Les Schwab Tire Center — Local services in Redmond

“Only safe option” 4x wheel swap wrecked my range—no refund

Edit: Reply to Joe at the end

On March 31, 2025, Store 312 (Redmond) installed a 20″ wheel/tire package on my 2024 Tesla Model Y Performance (Invoice #31200515968, $2,894), after one of my original 21″ staggered-fit wheels cracked. We reviewed all available wheel options, and the staff strongly recommended this setup as “the only safe option” and “the closest match to your factory spec.” They assured me it would drive and perform like the original — with no impact on range, handling, warranty, or overall vehicle performance.

Reality: First Redmond → Portland trip burned 17 percentage-points more battery (arrived with 5 % vs 22 % on the OEM wheels) and the car tram-lined above 60 mph. Tesla Bellevue then confirmed these wheels can void power-train coverage.

I requested a refund within a week. The same staff who guaranteed safety promised a callback—then offered only store credit for tires only. A second store said a refund was “no problem,” then reversed overnight. I’ve since spent $1,800 on OEM wheels to restore safety, and Les Schwab kept my OEM lug-nuts and center caps (~$200).

I emailed corporate a detailed engineering report and receipts on 11 May. Still no response as of 20 May.

I’m asking Les Schwab to honor its “Best Tire Value Promise” with a full refund and return of my missing parts. I’ll update this review if they make it right.

EDIT:

Thank you for replying, Joe.

• Tesla Service Manual § GUID-D8AB5994 states “aftermarket wheels are not covered under any warranty and may also cause other related components to not be covered.” The Bellevue Service Center confirmed this to me on 5 Apr 2025 (service ticket available).

• My OEM Uberturbine rims + P-Zero tires weigh 66 lb front / 70 lb rear (38 lb wheel + 28–30 lb tire). Your Platinum 458 + DWS06 Plus assemblies weighed 60–63 lb, but rolling-resistance lab data show the DWS06 Plus has a 12–14 % higher Crr than the P-Zero, which maps to the 11 % Wh/mi increase I recorded (270 → 300 Wh/mi) on the Redmond–Portland route.

• With an identical 95 % start charge, I arrived in Portland with 5 % vs 22 % on the OEM set—17 pp more battery consumed (≈23 % higher energy use).

I’ve forwarded all documentation—including the Tesla policy excerpt—to corporate on 11 May and again today. I still request a full refund under Les Schwab’s Best Tire Value Promise. I will gladly retract or update this review when the matter...

I went in to get a flat tire fixed, they shorted my car battery and tried to trick my into buying a new one.

I had a flat tire. They told me it would take 20 minutes to fix, and would cost $14. They were polite. I waited inside the shop replying to emails while they took the car inside the garage. The car was ready within 15 minutes, they parked it outside the door. I went up to pay but the manager waived off the fee and said I should come back if I needed anything else for my car. I was impressed.

I sat in my car, turned the key and it wouldn’t start. The manager had stepped out as well and stood near the garage. As soon as I stepped out, he said “it won’t start eh?” and signaled one of the mechanics to check the car battery. The mechanic was ready with battery tester and rushed to my car. I was immediately suspicious. He ran a test and it came back all red, the battery was dead apparently. I asked him how they brought the car outside the garage minutes ago and how come the battery died suddenly. He gave a vague answer - batteries can die anytime. I probed him on how this could happen given that I had gotten my car serviced from Honda a couple weeks back and it was all okay. He asked me how old the battery was and said they can die anytime after 3 Years. He insisted that I check out new batteries and that he’d be happy to share price details. And I kept insisting that we charge the battery and see if it drains which he refused to do. I held my ground and pretended to call AAA. After some back and forth, he succumbed and charged the battery grudgingly. I drove away, and the battery has been working fine for weeks now. I was shocked at how they tried to dupe me but amused with their lack of skills to do so. Never going back to this...

I replaced stock tires on Prius C at Discount Tire and brought car for alignment to Les Schwab, because Discount Tire does not do alignment (imagine that!) and my steering wheel had to be kept about 15 degrees to the left after tires replacement. I specifically mentioned that this is why I brought car in for service and lady there put it in the notes for mechanic. After I got my car back, problem was still there, even as numbers on the sheet indicated that some adjustments were made and "things got better". Manager there convinced me that job was done right and that likely a non-adjustable camber on one front wheel is to blame. So I drove home, grabbed 13 mm and 19 mm wrenches and added 90 degrees turn to both front wheels "adjuster rods". Problem gone! Did mechanic even had set the steering wheel straight when he did adjustments? Now the "fun "part. I have also found that the nut that secures adjuster rod on the passenger side was not tightened at all. It was not even "finger tight", just "hanging there" about one turn away from where it supposed to be. This is plain and simple not acceptable! Regarding "non-adjustable" camber: I can't believe they did not even mentioned that this can be fixed with aftermarket "camber kit", I brought it up in conversation myself, and they still did not follow on that option. If they do alignments, they should have those in stock and use them when necessary. I am giving them two starts for having equipment, their low service price, and "for trying". It was my first visit to Les Schwab and it will likely be the...