Disappointment with Tire Rack

So my daughter has a new 2019 RAV$AWD Hybrid. Neat truck. But she got a nail in the sidewall & needs a replacement. Nobody in town has the Dunlop she needs so I sent her to Tire Rack, have it delivered to me & I'll mount it at my friends' shop. Tire arrives Friday but it's not the Dunlop she ordered. My daughter's a teacher, not easily reached during working hours so phone calls take a little while but I explain that they sent the wrong tire & they need to correct the problem.  They tell her that the tire is the right size & everything will be fine! 1) You do not mix & match tires on an AWD vehicle bad things can happen! 2) She contracted to buy a specific brand, & model of tire, not whatever happened to be handy. I'm not upset about the wrong tire sent, it's the tire business, E36 M3 happens. But their trying to blow her off with the wrong tire pisses me off. It is lazy, sloppy & unprofessional. I expected better from them.

I think you're absolutely right. Unless it's a newer version of the same tire and the older model was discontinued (in which case the inaccurate listing would still be their fault) I see absolutely no other excuse. They should send you the correct tire (the tire you ordered) at no additional cost and arrange pickup-type shipping for the wrong one they sent. My .02.

Nah, you need to get what you ordered. Someone saying "it's the same thing" and trying to blow you off is ridiculous.

In reply to purplepeopleeater :

Time for a phone call.  

Dont try it on line. Just call  someone and ask to speak to the manager.  

They are good people but like you say people make mistakes, now someone’s trying to cover their posterior.  

If you don’t get satisfaction ask to speak to that person’s boss.  Heck ask to speak to the owner.  

Be nice, respectful., don’t let your anger get away. And I’m sure it will be fixed to your satisfaction. 

If you’ve tried everything phone here and talk to them. They may know exactly who to talk to. 

I think Tire Rack is a advertiser with GRM.  I am betting that if you can not find the proper person via a phone call some on at GRM would know who you need to speak to or at very least be able to find out.

I have dealt with tire rack about this specific issue and they told me that I needed to be carful and about the importance of matching the tires exactly on an AWD vehicle.  To the point where I had the new tire shaved (an up charge I paid to Tire Rack) to match the MM on the rest of the set that was on my Jag just to make sure that there was not going to be an issue.  SO Ya,  Tire Rack knows about the importance of matching tires on an AWD vehicle.  Give them a call they have always been great to deal with. There is either a bit of CYA going on or you are just not far enough up the food chain in there company.  Oh and direct them to this thread.   

Just for curiosity, what did she order and what did she get?

That's unusual. I have dealt with tire rack almost every year for a decade and never had issues. Even when I order super weird stuff I will often get an 'are you suuure?' email or phone call to possibly save me from myself. Even this week I was contacted to confirm I knew there was a week log backlog on my order. Lets hope its a fluke and a new employee. I however agree with everyone else that you should get what you order with no excuses. Keep us updated. 

I’m guessing you had a problem with a person who works at tire rack, not a problem with tire rack.  I have had one problem in over 20 years of ordering from TR, and they made it right.  FWIW, they received a bad batch of tires from a manufacturer, 3 out of the 4 took more than 8oz to balance.  Boom, they sent me RMAs for those 4, and they sent me 4 of my next choice for the price Delta before I had shipped the others back.

Hate to change the subject, but even if you put on a new example of the exact same tire, doesn't the difference between its remaining tread depth and that of the other three still cause problems?

b13990 said:

Hate to change the subject, but even if you put on a new example of the exact same tire, doesn't the difference between its remaining tread depth and that of the other three still cause problems?

Depends on how much wear is on the old ones.  If it's a 2019 and only has a few thousand then it's fine.

b13990 said:

Hate to change the subject, but even if you put on a new example of the exact same tire, doesn't the difference between its remaining tread depth and that of the other three still cause problems?

Why I had tire rack shave my tire to match the other tires that were about 1/3 worn. They suggested it and it was not much $$$.

Yeah... I find this odd. I've dealt with them for almost 15 years now. 10 with the dealership and they were always amazing, going above and beyond even when it wasn't their fault (Bridgestone quality issues). My post dealership years have been just as good. Definitely give them a call (Which I need to do this week for the wife's car).

The good news is on that AWD system, it's basically a hybrid FWD axle with an electric rear axle. No driveshaft front to rear, so the usual concerns about different tire sizes causing wear and tear on any limited slip differentials doesn't apply here (I also doubt that there's any limited slip in the front, probably brake activated torque vectoring). Still could cause the computers to have a fit, but I would think that as long as its the same size, it should be fine.