once again. (My bet is they are right at minimum thickness, that's when they warp the most easily)

Please re-read my comments, the vibration points directly to a heat-warped rotor. Now that you have the right nut, it should be plain that a warped rotor is causing both the vibration and noise from the brake. While it's relatively harmless, it's annoying, and can probably be fixed simply by re-machining the rotor or rotors smooth again. This should be under your warranty, unless you need a new rotor, they'll probably charge for that part only if it needs replacement. Since you got the brakes done last October, it's probably under warranty. If you distrust them, have the work checked by any other brake shop, there should be minimal wear on the pads in only 5 months, and unless the rotors are deeply grooved, the pads should not need to be replaced. The big clue here is that you said the vibration only shows up when braking, this rules out tires out of balance, tires out of round, loose wheel, bad wheel bearing, or bent wheel rims, all of these would shake all the time, not shake only when braking. Also you said that the vibration showed up lately, and not that it was shaking all along. Answer me this, did you have to panic stop lately, some idiot cut you off? That puts a hell of a strain and very much heat on the rotor, and if you also hit a puddle when very hot the sudden cooling will warp a thin rotor every time. Likewise if you have to come down a steep hill then hard-stop. (Sudden red light) Still a simple fix, and not the lug nut. Be sure to have the thickness of the rotors checked (Standard with any brake job) and see if there's enough metal left to machine smooth once again. (My bet is they are right at minimum thickness, that's when they warp the most easily)

I talked to Chris with Scher Tire customer service. He was very nice and he told me to bring it in and they would take care of it. It turns out that it was a lug nut, but it was the wrong size for my car. RE: rebuttal If they were trying to do the "right thing" they would not have installed the wrong lug nut... that's just nutty. I only mentioned the vibration because that was reason I removed the wheel and discovered the problem. I did not say lug nut caused the vibration. I can tell you that now that the lug nut has been replaced the car vibrates much less than it did before.

I'm a Master Mechanic, I have no connection with the store in question. You stated that you were getting a vibration when braking from high speed, this is not a lug nut problem it's a warped brake rotor, and aside from being irritating is not harmful. While I agree that it was wrong to replace the nut with a standard nut, (Poor Mechanicing) it did not in any way cause the vibration, and was not unsafe. Cars are designed for redundancy, in other words your car will run perfectly well with only three lug nuts applied, there's no danger of the wheel coming off or loose. It's quite common to have a nut strip when being removed, the real fix is to put a drop of oil on each stud when you put on the nut, but d**n few folks do it, then the dry nut strips out either when installing it, or when next removed. The shops general rule of thumb is that if the nut strips on removal, it's your (Owners) responsibility, but if it strips when installed it's the shop's responsibility to replace it, and most do, usualy without even telling you they replaced it. Having said that, the correct repair would have been to replace either the stud (If damaged) or the nut, or both but having the wrong nut makes no difference if the other three are tight. Take it back to them and tell them about the vibration, say you were told it's a bad or warped rotor, be prepared to buy a new rotor if it's now machined too thin to turn the rotor again (Probable, as the main cause of warpage is trying to "Stretch" a few more miles out of a thin rotor) If it cannot be safely machined again, just replace it, they're not expensive. Depending on how many miles (Please note, miles not time) since your last brake job, you may need brakes, but it's far more likely that the rotor can be machined smooth and no further repair will be needed. Show them what you found ask for the right nut, they're about a buck, if the stud is damaged they're about a buck too, and depending on the make of vehicle may be replaced quite easily (Manufacturers know they will need replacement and allow for reasonably easy access) If it's a good shop they will probably replace them free, do not get mad, simply speak to the manager and print this out to show him. To remove and replace a stud will take under a half-hour average, but again this depends on make of vehicle. Most folks really want to do a good job. To finish this, you have probably gotten an inexperienced tire changer, and not a bad brake job. The very fact that it took months to show a vibration points directly at a heat warped rotor. Simply that there was a nut, even if the wrong one, shows they tried to do the right thing,