Winter tire switchover - a tale of woe

[SteveE]

Ordered new winter tires (I splurged on the Blizzak LM001 run-flats) for my 2023 MME premium LR, and went to Costco today to have them installed. But the tire guy at Costco said he couldn't put them on the car, because he couldn't lift it. He explained it needs special lugs on the lift points to prevent the car lift damaging the battery. He has lugs for Teslas, but he said they won't fit the MME, and he doesn't have suitable ones. It's the first MME he's seen.

Anyone else have this problem?

And then, icing on the cake: he explained that even if he could lift the car, he still couldn't switch my wheels. As I'm going down from the OEM 19" rims, I'd bought new 18" alloy rims for the winter tires, and the wheel nuts from the OEM rims won't fit the new rims. Foolish me, I never realized there's more than one size of nut! But when I ordered the rims, they were listed as suitable for the MME. Anyone else hit this problem as well?

So the Costco guy was very nice about it, but I guess at a discount tire outfit they can't handle anything out of the ordinary.

Sponsored

 

[zvez]

Ordered new winter tires (I splurged on the Blizzak LM001 run-flats) for my 2023 MME premium LR, and went to Costco today to have them installed. But the tire guy at Costco said he couldn't put them on the car, because he couldn't lift it. He explained it needs special lugs on the lift points to prevent the car lift damaging the battery. He has lugs for Teslas, but he said they won't fit the MME, and he doesn't have suitable ones. It's the first MME he's seen.

Anyone else have this problem?

And then, icing on the cake: he explained that even if he could lift the car, he still couldn't switch my wheels. As I'm going down from the OEM 19" rims, I'd bought new 18" alloy rims for the winter tires, and the wheel nuts from the OEM rims won't fit the new rims. Foolish me, I never realized there's more than one size of nut! But when I ordered the rims, they were listed as suitable for the MME. Anyone else hit this problem as well?

So the Costco guy was very nice about it, but I guess at a discount tire outfit they can't handle anything out of the ordinary.

you can buy a set of these which are designed to slip into the holes at the lift points of the car. Discount Tire which is where I've had work done has these, I'd think by now most tire shops would. It's also a good Idea to paint the little arrows at the lift points yellow to make them easy to see.

Better that he told you and didn't just try it, as it's tempting to use the alum battery rails to lift the car by, but that's a bad thing.

https://ev-vida.store/products/mach-e-lifting-jack-pads-set-of-4-floor-jack-stand-from-aoskonology

 

[SteveE]

you can buy a set of these which are designed to slip into the holes at the lift points of the car. Discount Tire which is where I've had work done has these, I'd think by now most tire shops would. It's also a good Idea to paint the little arrows at the lift points yellow to make them easy to see.

Better that he told you and didn't just try it, as it's tempting to use the alum battery rails to lift the car by, but that's a bad thing.

https://ev-vida.store/products/mach-e-lifting-jack-pads-set-of-4-floor-jack-stand-from-aoskonology

Wonderful - thanks for the link! Looks like it's useful to have these on hand anyway.

I plan to do the tire switch over myself at the end of the season. Will I need these for the jack that comes with the car? Oh, wait, don't tell me the car doesn't have a jack (I admit I haven't even looked....). I might have to borrow my son's.

 

[Billyk24]

Good or bad, your/(most) local Ford Dealership should be able to order/obtain tires and rims needed/desired and install them without issue.

 

[Maquis]

Kudos to your Costco guy for being knowledgeable enough to not damage your car.

 

[SteveE]

Kudos to your Costco guy for being knowledgeable enough to not damage your car.

Yeah, I was very impressed with him - both his knowledgeability, and the time to took to explain the issue, and show me why the lift could damage the car. He even showed me the Tesla lugs he has.

 

[zvez]

Wonderful - thanks for the link! Looks like it's useful to have these on hand anyway.

I plan to do the tire switch over myself at the end of the season. Will I need these for the jack that comes with the car? Oh, wait, don't tell me the car doesn't have a jack (I admit I haven't even looked....). I might have to borrow my son's.

no jack or spare with the mach e , an inflator kit with sealant in the back under a panel. Definitely handy to have, you CAN use hockey pucks in a pinch. Here's a pic from ford showing the jacking points, easy enough to spot, a 3/4" hole at each of the corners, where those pucks attach. Also as mentioned you'll find little arrows pointing to the jacking points.

 

[SteveE]

you CAN use hockey pucks in a pinch

Great! I'm in Canada, so I'm obliged to keep a stack of hockey pucks in the garage at all times. Thanks!

Sponsored