‘Wait a minute’: Mom gets car back from dealership with new tires, but what happens five minutes later leaves her stunned

A mother of three had a frustrating experience after visiting a dealership service center for new tires. TikTok user @MomZillato3 shared her story about how the shop installed tires that were way too big for her car. The mistake raised questions about who should pay when a professional service center makes such an obvious error.

According to Motor1, she drove her car for about five minutes after leaving the dealership and quickly noticed something was wrong. The car was extremely loud and wasn’t driving properly. When she returned to the dealership, the employees blamed her for the mistake.

“Took it off the dealership, drove about five minutes, and realized it was sounding very loud and just not driving right,” she explained in a TikTok video. The shop told her, “You called us and gave us the wrong tire measurements. These tires are too big.” The mom was confident she had read the tire size directly from her old tires when she placed the order. She later confirmed that she checked both the old tire and the vehicle’s door jamb, which is where the correct tire size information is located.

The dealership should have caught this mistake before the car left

The mom was worried about the cost of the new tires. She had purchased expensive all-weather tires with long mileage ratings. She wondered if she would have to resell them herself and lose money in the process. “Do we take the old bad size and try and resell them, and just eat some of the costs?” she asked her followers.

In an update video, she showed how poorly the tires fit. “Look how tight these tires are,” she said, pointing out the lack of clearance. She couldn’t understand how a trained technician would install such obviously wrong tires. “I can’t imagine the mechanic would’ve put these on, and not went like, ‘Wait a minute.’ Just look at them now. They’re so tight! I think they’re even hitting it,” she said. Unfortunately, dealership mistakes like this aren’t uncommon and can leave customers in difficult situations.

Driving on the wrong-sized tires creates serious safety and performance problems. The issues go beyond just tight clearance and scraping noises. Tires that don’t match factory specifications can cause incorrect speedometer and odometer readings, which is a major safety concern. They also reduce fuel efficiency and hurt how the vehicle handles on the road.

Oversized tires put extra stress on the suspension system and can void the car’s warranty. These are big financial risks that come from someone not paying attention during installation. When a customer orders the wrong size, they usually have to pay for the mistake and resell the tires themselves. 

But when the tire shop makes an installation error that’s this obvious and affects how the car drives, the fault lies entirely with them. Getting the wrong part can waste time and create major frustration for both professionals and customers.

Experts always recommend checking the owner’s manual or the door jamb sticker for correct tire sizes. Many tire manufacturers also have websites where you can enter your car’s year, make, model, and trim to find the right tires. Comments on the mom’s videos were mixed. 

Some users argued that since she ordered by size, it was her problem, noting that many people run non-stock tire sizes. One commenter said, “You ordered by size, it’s your problem. Many people don’t run stock size tires.” However, others defended the mom, pointing out that it’s the installer’s job to check the tires and determine the right size to order.

One commenter explained, “It’s the fault of the installer who put the tires on he did not check sizes, he should have not installed them and asked the service advisor to call you and let you know so the dealership is responsible.” 

The mom responded, “The door and tire say same number. if you look at the next video, you’ll see the tires don’t even fit as they are way too large and hit the car.” The service center eventually fixed the mistake. “The dealership replaced tires yesterday with no issue,” she confirmed. This shows that professionals doing the work have the final responsibility for proper installation and fitment.