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Paul Chin

DO NOT ORDER TIRES FROM TIRERACK.COM! F- customer service

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I have been a long time tirerack.com customer but my recent experience with ordering winter tires from them is just shocking how bad their customer service is.

 

So I went on their website and entered in my car info, 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid and the recommended O.E. tire size shows up as 225/55-17. I trust that tirerack knows their stuff and their website has never been wrong before so I just go with the recommended tire and order em.

 

Once the tires get to the tirerack.com recommended installer, the installer gives me a call and tells me he won't install these tires because they are the wrong size. He tells me that the size on my car are 225/50-17. I confirm this on my tire and on the sticker on the inside of my door. He even looks up the tire size using his Firestone directory and the correct size shows up for him, 225/50-17. So obviously tirerack.com made an error on their website and I should get a refund right?

 

I call customer service and they tell me they will refund my tires, but not the shipping i paid nor the shipping i paid to have them shipped here, which is $80 EACH WAY. Obviously Im not happy with that, and the customer service rep is telling me that the tires they shipped is the correct size. She puts me on the phone with a sales rep who tells me that the size they shipped me is taller and will give me better grip and that winter tires aren't even made in the size that came with my car.... which is a lie because I go on tirerack.com right then and there and was able to find winter tires in my size. After a few more minutes of arguing with the customer service rep that they had the wrong size on their website and I shouldn't have to pay for shipping, she tells me she will not refund the $80 shipping I paid and hangs up on me.

 

I sent them a picture of my tires, a picture of the tire size sticker in my door, screen shot of the ford.com tire size finder, the tire size finder on discounttire.com, all of which list the tire size as 225/50-17, NOT the 225/55-17 which tirerack refuses to admit is the wrong size.

 

I've never experienced such horrible customer service, especially where I am flat out lied to. Do not order tires from them! I will be going to the ford dealer or discounttire.com from now on.

 

 

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Hmm, when I search tirerack for a 2013 Fusion it shows a 235/50 size (225/55 would be an acceptable winter tire for that), but when I search 2014 Fusion it shows a 225/50 size.

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You realize you are fighting over 1/4 inch difference. A difference that will go away in a couple of thousand miles of wear.

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You realize you are fighting over 1/4 inch difference. A difference that will go away in a couple of thousand miles of wear.

 

The difference between a 225/55 and 225/55 Blizak WS80 is about 14/32" in radius and the tread depth is 12/32, so no, it's not going to wear down in a few thousand miles. Also the overall diameter is over 3% difference, which is more than I would want to run if it were me, so I don't think there should be any debate that the 225/55 is the wrong size.

 

But when it comes to customer service, I usually find the response you get reflects that attitude you present. If you go in guns blazing and accusing, you don't get good results. I'd try calling back and in a very courteous manner, ask them why the size on their website is different between the 2013 and 2014 Fusion and why your 2013 has the size they list for 2014. Get them first to acknowledge their website is wrong, then work on negotiating an exchange.

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The difference between a 225/55 and 225/55 Blizak WS80 is about 14/32" in radius and the tread depth is 12/32, so no, it's not going to wear down in a few thousand miles. Also the overall diameter is over 3% difference, which is more than I would want to run if it were me, so I don't think there should be any debate that the 225/55 is the wrong size.

 

But when it comes to customer service, I usually find the response you get reflects that attitude you present. If you go in guns blazing and accusing, you don't get good results. I'd try calling back and in a very courteous manner, ask them why the size on their website is different between the 2013 and 2014 Fusion and why your 2013 has the size they list for 2014. Get them first to acknowledge their website is wrong, then work on negotiating an exchange.

Excellent suggestion.

 

It should also be noted that the size is different between the FFH & FFE even though both have the same rim. The size is also different between the FFH & C-Max Hybrid/Energi & Focus Electric even though all those vehicles have the same rim dimensions.

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3%!

 

Wow, for a few months of use in the winter, you are going to worry about 3%. At the small numbers we are dealing with(45 mpg, 60 mph) thats nothing.

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But when it comes to customer service, I usually find the response you get reflects that attitude you present. If you go in guns blazing and accusing, you don't get good results.

Very well stated and accurate.

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Thanks for the responses guys. Honestly I did go in with a pleasant attitude. If I didn't know any better, I probably wouldn't have minded a 3% difference, but the installer refused to install these tires because of it, so I couldn't do anything besides return them. What set me off is that they would not admit that they have the wrong tire size listed on their website and they even said someone must have switched out my tires with a different size. Not only that, they lied to me and said that winter tires are not made in the correct size 225/50, which is completely false because I was able to pull it up on their website.

 

I did more searches on different websites, discounttire, firestone, ford, everyone else has it correct, you enter 2013 ford fusion hybrid and 225/50-17R shows up. With all this evidence I have against them, I still could not believe they would not admit that their website was incorrect.

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I just checked out TR's website, and the OE size was listed as 235/50-17... My car has 225/50-17, I think. TR recommends 225/55-17 for snow tires, which honestly, I don't see as a problem. They would likely provide improved traction over exact OEM size. I think it's odd that your installer refused to mount them. Suggested wheels from TR for those tires vary in width from 7" to 7.5" to 8". I'm not sure what the width of the stock rims is, but I don't think this should present a problem. You may want to consider consulting another installer.

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I got a wheel and tire package from Tire rack. My FFH has the 225-50-17 tires and TR recommended the 225-55-17 snow tire. This actually saved me some money over a 225-50-17 snow tire. They fit and work good in the snow. They came ready to install with and all the tire arrived with the correct air pressure.

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The 3% difference is more than enough to mess with systems like the adaptive cruise, GPS and possibly the stability control.

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I got a wheel and tire package from Tire rack. My FFH has the 225-50-17 tires and TR recommended the 225-55-17 snow tire. This actually saved me some money over a 225-50-17 snow tire. They fit and work good in the snow. They came ready to install with and all the tire arrived with the correct air pressure.

 

Hermans, would you mind posting a photo of how the tires fit on your FFH?

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Hermans, would you mind posting a photo of how the tires fit on your FFH?

I just returned from a 1,200 mile trip in the FFH. The car performed great in snow in Northern Michigan.

post-11206-0-41324100-1415928283_thumb.jpg

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Well since TR hasn't responded to my email and hermans confirmed that the tires fit, I went ahead and got them installed. I def feel a loss in steering response, not sure how much is attributed to it being a larger tire or snow tires.

 

But my FFH has the active park assist feature (automatic parallel park) and I noticed on two occasions since I got the tires installed that the parking is off, where it will actually hit the curb while backing up. I've never had this problem before with my OEM tires. And the setting was the same, there was no snow on the curb or street. Previous responses may have stated its just a 3% difference in diameter, but the tires are noticeably larger, and I have a feeling it did throw off my parking assist noticeably as well.

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Yep, active park will be messed up with bigger tires. As I said before, 3% is more than enough to mess up those systems.

 

40psi will probably help with the steering feel, but will only make the Active Park worse.

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Well since TR hasn't responded to my email and hermans confirmed that the tires fit, I went ahead and got them installed. I def feel a loss in steering response, not sure how much is attributed to it being a larger tire or snow tires.

 

But my FFH has the active park assist feature (automatic parallel park) and I noticed on two occasions since I got the tires installed that the parking is off, where it will actually hit the curb while backing up. I've never had this problem before with my OEM tires. And the setting was the same, there was no snow on the curb or street. Previous responses may have stated its just a 3% difference in diameter, but the tires are noticeably larger, and I have a feeling it did throw off my parking assist noticeably as well.

APA works based on the vehicle in front & behind. It seems to assume that they're 6-12 inches away from the curb. If those cars are parked right next to the curb then the Fusion will hit the curb. Could that be the issue? I don't see how tire diameter would mess it up since the sensors are reading the locations of those two vehicles to determine where to park.

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APA works based on the vehicle in front & behind. It seems to assume that they're 6-12 inches away from the curb. If those cars are parked right next to the curb then the Fusion will hit the curb. Could that be the issue? I don't see how tire diameter would mess it up since the sensors are reading the locations of those two vehicles to determine where to park.

 

The system calculates the steering angle and timing based on the distance it assumes the car is going to travel for a given number of wheel revolutions. So for example in the middle portion of the parking job, when you're backing in at an angle, you're going to travel 3% further than the computer thinks you are, so you're going to be that much closer to the curb.

 

The sensor does detect the two vehicles, but only as you go past them (it's only one sensor, in the front bumper, one on each side of the car). Once the system senses the parking space, it calculates where you are in relation to that space and then calculate the steering required to get you into that space. Once the active park starts, the sensors don't do anything else, it's all based on the distance traveled as measured by the wheel speed sensors. So basically tire diameter is absolutely critical to proper APA function.

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The 3% difference is more than enough to mess with systems like the adaptive cruise, GPS and possibly the stability control.

 

F*ck... My GPS is off too. Which may not make sense, but it will often show me 100+ feet behind an intersection when Im already there, and then when I make the turn, it tracks me as being off road. I noticed this on multiple occasions since getting the tires installed.

 

My FFH also has adaptive cruise control and the early warning HUD brake system. I am def not going to wait and see if those systems got messed up as well.

 

In the end, seriously screw tire rack for telling me these tires are the correct size and telling me they would fine with my car.

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ACC and HUD are controlled by a radar transceiver located in the lower left grille of the car and the button on the steering wheel which gives you 4 different following distances.

 

GPS misreporting has been mentioned many times by other owners. A master reset in the center menus may fix it. There may be a TSB that will fix it. I've seen it once in the last 20 months.

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To be more specific with the GPS problem. I have never had GPS misreporting problems before switching tires. But I have noticed that it misreports my location only when I have a destination set. I believe that it may have to do with when the GPS is actually trying to calculate distances to the next intersection/onramp/etc.

 

As for when I don't have a destination set and I'm just following my car on the GPS map, it's still spot on.

 

I know this doesn't make sense because it should work like any standalone GPS system which works on everything from a Fiesta to a F-350. But I'll try the reset and see what else I can find.

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