Dealer Refusing to do 5-Tire Rotation? | Subaru Outback Wilderness

[@ottomatic7823]

I paid for the 5000 mile oil change/tire rotation. Little did the dealership know, I marked my rims. They walked me out to the car all smiles & happy. I then noticed the wheels hadn't been rotated, pointed this out.... all hell broke loose.

[@ronfromportland]

Glad you got it sorted out! Definitely want to be getting what you are paying for.

[@MoJoNinjaGarage]

Well it’s a good thing we got you to help us be our own warranty. This is some pretty good info big dawg!

[@ronfromportland]

I appreciate it bro!

[@cvn72abe]

Dealer wanted $175 to do 5 tire rotation compared to $30 for a 4 tire rotation. I said no and I’m gonna bust out quickjacks and do it myself. I already own a TPMS tool if necessary(I used to swap my summer and winter wheels on my STI before a deer totaled it). Thanks for making the video. I would have totally forgot about the end cap.

[@ronfromportland]

That’s what’s up! Yeah, that’s too much for a tire rotation. What TPMS tool do you have? I couldn’t find one that’s compatible with the Outback.

[@jackheart320]

Very good video, not too much blather just and excellent explanation, thank you.

[@ronfromportland]

Thank you!

[@LuisChavezRN]

Attention to detail homie.👊

[@ronfromportland]

Thanks bro! 💪

[@botcrack]

its not the dealership...its the tech that is too lazy to do it. But yes it does help them tremendously when you at least clear out your trunk so they can get to your spare easily. I was a tech for Toyota and sometimes I get asked to check the spare tire pressure, and they have half their life stashed in the trunk...I am definitely not checking it and saying I did...cuz wtf lol.

[@ronfromportland]

True! I try to make it easy for them. I can’t stand a dirty trunk 😂

[@yesman3709]

Good video. I like your QuickJack. Are the Pinch Weld Blocks needed to lift the Outback Wilderness?

[@ronfromportland]

Thank you. The QuickJacks come with regular blocks but I prefer to use the pinch weld version.

[@yesman3709]

Thank you Ron.

[@jacobsandoval2097]

If the dealer doesn't want to help you out, stop on by j&S Automotive aloha it will take care of you all day RonfromPortland! P.s. I miss your WRX!

[@ronfromportland]

Thank you guys! I really appreciate it!

[@michaelthomson5101]

I hope that wasn't the dealership east of portland and next to the ford dealer, That is where I bought my FW.

[@Weyoun359]

Love the videos. I am picking my own OBW tomorrow and i am thinking of ordering the offsets you installed. Have you have any issues w them?

[@ronfromportland]

No issues, just make sure to torque properly and check it again after a few miles. I took them off to run them on my WRX (sold now) and I’ve been lazy to re-install them haha.

[@mikediep8578]

Just had my first service at the dealer. Paid $20 for the tire rotation and found out after that they did not include my spare in the rotation.

[@ronfromportland]

Yeah, unfortunately that’s pretty common from what I’ve been hearing just based on the comments!

[@shiloh5199]

That tire in the hideaway is totally new, the others have 5k...hmm.

[@ronfromportland]

Yup, this crossed my mind too. “Recommended” rotation interval is ~6K miles, but I did less than that. The new tire is tread is at 11/32 and the existing tires are at 10/32. Subaru’s AWD system calls for each tire to be within 2/32 - 3/32 of each other so it should be fine 👍.

[@shiloh5199]

@@ronfromportland That's technically fine to be 1/32 less tread and I believe I understand why they put the spare tire into the rotation. If you have to use a new tire with 3 tires at 5/32 you'll have some issues. I believe that's why Subaru installed the "FWD" fuse in the engine bays if older gen Subies...so if you had to use that small hideaway spare tire you'd be fine in FWD mode. Good stuff bro.

[@ronfromportland]

@@shiloh5199 ah man, I had no idea about that fuse. That’s awesome to know. Thank you bro!

[@joker2100]

On subsequent 5 wheel tire rotations, do you need to continually reprogram the TPMS sensors? Does the OWB remember all 5?

[@ronfromportland]

Nope, the OBW remembers all 5, assuming your spare is programmed (it should be). As a matter of fact, I just did another rotation the other day and the car didn’t throw any codes. Hope this helps!

[@elibrown9442]

Just did my 5 tire rotation for the first time and the new spare tripped the tpms light on

[@ronfromportland]

⁠@@elibrown9442very strange. Seems like a hit or miss. Good to know though.

[@ronfromportland]

@@elibrown9442is the tire inflated to the correct pressure?

[@insley1085]

Ron! I’ve got a 23’ wilderness, will I have to do a TPMS relearn when I rotate the tires? Thank man 👊🏻

[@ronfromportland]

What’s up man! I’m honestly not too sure on that. I know there are subtle differences between years and I’m not sure if the TPMS spare on the 23s are programmed like my 22. Best bet is to put the spare on and see if it’ll register to the car!

[@7thheaventruth]

Dude you have some real bad luck with your dealer on all your videos remember the oil leak at 1,500 miles that you took the car back for service

[@goprocbr]

I know it says to do it in the manual, but won't a 5 wheel rotation cause uneven tire wear to all the wheels? What is the benefit of a 5 wheel rotation? Spare wheels are meant to be used as a spare, not long term.

[@ronfromportland]

The goal is to have even wear in all of the tires. That way, if you need to use the spare, the difference between the tires would be minimal. The spare is a full sized wheel/tire so it’s no different from the other four.

[@goprocbr]

@@ronfromportland but if you rotate all 5 wheels, you won't get even wear. Since 1 wheel will always be in your trunk. even if you rotate that one out, another one will go into your trunk which will cause uneven wear for that tire.

[@ronfromportland]

@@goprocbr it’ll still be closer tread wear compared to a brand new tire

[@ronfromportland]

Hence the 5 tire rotation

[@thomas.kovacik]

Beware of McKenna Subaru in HB. Trying to charge $300 for resetting tpms and doing the 5th wheel.

[@ronfromportland]

That is insane!

[@thomas.kovacik]

@@ronfromportland yeah I used to recommend them but not anymore. I’ve been fighting with them for 18k miles and I’m 1 for 3 trying to get them to do the 5 wheel rotation. Ridiculous haha

[@ronfromportland]

@thomas.kovacik think they’ll charge less for having the spare out and readily available? As for the tpms programming, I found a local shop to do this 2 min job for free 😂

[@thomas.kovacik]

@@ronfromportland right?? My trunk is fully cleared and locks / key are accessible haha What!! Wild I’m gonna buy a kit of tools to do my own rotations / tpms reset and have full control over this haha. Without the 5 tire rotation my full size spare now will risk the reliability of my AWD when it’s time to toss it on.. so annoying haha

[@ronfromportland]

@@thomas.kovacik yeah, I take tires seriously with the AWD system. Let me know if you find a reliable tpms tool! I thought about buying one but didn’t want to spend the $3-400.

[@carcrazy69691]

What subaru dealer denied?

[@ronfromportland]

I haven’t tried since I do as much as I can at home. It was more for the folks I’ve seen posting on the FB pages.

[@carcrazy69691]

@ronfromportland well, if that's the case, don't loop in dealerships if you haven't had that experience .. I've worked for dealerships as a service advisor ( don't anymore), but knowing what I know and the people I know, I can see this happening, but again, I can't. Subaru dealerships are pretty loyal to their customers... not all, but most.. I'm just saying 🤷.. don't say something that isn't factual or experience.. it makes those who try hard look bad. .. ✌️

[@ronfromportland]

@@carcrazy69691 I understand where you’re coming from

[@rubenbarrientos5800]

Here is the problem and the reason the dealership won’t do it. All four tires have the same amount of rubber. You put the spare on while doing the rotation and that becomes the problem uneven rubber wear. The all wheel drive wheel not work properly. Why do you think that when a tire bust they normally tell you that you have to buy 4 brand new tires or get one of them cut. Meaning getting it shaved. It’s not extra work it’s called common sense.

[@ronfromportland]

So you’re telling me that if your tires have 20K miles and one blows causing you to use the brand new spare, that’s better than using a spare with some miles already? Makes total sense.

[@Rich-tc2lh]

Did you remove the greenish/yellowish marking on the spare wheel?

[@robertshunter]

Yeah, because dimwits at a dealership know far more about a vehicle than the company which designed, engineered, and manufactured it. 🙄