Product Safety & Fitment

Tires and wheels are safety-critical parts

Tires and wheels carry the entire weight of your vehicle and are the only thing connecting it to the road. Incorrect selection, fitting, inflation or maintenance can cause loss of control, sudden air loss, wheel or component failure, a collision, serious injury or death.

Please read this page before ordering, and give it to whoever installs your parts.

Professional installation is required

Tires must be mounted, balanced and torqued by a qualified tire professional using proper equipment. Wheels must be installed with the correct hardware and torqued to the vehicle manufacturer’s specification with a calibrated torque wrench, then re-torqued after the first 50–100 km.

Do not attempt to mount, demount or inflate tires yourself. A tire that fails during inflation can cause fatal injury.

The Auto Rack does not install products and is not responsible for installation, balancing, torque, alignment or any work performed by a third party.

You are responsible for confirming fitment and legality

Fitment data on this site is provided as a guide and is compiled from supplier information. Vehicles vary by trim, factory options, brake package, suspension setup and previous modifications, and that data can be incomplete or out of date.

You will see "fitment checked" on this site, and it is worth being exact about what that means. It means the specifications published on a listing have been reviewed against the supplier data we hold, so the size, load index, speed rating, offset and bolt pattern shown are the ones the supplier states. It does not mean we have verified the product against your vehicle, it is not a guarantee of fit, and it is not advice. Our fitment search knows a size, not a car.

Before installation, you and your installer are responsible for confirming that the product:

• physically fits — diameter, width, offset, bolt pattern, centre bore, and clearance for brakes, suspension, fenders and any accessories
• meets or exceeds the load index and speed rating specified on your vehicle’s tire placard or in the owner’s manual
• is appropriate for your vehicle’s weight, towing or payload use, and driving conditions
• is legal for road use where you drive, including provincial requirements for winter tires, studs, tread depth, and any restrictions on wheel or tire size changes
• does not void or conflict with your vehicle or component manufacturer’s warranty

Load index, speed rating and vehicle placard

Never install a tire with a load index or speed rating below the vehicle manufacturer’s specification. Reducing either can cause tire failure, and may affect insurance coverage and your vehicle’s handling and braking systems.

Where a plus-size or non-original fitment is chosen, it is your responsibility (with your installer) to ensure overall diameter, load capacity and clearance remain appropriate, and to accept any effect on speedometer accuracy, ride quality and electronic stability, traction and braking systems.

Winter tires and the law

The mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol means a tire has met a defined snow-traction standard in a specific test. It is not a guarantee of performance in all winter conditions, and it does not replace safe driving, appropriate speed, or compliance with the law where you drive.

Winter tire requirements are set by each province, they change, and confirming what applies to you is your responsibility, not ours. As a starting point, and not as legal advice:

• Quebec requires winter tires on passenger vehicles registered in the province from 1 December to 15 March. The tires must carry the mountain snowflake symbol, all-season tires do not qualify, and the fines are per vehicle. Check the current dates and the exact requirement with the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec before you order.
• British Columbia requires winter or mountain snowflake tires, or chains, on many designated highways from 1 October to 30 April, extended to 31 March or 30 April depending on the route.
• Other provinces do not mandate winter tires but may require adequate tread depth and may restrict studs by season. Insurance discounts and, after a collision, questions of contributory negligence, can turn on what you were running.

If you are buying for a Quebec-registered vehicle and the tire you are looking at does not carry the mountain snowflake symbol, it will not satisfy the requirement, whatever it is called on the box. Ask us before you order if you are unsure.

TPMS, sensors and electronics

Some vehicles require tire pressure monitoring sensors and a relearn procedure after service. Sensors are not included with tires or wheels unless expressly listed. Compatibility, programming and relearn are the responsibility of you and your installer.

Aftermarket wheels frequently need different hardware from the factory parts. Lug nut seat type is the one that catches people out: a conical seat nut on a wheel machined for a ball seat, or the reverse, contacts on the wrong surface, will not hold torque, and can let a wheel work loose within a few hundred kilometres. Thread pitch, shank length and whether the wheel needs hub-centric rings all matter in the same way.

Confirming seat type, thread pitch, stud length, hub bore and torque specification is the job of you and your installer before the wheel goes on the car. Hardware is not included with wheels unless a listing expressly says so.

Inspection on arrival

Inspect everything before installation. Once a tire or wheel has been mounted or driven on, it cannot be returned except under a valid manufacturer warranty claim, and any visible transit damage claim is much harder to make.

Do not install any product that appears damaged, incorrect, or different from what you ordered — contact us first.

Maintenance and ongoing use

Check inflation pressure at least monthly and before long trips, using the pressure on the vehicle placard (not the maximum pressure on the tire sidewall). Inspect for damage, uneven wear and adequate tread depth, and rotate as the vehicle manufacturer recommends.

Retire tires in line with the manufacturer’s age and wear guidance regardless of remaining tread. Damaged, improperly repaired, under-inflated or worn-out tires can fail without warning.

Off-road, competition and modified use

Products described for off-road, track or competition use may not be legal or safe for public roads and may carry no warranty. Using any product outside its intended purpose — including racing, overloading, towing beyond rating, or use on a modified vehicle — is entirely at your own risk.

Images, descriptions and specifications

Photographs are representative. Finish, sidewall lettering, tread pattern, plant of manufacture and packaging can vary between production runs. Specifications are supplied by manufacturers and may change without notice.

Nothing on this site — including blog articles, guides and support replies — is professional mechanical, engineering or legal advice. Always follow your vehicle manufacturer’s instructions and consult a qualified professional.

Assumption of risk and limitation

By ordering from this site you acknowledge the risks set out above, and you agree that responsibility for correct selection, professional installation, legal compliance, maintenance and safe use rests with you and with the professional who installs the product. We sell parts. We do not inspect your vehicle, we do not turn a wrench on it, and we are not in a position to know what has been done to it before now.

We are not liable, to the maximum extent the law permits, for any of the following: work performed by an installer or any other third party, including mounting, balancing, torque, alignment and hardware selection; damage to a vehicle, its wheels, brakes, suspension, bodywork or electronics arising from installation or from use of a product; a product being fitted despite being visibly incorrect or damaged; a product being used outside its load index, speed rating or intended purpose; a product being illegal for road use where you drive; or any towing, storage, rental, lost time, missed work, or other consequential cost arising from any of these.

This does not sit above the law, and we are not pretending it does. It is subject to the manufacturer’s warranty, to the consumer protection rights described on our Warranty page which cannot be excluded, and to the limits in section 9 of our Terms of Service. Nothing on this page excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

If we told you in writing that a specific product fits your specific vehicle and it does not, that is on us. Contact us and we will make it right.

Questions before you buy

Not sure a product suits your vehicle or your driving? Contact us at contact@theautorack.com before ordering and we will help — it is far easier to get this right up front.