Hi all,
I have a 2007 Toyota Rav4 which I recently took to Discount Tire to have new tires put on. I decided to replace all 4 tires after I got a flat tire (rear right). I used the car jack that came with the car to lift it and put on the spare tire, then had the new tires put on a week later at the Discount Tire store. I made the mistake of not inspecting everything after I left the shop, but now a week or so later, I noticed the metal runner on the frame (not sure what this is called), is severely bent outwards (see pic…that piece is supposed to be vertical and is now bent out completely horizontal). This is “sort of” near where I used my car jack to put on my spare tire, however I used the pinch welds, which you can see on the far right of the picture. The pinch welds are not where the damage was done (that part is still vertical), which leads me to believe that it couldn’t have been me that caused the damage when I lifted it to put on the spare. That, plus it seems hard to believe I wouldn’t have noticed this damage happen in real time when I put on the spare. I’m not sure exactly what they used to lift the car at the stop either. Who’s to blame here?
Sorry, but I doubt if anyone one the web can say who is to blame . Your best course of action would be to return to Discount Tire and calmly show them the problem .
3 Likes
Go back today. The longer you delay, the more likely it is they will deny responsibility. Look at your receipt to see if they noted the damage before they started. If it isn’t noted, remind them of that. Have your receipt to show them.
Yes, I understand. Let me clarify–I definitely plan on going back to the store. I’m not actually expecting someone to be able to identify exactly who is to blame, but rather am just looking for if anyone has more knowledge on their practices, how they lift cars, etc. to know how likely it is that they could have caused this, vs. how likely something like this could have happened with just my regular jack on the pinch welds. I just want to be informed as possible before I go back. Thanks!
Looks like damage from a lift arm cup put under the pinch weld without something to spread out the weight. See the two dents? Either side of the cup. Or a floor jack…
Hard to tell from the one pic. If it’s just deformed, they can hammer it back into position and maybe spray some paint over it. Certainly careless work, I wouldn’t be impressed to say the least…
