Complain about a product or service

Costco - Tires

John of Buford GA (04/06/08)
I just want to answer some explain some complaints. As some are just misunderstandings.

#1 - Alot of people have to understand that not every costco is like this in the complains. Some customers expect too much.

#2 - Customers dont want to wait 1-4 hrs. I understand completely as i dont want to wait that long. But people have to understand tire installation isnt something you want to rush, your life is in these 4 tires.

To Mark of Corona CA, Its stupid how they wouldnt fix your tire, My costco cleans out that fix a flat.

Steve of Rockaway NJ Yours tires wore out cause you over inflated them. you messed up.

Briah of Wilmington NC Briah i can feel how disappointed you are, i would like to be informed about certain changes,

#1 - At costco they cant give you the price of a new tire under road hazard cause they dont know them selves witout seeing the tire first.

#2 - your tire wasnt a factor defect, you drove 9k miles witout a problem. Your tire was not repairable. Dont compare this situation to something that happend at walmart to a tire that was fixable.

#3 - they probably put that $10 more tire on cause your original tire was not in stock. and gave you something from what they had in stock.

Stephen of Newark CA I can assure you that the newest tires ALWAYS GO IN REAR as 7 tire manufactures recommend this. Costco should have told you before selling you the tires.

Mark of Corona CA (03/26/08)
Costco refused to repair my tire simply because I used Fix A Flat to inflate the tire so I could safely drive the 5 miles to Costco to get it repaired.

Costco forced me to purchase another new tire.

Steve of Rockaway NJ (02/29/08)
Costco Tire is the worst tire center around. First of all they will not / do not honor their tire warranty. They will make up some story all the time not to do the work. They would not rotate tires for me I purchased there; they make you wait hours before they tell you something is wrong! I had tires put on my wife's vehicle, and they were  about 20 psi over inflated! Let me tell you, there are tire centers that sell the same tires, CHEAPER--and stand behind what they sell including preventative maintenance. I have not had a problem since going to another store. They have the same tires Costco sells, but this store has them $23.00 cheaper! Trust me DO NOT GO TO COSTCO IN WHARTON NJ FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN BULK FOOD! THEIR TIRE CENTER AND THE EMPLOYEES THAT WORK THERE WERE NOT HELPFUL.

Briah of Wilmington NC (02/28/08)
I purchased 4 new michelin tires ($500 on sale) in Jan. 2007 for my 2003 325I BMW from Costco. They said they come with a warranty of 45,000 miles and did free rotation and balance. I really only needed 2 new tires but they recommended all new ones because they would wear better and said I had bent rims. So I took their word and have had them rotated and balanced as needed. Well yesterday, I'm driving down the road and hear a loud noise and pull into my driveway and can hear air escaping. Sure enough, a flat this morning. Fortunately, I have a spare and was able to get my man to change it so I could take my car to see about repairing this tire.

Costco said the tire wasn't repairable but wouldn't tell me how much it was gonna cost until the work was finished which took 1 1/2 hours to change a tire and then they wouldn't rotate or balance them even though I had my receipt with me. The guy said it would be $68 because the tire was worn, so they could only credit $60 toward the new tire. This happened at Wal-mart a few years ago and it was repaired with no charge, no problems. A normal, intelligent person would think a warranty would cover factory defects and a tire that only has 9,000 miles on it, but not only did I get charged they acted with no cares and even told me I could fill out a comment card when I said I wasn't happy and would never buy tires from them again.

I questioned his math and asked him how he figured that amount. They put a tire on my car that was $10 more than the original without even asking me. What does a consumer do when a company is this deceptive and sly/sneaky with their business? It seems as if someone has informed them every way to get around doing honest business. Well, the word will get out, and sneaky business that doesn't take care of its customers will bite them in the rear in the future! Oh not to mention them charging my Am. Express card to renew my membership without even billing me first. Shady business, Beware!

Stephen of Newark CA (02/28/08)
I went to Costco Store to have 2 new tires installed on my 1996 Toyota Camry. The 2 front tires were in need of replacement, however the 2 rear tires still have some life left on them so I opted to keep them for a while longer. When I went through the process of buying the 2 new tires there was no mention that it was Costco Management policy that any new tires had to be placed in the rear of the vehicle. I was watching the tire installer and when I saw him taking the back tires off he told me that he had to do it and I could not have the new tires installed in the front of the vehicle. When I picked up the car I mentioned to the sales person that I was not told upfront of this policy. His answer was that if I wanted my 2 new tires in the front of the vehicle that I would have to do that myself or have it done somewhere else. It seems very likely that this is some sort of marketing practice to sell more tires. I sure wish that I was informed upfront of their installation practice. I have been a long time member of Costco for 15 years and have not had any problems until now. To me they were acting in a deceptive manner by not being up front with me. Sure is you look at the Costco.com site buried deep in their web pages is a blurb of this tire installation practice. How many folks take the time to read through all of their policies before purchasing? It should be mentioned up front when purchasing I believe.

Existing tires will wear out faster now that they are installed in the front of the vehicle. More weight, engine is in front, tires wear out faster. I would also think that having the newer tires would be safer. This could be more of a safety hazard.

Darrell of Blue Springs MO (12/28/07)
My wife and I visited our local Cosco to have her new tires rotated. We dropped our car off and went inside to shop. They said it would be about 1 hour. When we returned, we were informed they could not rotate the tires because they were bald. These tires were not bald...they had plenty of tread on them...about 5,000 miles. If you look at the tires, they had some wear on the outside edge, but there was plenty of tread on the tire. First of all, they said we voided our warranty because we did not rotate the tires when we where suppose to.

They brought up our work history on the database to show us. We had the tires rotated at Wal-mart. They wanted to see the receipts. Which we didn't have on us. After they saw that wasn't going to hold up, they switch to another reason...we didn't have our tires inflated properly. Which might account for the edge wear. However, my wife had stopped by several times after work to complain about the tire being low and was told they were fine. No tire gauge was used...they just eye-balled it.

Needless to say, we ended up asking for the manager. We talked about what was going on and she held her ground and stated that because we did not follow the manufactures guidlines we had voided any Cosco service work. That was the last dime I was going to spend at Cosco's. Their terrible service and poor attitude towards its customers, I can't see how they stay in busines?

Jeremy of Rocklin CA (10/18/07)
I arrived at a local Costco at 5PM today after prearranging to have a full set of 31x10.5 tires available for installation. After waiting the obligatory 2.5 hours for service, their going rate tonight, a tire center employee informs me he cannot install the tires he sold me hours ago because my truck is not stamped with those as standard equipment. After another half hours of going through assistant managers, tire center managers, and finally the store manager I came to the conclusion that not only will Costco not compensate customers in any way despite their screwups, but they will not post their policies in any way as a way to lock customers into a purchase.

Tamara of Phoenix AZ (09/08/07)
Costco doesn't want to honor the extended service for its tires, a free service for members when you purchase tires there. It's happened now twice to me and once to my sister, and I wonder how many others out there have been turned away for some obscure reason--so they don't have to service your tires after purchase.

Costco happily took my money, nearly $600 minus some credits, for new Michelin tires. I've had 2 sets of new tires put on my 95 BMW over the years plus I've had the tires rotated and spin balanced periodically at Costco. All this over a period of 6-8 years.

Recently however, when you go to get your tires serviced, for safety and for the life of your tires, Costco seems to have every excuse in the book for why they can't do the work--and boy they suck.

First time they threw my keys back in my face and said they couldn't do the work was--are ya ready for it--I didn't have the right tool in my car for them to do the job!!! I fought back, calling in a manager, and telling them, I've never had that tool and since you managed to install and charge me for the tires in the first place--I think you can do the job. I won the point and they did the job--oh surprise they were able to!!!

Next I went in just a few days ago and was told, your BMW is missing rubber pads on the underside, therefore they wouldn't be able to lift the vehicle, therefore they couldn't do the warranty work. I came home, called a BMW dealership, they couldn't find where this car ever had lift pads, and the dealership even called BMW of North America-they confirmed, this year and model never had these pads. Only newer models.

So we called Costco again, they said to come in and meet with a manager. Oh really??? What's he gonna do, make me get something my car was never required to have? Can't we depend on mechanics, open to the public, accepting work on all makes and models, to have the proper tools to do the job? Seems like more bull from Costco.

Only compounding the problem more, this also happened to my sister up in Prescott, AZ when she went to have her tires serviced before a long car trip. They turned her away with another crap reason.

Seems....Costco doesn't care about our safety at all! We're there in the first place trying to keep our tires safe, and Costco resorts to every flimsy reason to not do the work!! I deeply resent this kind of treatment to me as a woman--they're banking on the fact I don't know auto mechanics and have never seen under my vehicle.

I know myself and other moms like me, are driving ourselves and our children around daily, and our very lives are dependent on the safety of our tires. The other day, I found my tires to be dangerously underinflated, this is why I badly needed the work done by Costco where I spent my money. None of these BS reasons were presented to me prior to making my purchase, nor did I agree to them, and if I'd been told I wouldn't get follow up service, like other tire centers offer, I'd never have spent my money at Costco. It wasn't disclosed to me until I needed service, and then oh too late! I'd already purchased--sounds like buyer beware to me.... I know we have consumer protection laws in this country, I'd like to know my recourse. I'd also like to know how many others have been screwed by Costco!

I, to date, haven't got service. I'm tired of fighting with them and shouldn't have to for something I've paid for.

Sandra of Aurpra OR (09/05/07)
On August 28, 2007, I took my car into the Costco tire center to have the tires rotated. It took longer than it normally does, (I was the only car in the shop at the time.), so I asked one of the workers about how much longer it was going to take. He said that there was a problem with one of the lug nuts on the right front tire. There were 4 guys all looking at my car and finally the manager came out and wanted me to come look at my wheel. He said that whomever had the tire off last had forced the lugnut back on and they couldn't get it back on because the stud was stripped. I had my doubts because it had been 6 mos since the wheel was off and the damage didn't look like it had worn that long, plus the car drove fine. I had to take my car to a tire and wheel specialist shop and they had to order a whole new hub assembly to the tune of $400.12 parts and labor. The assistent manager showed my husband and me the old hub assembly and the damaged area. He explained how the parts fit together and how the damage occurred. It was his opinion that the damage was fresh because of the shape the hub was in when I brought it in for repair. I really resent Costco trying to blame someone else when the evidence proves that they were the cause of the damage.

I trusted Costco to do the job right and because of their carelessness or inexperience, I am out $400.12, which was a totally unnecessary expense to me.

Phil of Rockaway NJ (09/04/07)
My wife was going to work on the interstate last Thursday when a 1 month old Michelin tire blew out. She's a new manager on a tight schedule so, to keep her from having to wait for road service, I went myself to put on the spare for her.

I took the damaged tire - which had blown out through the sidewall without having hit anything - and brought it back to the Wharton NJ Costco tire department where it was purchased. The staff there was surly and distracted, as though a heated disagreement was in progress, and although this was a regular weekday morning, the line for service went all the way out the door.

When my turn finally came up, I calmly explained to Kerrie, the supervisor on duty, what had happened. She turned without a word and went to look at the tire, which I'd left in the service area. She returned, again without saying a word to me, and barked to a subordinate, Lock that back door - I don't want any more customers coming in that way! Finally, I asked her if she was going to replace the tire, and she said yes. I asked her if she could have it put it on the wheel and balanced, and my wife would come that evening between 6 and 7 to have it mounted on the car; she said that was OK. Because the communication seemed so strained, I repeated again, She'll be here between 6 and 7 to have it mounted on the car, are you sure that's OK? - she answered Yes again, and I left.

When my wife arrived at 6:30 to have the tire mounted, she was told, You missed your 6:00 appointment - you'll have to wait until we close at 9:00. My wife called me at around 6:40 to tell me what had happened, and I called the tire department back and explained to the counter person that there was a misunderstanding - the agreement was that the tire would be mounted when my wife arrived between 6 and 7, and that she other appointments and couldn't wait until 9.

He replied that the note Kerrie left said that the appointment was at 6, she'd missed it, and there was nothing that could be done. My wife put the replacement tire in the trunk and drove the 20 minutes home. Meanwhile, I called the store again and this time spoke to Mike, the assistant store manager on duty, who told me to bring the car back, and offered, We'll see if we can fit you in. I replied that a) we'd had an agreement, b) it would have taken only 5 minutes to mount the wheel at the agreed upon time, and c) after all the time we'd wasted, I'd only make the 40 minute r/t again if he assured me that the tire would be mounted promptly. But I got the same We'll see if we can fit you in.

Frankly, buying tires at Costco isn't such a steal; most of the same tires are available at similar prices at many local dealers. My wife and I have tight schedules and little free time, and had hoped to at least get civilized, professional service at Costco. But I ended up jacking up the car and remounting the replacement tire myself, in the dark, in my driveway.

I don't know what kind of service can be expected at other Costco tire departments, but I would certainly advise Costco members to avoid the tire department at the Wharton NJ store.

Dave of San Diego CA (07/24/07)
I purchased 4 new tires for my Suburban. Less than two weeks later I was driving in a construction Zone and cut a large gash on the outside of my front tire. I went back to the Costco that I purchased the tires from and tried to explain what happened. The person helping me looked at the tire and then he went and got another person and they looked at the tire and told me that there was no coverage that I hit a curb. I again tried to explain, but they did not want to listen. The initial person I was trying to work with flatly asked me do you want to change the tire or not. This was a Saturday and I could not take a chance since my drive to work is over 100 miles each way. Since I did not have a choice, I changed the tire and paid full price for the tire. It's very frustrating when all you see is signs stating customer satisfaction when all I got was attitude. I know this is a gray area, but still it did not seem right how I was treated.

Venus of Duluth GA (03/25/07)
On February 2, 2007, I stopped by the Costco Tire Ctr in Duluth to have 2 nails removed from my right rear tire. The attendant filled out the paperwork, handed me a copy and I left to shop inside. When I returned, another mechanic informed me that he could not fix the tire because I did not purchase the tire from Costco. I showed him the paperwork and informed him that when I called, I was asked if I was a member, not if I had purchased the tires there. He insisted that I needed to buy 2 tires @$200, but when I told him I could not afford that, he refused to fix the tire. I asked to speak to the manager, David and informed him that leaving to pick up the children with this tire posed a hazardous threat to safety, so he asked for my membership card. However, after a few minutes, he again refused and with a smirk, insisted that there was nothing he could do. I feel that I was discriminated against because I am a woman and a Latina (my business membership card indicates a non profit organization for Latinas with breast cancer). The mere fact that they were pressuring me to buy 2 expensive tires was a red flag of a possible consumer business practice that constitutes fraud. I wasted 65 minutes but luckily found Goodrich Tires a few miles away, which fixed the tire and balanced/checked the rest of the tires for $24.

Lost of almost 2 hours of work at the clinic, plus the anxiety of having to search for another Tire store at 6pm who could fix the tire.

Tina of Charlotte NC (03/18/07)
On 03/16/07 I had 4 new tires installed on my 2003 Mustang. Today 03/18/07 I washed my car and was putting tire shine on when I discovered they had completely damaged and ruined the 2 wheels on the right side of my car. I will go to the store on 3/19 to advise them I nexpect payment for both Wheels damaged.

Gary of Chino CA (7/13/04):
I had a full tread separation on a Kirkland Signature Radial L/T All Season tire while driving on the I-15 freeway at approx. 1:30 pm on 7/12/04 in California. The tire separation resulted in damage to the wheel well and to portion of the exterior of the truck including the running board. The failure occured on the right rear tire of my 1996 GMC 3/4 ton Suburban 2500.

I went to the COSTCO Tire Center and they measured the tread and determined only 3/32 of the tread had been used and 14/32 was remaining & also determined the date of manufacture of the tire which was the 31st week of 1998. They prorated approx. 80% of the tire under the road hazard warranty.

I do not at this time know the damage to my truck but I presume it will be in excess of several hundred dollars. I have tried to find a complaint/claim mechanism for COSTCO but as yet have been unable to do so. I had the other Kirkland tire of the same age replaced by COSTCO with Goodrich tires but I would like to pursue a damage claim with Costco. In addition, I would like to bring the failure of the tire to the attention of the proper individual/organization. The failure was catastrophic, I presume of the same magnitude that ocurred with the Bridgestone Tires of a few years ago.

The primary operator of the vehicle was my wife and I was grateful that I was driving when the failure ocurred as it could have resulted in serious injury or death. I noticed that COSTCO retained the tire and I asked Riga if this was due to the failure & he indicated yes it was.

Gary can sue the company in Small Claims Court to try to recover the damages to his truck, though he might be better off filing a claim with his insurance company.

Tom of Maineville OH (1/11/04):
I went to Costco for two new tires for my Ford minivan. I was helped by the tire manager Dave. I told him I needed new tires for the front of my minivan. I picked out two, paid for them, and as I was leaving I reminded him that they were to be placed on the front of my vehicle. He told me that he could not do that. He could only place them on the rear. I told him they are worthless on the rear. I have frontwheel drive and need traction in the front. He still refused, telling me that was Costco policy to place two new tires on the rear only.

Rather than argue, I asked for his manager. He told me it was a waste of time because he would tell me the same. He finally called another manager Dave McD on the phone, telling him to get down here right away, he was having trouble. When Dave McD entered the area the tire man began telling him that I was being difficult about their policy. Dave Mcd didn't even listen to my problem, but rather offered a video for me to watch showing me the importance of placing new tires on the rear of my vehicle.

I told them fine, put them on the rear. I would be back later to have then rotated (a free service to members) to the front. They told me they would not do that. I asked why? They told me they would never rotate these tire to the front. Dave Mcdonald told me it was a safety issue, and that "Because I din't care for my family's safety didn't mean they didn't either."

I said fine give my money back. Dave told me that I would have to carry the tires to the front desk for a refund. They finally gave my money back, and I left to a local tire store purchased new tires for the front of my van. Good thing I did, we received a large snowfall that evening and I would have surely wrecked with my four children in the van, due to bad tires.

When I returned home later that evening, I noticed on my caller ID that Costco had called me, but left no message. I assume to discuss the matter further. If they wanted to make things right they should have done it in the beginning. I called the 800 number to complain. Another store manager Grant called me back to tell me how sorry he was I had trouble. He even offered to give me a free hotdog from the snack stand for my trouble. Oh boy looks like lunch is on Costco.

Costco Responds:

In response to the complaint from the member about putting tires on the rear axle when only replacing two tires, this is done per safety regulations. Even though the car mentioned was front wheel drive, if putting new tires on only in one pair (which is not overall recommended), they should be put on the rear axle. For more information about why tire manufacturer's recommend this, check out this article:

www.autonet.ca/Maintenance/Tires/story.cfm?story=/Maintenance/Tires/2001/11/09/511272.html.

Costco is commited to the safety of its members and employees.
Chris Biggers, Major Sales, San Luis Obispo, CA

David of San Pedro CA (7/26/03):
I recently ordered a new set of tires for my '99 Tahoe from the Torrance Costco Tire Center. The prices were great and service was on-site. After losing my first order, and then requiring 11 days for delivery (non-stocking order quoted at 3-5 days delivery), my tires were mounted and balanced.

Here's the bad part. Driving home that evening (10 miles or so) on city streets, my ride was very harsh and the steering was very light. I figured the new tires, which had a more off-road tread, rode a bit harder. Early the next day, I drove my pregnant, and post-abdominal surgery, wife to a doctor's appointment clear across town. On the freeway, our ride was extremely harsh and steering was terrible. Needless to say, my wife was very uncomfortable for the whole trip. Upon reaching the doctor's office, I had the opportunity to check the tires. It occurred to me that the inflation may not be correct - and it was not by a long shot. Right front - 55psi Left front - 51psi Rear tires - both over 60psi (my guage only reads up to 60psi.

These tires, BF Goodrich All-Terrain TA/KO's, are rated to the standard 36psi. Costco's installers hyper-inflated my truck's tires. This is gross neglegence on their part as over-inflation of tires presents a dangerous condition for driving as the potential for blowout, disruption of ABS braking capability, or uncorrectable handling in an evasive manuever is significantly increased. I reduced my tire pressure to 36psi as recommended by the tire side-wall instructions. My ride and hadling (and wife's comfort level) were greatly improved.

Thank God nothing bad happened. I solved a problem Costco's Tire Center installer and manager should never have created. The liability implications to Costco should I have lost control due to tire failure are staggering. I will continue to shop for other food and goods at Costco - it's a great store for this. I will never purchase tires from them again.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |