Hello all,

I live in Oregon and during the winter on certain road one must use tire chains in order to travel. I think it's crazy, but that’s just the way it is. Anyway I stopped by a local tire store that is well known for their great service dealing with tires/chains. Once inside the man took one look at my car and told me I could not put chains on my car and then pointed this out to me in the manual. He stated he has had several people over the past year come in with a new CX9 only to be told the same news. At first I had a hard time believing I had a new car that I could not take skiing or over the mountain pass, so I called my dealer to inquire about this, and to request a solution. After informing the service manager what I had been told, he quickly agreed that one can't put chains on a 07-08 CX9 with 20" rims, but he would gladly sell me a new set of 18" wheels and tires.

Can you believe that!!!!!!!

If anyone has found an answer to my trouble, please let me know

 

Did you ask before you bought the car? If not, then dont expect them to tell you that chains do not fit on the 20's.

 

No, I didn't ask that exact question when buying the car. So I understand what you’re saying, however when you live in an area that requires chains and I talked to the salesman about how much we ski and go to the mountains I would think the topic would have came up. Please understand my frustration is not focused on the dealership in whole, I just having a hard time understanding how someone can make/sell a great car that is not capable of meeting local law requirements.

Please pass along any suggestions other that buying another set of wheels/tires


Thanks

 

There are many vehicles out there that you can't use chains on (Anything with low profile tires and a tight fit to the wheelwell.) I know they say you can't put them on the Mazda6 either. There areVERY few places in this country that require chains (only in the mountains)....should companies not sell certain vehicles in certain areas because there might be a local restriction on it's use during some weather conditions, or do you give the consumer the choice....I'm sure there are people that live near you that like this vehicle and don't go into the mountains....shouldn't they have the choice to buy this vehicle as well?

You can either buy a different vehicle or I say downsize to an 18" rim for the winter and run your chains. Those 20" tires aren't meant for the snow anyway. If the fitment of chains was a high priority requirement, it is on you to ask the question.

 

I live in Oregon also and have never been forced to use chains on a 4 wheel drive vehicle. My understanding of the law is that you must carry chains and that I always do I just don't have any idea what vehicle they would fit. I am a salesman and travel all over the state. This by all means doesn't mean I'm right, I just have never had a problem

 

For areas with serious snow, I would STRONGLY recommend replacing the 20" wheels / tires with something specific for the winter. Low profile tires really aren't appropriate for snow or chains.

I picked up a set of factory 18" wheels on eBay (customer purchased CX-9 with 18" wheels and immediately upgraded to 20" wheels). I just ordered my winter tires for them - Dunlop Grandtrek SJ5 - P235/65/18. It's an expense I planned on when I purchased the CX-9, but I could see how it might be a bit of a shock to have to spend another $1000 for "winter wear."

 

Thanks for the info,

I don't want people to get me wrong, I have no regrets about the CX9, it very well maybe the best overall car I've ever owned. I was just a bit surprised when I found out about the whole tire/chain deal, and then again to have my dealer tell be to spend another 2K for new wheels.

I’m still not sure what I will do to overcome this shortfall, but I figure it out. I would ask everyone to please let me know if another option comes up.

Thanks again

 

Here you go...seeing as how these are for winter only. Blizzak 18's on a nice looking rim for about $1K Snow tires are well worth the money if you are driving into the mountains.

http://www.tirerack.com/snow/preferredpackages.jsp