Location Details

Great service, as always!

The service was absolutely superb, as it alway is!

Exceptional service with poor communications

First thing to say is Kaltire store #867 (Roncesvalles) has always been very fair for all work I have had with them. I have been using them for many years now and they always got the job done. I have and will continue to recommend them to everyone whenever the topic of tires comes up. I debated how many stars for this review. Ultimately, heroic efforts were made by Stephan but communication could have been much better.

My past visit was not smooth sailing. My vehicle has an issue with TPMS. One that Kaltire is aware of and we do not touch it during servicing - a running joke for a number of years. A couple of days before I needed the vehicle for my wife's driver licence road test the TPMS warning light came on. Normally, the TPMS warning is not a big deal but this time it would prevent us using the vehicle for the road test. As the system has had issues before, I purchased a TPMS tool (Autel TS501) to isolate the problem. It turned out an original 2007 sensor was dead - not surprising due to age. I'm aware of programmable TPMS sensors and that cloning a sensor would mean we did not need to touch the vehicle TPMS.

When I arrived at Kaltire I mentioned I had the TPMS codes for all the sensors as provided by the Lexus specially shop which corrected the TPMS warning when it first occurred. I also confirmed the wheel with the dead sensor along with the rest of the sensor codes in my TPMS tool. As this vehicle has a known issue with TPMS it would have been advisable to work with me instead of fluffing me off. This was the first communication error. We could have verified the cloned sensor was good prior to installing it in the wheel.

I had an appointment for 1:30pm. I guessed that to pull a sensor, clone it, and reinstall the tire would take 20-40 minutes so when I was asked if I was waiting I said yes. If I had been warned that it would be a couple of hours to get to my vehicle I would have gone home to wait. This was the second communication issue.

When the sensor was installed three hours later, Stephan mentioned it had not cleared the error indicator and I should drive it home and by the time of re-torque the next day it should be okay. This was reasonable, my experience with the vehicle over the last seven years suggested it would clear within two or three minutes driving. When it didn't, I reread the sensors with my TPMS tool and found the new sensor did not respond. I called Kaltire and asked to speak to Stephan. There was another break-down in communication here as I was left with the impression I would be called back shortly. In this case it may have been I misheard as it seems he was gone for the day. I called again and got the automated system where I asked for a call back. I didn't get a call back for communication error three.

I drove back to the store to attempt to get a second try at programming the sensor. At this point I did not know Stephan had left for the day but I also believed TPMS cloning was not rocket science. By this point I had waited for 3 hours in the store and another 2 hours at home so I was frustrated by the situation - due to the waiting and the deadline of the driver test coming up in 2 days. I was told only Stephan could do it and the problem was with the vehicle TPMS. At this point, my knowledge of TPMS tools had suggested that a manual input of the code could be done. I later found that most TPMS tools do not have the ability to manually enter the code (unlike mine and a few others). As I had specifically asked for the sensor to be cloned to avoid programming the vehicle, I was arguing it was not the vehicle TPMS but a badly programmed sensor. In the end it turned out to be both. My debate with Jen had both of us correct but for different reasons then we knew.

Once I got home again, I tried once more to get a reading off the new sensor. For some reason, it was picked up this time (the new sensor is much harder to get a reading off of than the old sensors) but the code did not match what I had for the vehicle. I then pulled the TPMS codes directly from the ODBII port and found the vehicle codes matched the print out I had offered to Kaltire. The new sensor was programmed with an incorrect value. Again, if we had been working together, Kaltire would have had use of my meter to validate the code that was entered into the new sensor. I fully understand that this is not typical procedure but when the vehicle has a known issue with the TPMS system it would have saved much time.

Next morning I went back to have Stephan try resolve. He wasn't interested in hearing what I had to offer - communication error four. At this point I learned that his TPMS tools did not have the ability to manually enter a sensor code (I'm not sure, but his new TPMS tool may. I was searching for tools that would and one with manual input looked similar to his). He showed me the sensor id codes his TPMS tools pulled and they did not match those from the Lexus shop or my TPMS tool. I later found a site with descriptions of the codes by make and the codes he pulled had too many digits. It is possible (likely?) the tool was presenting the number in decimal while mine was displaying in hexadecimal. (The sensor would have the number printed on it in hexadecimal from what I have seen.)

The only way he could clone a sensor was to pull the codes from the ODBII port (old sensor was completely dead) and the vehicle TPMS was not returning the same codes on his tools as those I saw on my printout and TPMS tool. He did have another tool he could try and asked me to give him time. Again, I suggested he proof it with my meter after cloning the sensor to save time. I left it to him and went home. I don't know if he used my TPMS tool to proof his cloned sensor but he said he worked for more than an hour on it which makes me suspect he didn't. He was talking about trying a different sensor when I left which didn't really make sense to me due to the inability to get the same code values.

In the end, he took the sensor to Toyota to be programmed (ironically, when I went to Mississauga Toyota with the original TPMS problem they wouldn't touch a Lexus). He said it may not have the same code as the old sensor but that is not possible unless the vehicle was updated which it was not. I did read the new sensor at home and it is the same code as the old sensor.

In the end Stephan mentioned that he marked my file with 'Do not work on TPMS'. This is basically what was in place for the last number of years and is totally acceptable as he doesn't have the tools to correctly clone my sensors (as we just found out). I do hope that he will be willing to install new TPMS sensors I provide pre-programmed however - I have the Autel TS501 TPMS tool which can program (only) Autel sensors using stored values or manual input codes. Of course any issues arising out of that would be my responsibility.

How could this have gone better:

1) Tell customer there is a backlog and the work will be delayed for a couple of hours (50% of frustration).

2) Call back customer so update can be made (25% frustration).

3) Work with customer when there is a known issue. Maybe the customer has done some homework (15% frustration).

4) Be aware when a red flag shows up. When Kaltire's TPMS tools did not have the same values for the codes as the documented working codes it is time to step back and ask why. This leads to the 80/20 rule - 80% of issues are from 20% of the work. The time when 'always done it like that' breaks down.

5) Work with the customer to share information on how the tools work when dealing with unusual situations. Stating 'I've always done it this way (so bugger off)' will not help. If I had learned sooner his tools did not allow for manual input I may have tried for other sensors I could program with my TPMS tool saving both of us time and frustration (of course hind sight is easier ;).

6) Always keep learning. I learned a number of things about how TPMS works including Toyota/Lexus has a number of challenges (as reported by Kaltire and Toyota). Kaltire can learn about manual input TPMS tools for problematic vehicles. It may be a dead end or it may help service challenging TPMS sensors. Having the ability to manually enter a sensor code for programming could save hours of technicians time. All you need is the old sensor to read the code off of. Knowing how the tools present the codes could be worth knowing. Was the value pulled by Stephans TPMS tools the same as mine but expressed in decimal instead of hexadecimal? If it was, then a checklist action during the process of cloning a sensor would be to verify the code is the same as the one printed on the old sensor with the aid of a hexadecimal conversion calculator (many to choose from online).

Respect to Stephan for going above and beyond to getting the job done. Just don't fall into the 'always done it like this' rut.

Best Customer Service in the City

The reps that work at this store are some of the most knowledgeable, honest and eager to help people I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t ever go anywhere else. Top quality customer service. Thank you guys : )

Flat tire due to a nail.

I always feel looked after here by everyone.

Excellent customer service

Extremely happy with this location.