Costco Tire "Fee" is this legit?

$3 per wheel doesn't seem outrageous for this service. IF THEY ACTUALLY REPLACE THE PARTS AS DESCRIBED.

 

That's the crux of it.

 

I don't recall discount tire having a fee to do this on the most recent tire replacement I paid them to do. Maybe their cost is high enough to not have it as a separate line item the way costco does. But... I tend to watch the mechanics there and I don't remember seeing anyone messing with the TPMS sensors either. Seems like it's recommended, not required and that is probably the difference.I would need to hear a discussion about why it needs to be done to form an opinion.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if some engineer gave the idea some thought. If so, it was probably discarded on cost and reliability issues. The battery will likely last 7 years, and might last longer. When discussing a car's lifetime, 150k miles is what most manufacturers are thinking of. So a TPMS sensor already will last the large portion of a car's life.

A self-winding sensor would have to last longer than the battery one on average for the cost, or be cheaper. It also needs to be lightweight to not have a negative impact on wheel balance. Considering that the self winder relies on moving parts, I don't see it being a viable replacement.

It doesn't need to be done every time new tires are purchased, but is recommended for the same reason the pre-TPMS stems are, as a preventative. The parts are exposed to the same environment as the tires and use the same materials. It is sold as cheap insurance against the stem and valve failing.

If the old tires weren't showing cracking or other signs of degradation, and are being replaced for just being worn, this likely could be skipped until the next set of tires is needed.

 

One reason I had Costco do my tires was that my local Discount Tire wanted $12 per valve to just check the TPMS, and it was mandatory. I was sure Costco was going to charge me the $3 fee per valve, but in the end the guy said they didn't need replacements.

 

Well, I spoke too soon. The last original TPMS sensor just died at 10 years, 1 month. Interesting that there is still enough power left in it to report the low battery (& the current tire pressure). But the warning light is ON solid. Now I get to figure out which tire is ID4...

 

Hey RobH gimme your miles to date...I am right at 10 years with 3 good batts last time I checked.

All- There is already an alternate passive TPMS that just uses revolutions per tire (looks for changes). Believe Volt uses that, and Toyota used it prior to Battery module TPMS. Why they don't use it more, I do not know. I like Chevy Cruze TPMS they give you tire temp and pressure data, right in your face in the central display with push of a selector button. Alls I can figure is Japan does not use TPMS so Toyota does not get it yet. If anyone wants to see tire pressures, it is us.

 

Just over 120,000 miles.

 

So, I got a new Equinox 2017 and just changed my summer tire for winters, i know its not a prius, but they sold me a service kit valve for TPMS tires at 3.99$ a tire. I questioned the guy and he showed me the part. They are not changing the TPMS but only the valve that hooks up on the TPMS sensor.

The valve needs to be changed at every tirechange but if you dont have a TPMS equipped car, they change it free of charge and you dont know about it since they are generic. But thanks to car manufacturers and they new patented TPMS sensors, valves are no longer generic ans each car have different compatible valves and that is why its sounds like an upsell. If it wasnt a TPMS car you’d drive out from costco after your tire change with new valves and be none the wiser.

Could have fooled me but if you dont change the valve with a service kit you risk leaking air which will create the sensor to go off and end up wasting the battery away of the sensor for no reason and en up having to change the sensor earlier than you should have to...

Seems like costco is pretty diligent on the wuality of work. Plus i really doubt they make a profit on these valves anough to worth the upsell...

 

Plus they fill your tires with nitrogen at no additional cost.

 

Prior to my Eclipse trip this past summer, I wanted to know if the donut tire from my wife's Lexus CT200 would really work as a usable spare for my Prius Prime, which has no spare. I called around to see if any local tire dealer could determine if is was suitable and wouldn't hit something it shouldn't when mounted, and if the lug nuts from my OEM wheels would also work OK with the different shaped holes in the donut wheel.

Turns out that COSTCO wanted to help me out more than a couple other dealers. They spent probably a half hour, despite other customers in line waiting for something more important than what I was asking. The result was that the tire/wheel combo did work, and the lug nuts were no problem in holding the donut wheel firm. The fee? free. COSTCO will get my future tire business.

Three years previously, COSTCO sold me a set of Ecopias for my 2010 Prius hatchback, replacing the old and horrible Toyo Proxes. The Ecopias were much better tires in so many ways. My Prime happened to come with Ecopias as well.

 

I am sure the Ecopias you got from Costco were different than those on your Prime. Toyota tends to use the Japanese ones that have lower pressure & mileage ratings as OEM tires.

 

There are, in fact, at least three sources and designs for Ecopia tires that I know of. I knew of the OEM Japanese version when my car arrived. I was still stoked that Toyo Nanocrappers were not supplied on my new car. Whatever the source of the Ecopias, they have to be better than Toyo's.