My xB is nearing the time to change tires. After reading the precautions in the Owners Manual about where not to jack the car, I am worried that the average tire shop will place their lift arms in some bad place and cause damage. Has anybody heard of tire shops damaging the rocker panels or suspension when lifting the xB to change tires?

 

I had the same fears. As long as they use a lift you should be fine.

 

FYI--try to use a dealer that has those 1/2" thick rubber mats on top of their full-length lift ramps. Our local Discount Tire shops have those on all their lifts. I have found some bent metal-rail damage under my xB from somewhere, possibly one of my local SCION dealers, so beware of those single-arm type lifts. They concentrate a lot of pressure/weight in a small location on those frame-rails. Good luck.

 

Our shop on base uses a four point lift with a rubber circle pad on each arm. I just move them under the frame rails and it's worked so far without damage. When I use jack stands I always put them under the specified jack points and not the frame rail. To lift up each corner with a floor jack I will use the rail, but put a 2x6 between the rail and the jack head.

 

my scion dealer could not fit the lift arms under my car, they did the 2nd and 3rd free oil change with a floor jack, a mirror and the autotech on his back lol

 

I def. understand your concerns Allan. You can either be there when the time comes for them to lift it to oversee what they do or maybe just bring the wheels to them yourself for greater piece of mind. I do that all the time. The xB sits at home up on jackstands safe.

 

That's what I have been thinking of doing. Not even jackstands, but just using two scissors jacks on one side to remove 2 wheels at a time, like I do when rotating them.

 

That will work too. It's all about keeping the xB safe at any cost! haha