DENNIS O’SULLIVAN

A reader wants to know if it is safe to change tires around, in the winter and summer, from steel to alloy rims.

QUESTION

Earlier this year, I acquired an eightyear-old SUV with two sets of tires in new condition. I removed the set of winter tires on the vehicle that were installed on the manufacturer alloy rims and put the summer tires on.

With winter approaching, I was considering buying new steel rims for the winter tires since replacement alloy rims were much more expensive, however the tire sensor would not be operational but I could live with it.

Reinstalling the winter tires on the alloy rims is the other option. Is there a concern of damaging the tires and/or rims if they are changed year after year on the alloy rims? Bob from Hamilton ANSWER

If the correct equipment is used to change the tires then there should not be any damage done to the tires or rims. With the cost to remove, replace and balance the tires every year, your suggestion to purchasing used steel rims from the auto recyclers is the least expensive thing to do. QUESTION

About three weeks ago, I purchased four new tires for my car from a Burlington tire outlet.

I have been back to the garage on two different occasions to have them rebalance the tires but I still get a vibration and I want them to replace the tires. They are telling me that I have a faulty CV joint on the left front of the car.

I admitted to the garage that I was getting a small vibration with the old tires but not to the extent that I am getting now with the new tires.

I believe that I have a tire problem and are asking for your help in solving this for me. Can you do anything for me?

Thanks in advance, Danny from Burlington ANSWER

I spoke to the garage and they did tell me that their mechanic checked the car and insisted that it needed a CV (constant velocity) joint.

I told the garage that I would ask you to go to any qualified front-end garage and have them check out both front U-joints in the car. If that garage said that the u-joints were okay, would they then look into changing the tires again for you and they agreed to do that. If it turns out that your car does a have a u-joint problem, you can get it replaced at that garage or at the place where you purchased the tires.

If it turns out that the u-joints are okay, I would like to know the place that checked the car for you and I will relay that information back to the tire outlet. QUESTION I just purchased a new Kia and after two weeks of driving, I happened to check the engine oil like I have done on all my previous vehicles. To my astonishment, I found that the oil was down about one and onehalf litres in less than eight hundred kilometers. I went back to the dealer and they topped up the oil and did not seem to have any concerns as to where the oil went. When I questioned them about the oil loss, they just told me that it was not unusual for a new car to use oil on the first two to three thousand kilometers. What do you think? Mac from Kitchener ANSWER

I think that the oil was not properly topped up from the factory and the dealership doing the PDI (pre-delivery inspection) did not check the oil before you took delivery of the vehicle. To be safe, however, I would monitor the oil for the next thousand kilometers. If the oil loss continues, I would let the dealer know. QUESTION

I had my new car rustproofed about six weeks ago and over the past month, when we had the rain, I started to hear swishing sounds coming every time I put the brakes on. I went back to the dealer and they could not find the problem because it was not there when I went for a drive with the service manager. He told me to come back when the sound was audible. The last rainstorm that I drove in, the swishing came back so I took it into the dealer right away. What they found was that the garage that rustproofed the car plugged the drain holes in the driver’s door and the water was filling up in the bottom of the door.

The dealer cleaned out the drain holes and I have not heard the sound since. A friend of mine has told me that the water has washed away the rust protection and the door is now going to rust. I would like your opinion since all the information I’m getting is that my door is prematurely rusting out. Thank you. Sandy from Halton ANSWER

It sounds to me that the rust protection company has over rust protected the driver’s door to the point that it is never going to rust out in the lifetime of the car. To put your mind at ease however, I called the dealer and they have asked the rust protection company to redo that door for you at your convenience, which they have agreed to do for you. That job should only take about fifteen minutes to do so you can wait for it to be done.

Dennis O’Sullivan can be reached by email at: dennis.osullivan@cogeco.ca or by regular mail at Box 10019 Winona, ON, L8E 5R1. Be sure to mention where you reside when writing to Dennis.