Long story short, I had 2 of my tires replaced at Walmart on May 25 (for the past 3 years I have gone to this Walmart everytime I needed tires), and on June 6th my car broke down. I took it to a shop and they replaced the drive shaft ($800). Once I got it back, 3 days went by and my car broke down AGAIN. This time it was the transfer case ($2300). I got the car back and not one week went by and today, it broke down again! The transfer case broke again, so back to the shop it went.
When getting a tow, the tow guy said, you know you have 2 different size tires on the car? We looked and low and behold, the two in the front(older ones) were 225/60/18. The two that Walmart replaced in May were in the back and the size was 225/55/18. I immediately went to the Walmart and spoke with the manager. Thank goodness the DOT numbers on the tires were able to confirm this was Walmarts mistake, he seemed shocked and couldn’t believe a mistake that bad had been made.
He said he has to make a claim, and he’s coming to take pictures of the car tomorrow.
This whole ordeal has cost me almost $5,000 in shop fees, part fees, rental fees and tow bills. I am hoping someone has advice on the Walmart claim process and wether or not It would be a good idea to get a lawyer?
Side note - the manager told me the correct size tires that go on my car are listed on the divers side door - this states my car should have 225/60/18 - and the paperwork from May 25th from Walmart clearly states they put 225/55/18 - which were mismatched from the two that were on my car already.
2019 Jeep Cherokee - AWD
Edit - the car is in the shop now getting a new transfer case again - after, I will be putting 4 new tires on my car. I am wondering if I could experience damage on my car after I fix everything and get the right size tires.
This is really a question for another site… LegalTalk (it doesn’t really exist). That said, my advice is;
It appears as though Walmart owned up to their mistake. The manager is making a claim on you behalf. Let Walmart know how much this has cost you. Show receipts to prove this. Make copies you can give them. Discuss it in a reasonable manner and then do the same if the insurance carrier wants to meet or calls. Don’t sign anything until you are satisfied with the settlement.
Neither party wants lawyers involved so they will be compliant to a degree. Don’t get greedy and try to get more than your losses. But don’t be a doormat either. $5000 is a lot to you, but not to Walmart.
Thank you Mustangman, I guess my question for car talk was more of, could I experience long term damage from driving on these different size tires for 2k+ miles? I would hate to settle it and have more issues arise down the road.
You already know and posted the answer to that question… YES!
Transfer case damage what happens when you put different size tires on an all-wheel-drive vehicle. Since you never posted what type of car this is, I’m guessing it is a Subaru of some type. Maybe differential damage but in any event you have a record of the event if it shows up later.
This shouldn’t cause any long term damage. I am actually surprised/unsure that the tire mismatch caused your issue. definitely wouldn’t cause a driveshaft issue, transfer case is possible but also largely depends on what kind of 4x4/AWD system your vehicle has.
Both mechanics, as well as everything I’ve read on google said having two different tire sizes on can cause severe damage to the drivetrain components of a car. The driveshaft is part of the drivetrain, yes?
The mechanic said the tires would have caused the weakest link in the drivetrain to break, which was my driveshaft first - then after it was replaced, the transfer case went out - twice. I am just worried I am going to continue to have problems as this has left me stranded on the side of the road 3 different times in the last month. Hoping putting the right size tires on my car after it is fixed will resolve all the problems. But worries it won’t.
You have receipt from Walmart with tire size listed?
2019 Jeep, broken driveshaft? Huh? Seems odd for a fairly new suv.
I would have glanced at new tires right about then.
Yes, they put that the tires they put on were 225/55/18, but the DOT numbers on the invoice that say that size, are the DOT numbers that are on the 225/60/18 tires. So that shows the mistake. Thank goodness the DOT numbers are scanned at Walmart when they put them on.
I had just put on the two new tires before the driveshaft went out, it had been about a week and a half. I don’t know much about cars so I didn’t put two and two together - neither did the mechanics.
I don’t trust anybody. When I had my tires replaced I read the DOT labels, checked the pressure and the torque on the lug nuts before I drove it away.
I am not going to research type of drive system your Jeep has.
If it is conventional 4WD, using 4WD in low traction, ie mud, sand, snow, the that size difference would have minimal affect.
AWD, yes, bad for the system, follow Mustangman’s advice.
Legally, it sounds like you are on solid ground. Do a bit of research on the small claims court process in your state. Some states the upper limit is $5,000 and some are $7,500. This will be important later.
If I were in WalMart’s shoes, I would realize this is a loser case and pay up as soon as possible and in full. But I am not WalMart and I don’t know how they will react. The fact that the manager was sent out to take photos is a positive sign - even though the only photo needed is of the tire sidewalls!
And lastly, be patient. Large corporations move slowly. There’s lots of bureaucracy to navigate. Negotiate in good faith and don’t get greedy.
I can easily believe that Walmart installed the wrong size tires. I don’t know that I would trust them to fix a sandwich, much less a car.
What I have an issue with is the “shop” that replaced a broken driveline and transfer case without doing the slightest bit of investigation into why. That’s borderline negligent to me. Different size tires front and rear is an obvious issue.
Correcting a symptom without addressing the cause falls short of a professional operation. I would talk to the shop that did this work and explain the final results. If I were manager/owner of that shop I would offer some help with the final repair.
+1… Even with the driveshaft failing, I would have been asking (myself) why…
As far as the driveshaft failing 1st, it just happened to be the weakest link at 1st, but the t-case was already self-destructing…
I have seen Walmart (worked at a shop RIGHT NEXT to one, behind us) and saw a lot of there screw ups (and repaired a lot too) as well as heard about many more, Walmart always took care of it… They know they have shelf stockers also changing oil… lol
I even had a Walmart corp big wig come into town and have his vehicle dropped off for a lof and 2 tires…
Even if you had the 60 series tires put on, you still may have had driveline damage. It depends on how much wear is on the older tires and how much larger the mew tires are in circumfrence than the old ones.
The fix is to rep[lace them all at once or shave the new tires down to the depth of the old ones but not manu shops can do that. Certainly not Walmart.