When I leave for work, I approach the Rodeo from the side. When I go home from work, I approach the Rodeo from the rear, but it's usually dark.

I was walking out to my Rodeo today about 6:30 pm when I got to wondering why I could see so much of tow bar. Then I noticed I saw daylight between the tow bar and the ground.

I checked the rear door for damage (it blocks the lowering mechanism)--none. Whoever did it had to get the rear door open to get the tire. The chain is pulled back up and the extra wrapped neatly (i.e. it's not dangling down or I would have noticed it immediately). Not too many curbside thieves take the time to clean up after a theft.

Obviously, I suspect mechanic error. When the dealer said they'd rotate the tires, I figured it was a little bill paddling, but does also need to be done. I just didn't expect this much padding. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />

In their defense, power went out while they were working on my car, and they were proud to tell me they found power tools and were working by hand. It caused confusion at the dealership. But their bays are open (it's AZ) and they had plenty of sunlight. I had to come back the next day for my receipt. Assuming it was a mistake, I would expect someone to say, "Hey, we found a spare tire for a Rodeo from yesterday--let's check yours!"

I will be calling first thing tomorrow. We'll see what they say, but I'm not optimistic. If they didn't say something the next day, they probably won't admit to it weeks later. They don't have a whole lot of late-model Rodeo's rolling through any more (Did the 4x4 or DI's have different rims? That would narrow it down more)--I wouldn't be hard to track down. I have a nagging feeling the mechanic made a mistake, realized it later, and covered it up.
(edited per post below to give more benefit of the doubt)

I see why Isuzu dealers rank last--I've tried the only one in Tucson, and a bigger one (Chapman) in Tempe (Phoenix area), and so far have met with what I can only describe as
- Bad attitude (Tucson mechanic). I wrote a letter to the dealer to complain.
- ______ (insert your word here) (Tempe mechanic). Spare tire missing.

Hey Wayne;
Sorry about your loss. Keep us posted on the retrieval/reclaiming of your errant tire!
Good luck,
Lee

Most honest people don't take kindly to being called a thief. If your shop is honest you will not win any points by accusing them of intentionally stealing your tire.

Instead do yourself a favor and consider the following scenario - The tire changer is likely the most inexperienced person in the shop. He can make a mistake at any time and during the confusion of a power failure it is all the more likely. The person simply forgot to return the spare. As to why he didn't fess up after the fact I don't know. Maybe the tire got rolled over to the repair area and is still sitting there. Maybe they don't remember your car/rim combination well enough to call you up and say they have your spare. I mean if they up sold you a tire rotation they probably try to sell most everyone.

Sure they could have stole your tire on purpose. However if they did they certainly won't admit it weeks later.

Point being, I suggest you start your conversation with the shop by giving them a chance to correct an honest mistake. Whereas if you go the "Stealer-ship" route it will only piss of an honest shop and fall on the deaf ears of a clip joint.

Good luck.

I've been working all morning and haven't had a chance to call yet. However, I will start by being nice and tactful. There's nothing else I can do. I also don't blame the dealership for what I would assume is the action of one mechanic.

I also realized I need to go and check my tires as four are heavily "chunked" from 4-wheeling. Thus, if they really did a 5 tire rotation I should have one "clean" tire.

I don't know 100% it was the dealership. Aside from the timing, I can point out the odds of a parking lot thief taking the time to get this tire out with the access door closed, without damage, and to neatly clean up his work afterwards as being low. Add in the additional confusion at the dealership when the power went out, and it's easy to understand they might have missed it in the dark.

The reason I'm disappointed is (assuming it was the dealership) if you came into work the next morning, turned on the light, and saw a spare tire/rim--wouldn't you say something? It's a little different than having a spare 10mm bolt left over.

If they admit to it right away, I will be disappointed because I have to make a 180 mile round trip and kill a weekend to get my tire back. But at least I'll have a little faith restored.

If they play dumb, all I can do is write it off. It won't mean they did it, just that the odds are extremely high.

But the concern is appreciated; I'm stepping out now to check my tire tread.

EDIT / ADDITION: ALL four tires are chunked up. But I forgot--they also replaced the fuel filter. On my Amigo (door mounted spare), access to the fuel filter isn't an issue, but I am now suspecting it might be easier to do on the Rodeo if you drop the under-body spare tire. I called up to the Isuzu Service department twice--no answer yet. Apparently an 11:30 to 12:30 lunch. Will try later.

At about 6 pm tonight I got a hold of the Isuzu service guy. It was my call to them; I was told "I called, but you weren't there, and I didn't leave a message." I might buy it, the service coordinator didn't seem like a bad guy. They hadn't noticed a spare tire lying around, but said they would look for it tomorrow, and call me in the morning.

I can only say.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />
But what can I do? Let it go.

That call in the morning? It's (Edit: 4 pm) now. No message yet, no call while I was at my desk. I have a feeling I'll be calling on the way home.

Even a, "That mechanic isn't in today" or "Hey, we're needing some more time to look into it, we'll get back to you in a couple days" call would be courteous.

On the upside, they haven't called and said, "Nope, not us!" which would have been quick and easy. So there's always hope.

If I was going to steal your spare, I'd make it look as normal as possible, so it wouldn't be found out until much later. That way I'd have a better chance of covering my tracks.
Full size under body spare tires are a common theft item on Pickups. That's why the factory puts locks on them.

Juat think a savy theif could outfit his car with new tires and rims any time he needed them.
Hopefully the Insurance Deductible isn't so high it's worth calling them.

Curtis

I'd think a thief, once he got a tire off, would be more concerned with getting out of their (before someone saw) and a quick getaway rather than how long until I noticed.

It's 6:25 pm; no call yet. I'm starting to doubt I was called "and didn't leave a message" yesterday.

I didn't make it out of work yet, but I will be calling the dealership in the morning.

I called the dealership this morning. Note that they have never called me back when they said they would (they claimed to have called once, but didn't leave a message).

The dealership says they have no extra tires/wheels around, and no recollection of the event.

While I'm one to be a little charitable, the lack of courtesy even in a callback, leads me to think there's a mechanic that has 4 tires and a set of "non-matching" rims. I'm going to try junkyards first and see if I get lucky.

In addition, if it was a very meticulous thief who likes to clean up and by chance I left my car unlocked so he could get to the lowering mechanism without damaging the rear door/bumper, and he brought his own tools to lower the spare (I checked, mine are still there), he also didn't want to steal any of the change I leave in my cupholder or ashtray. A very honest thief.

In terms of probability, I'm about 99% dealership vs 1% thief. I just wish I had noticed sooner. I never thought to do a full walkaround after a dealership worked on my car.

For what it's worth, It's Chapman Chevy-Isuzu in Tempe, AZ.
- I think the guys in the back took the tire
- I know the service guy up front, while very personable, was not reliable or courteous enough to return calls, or to call back after I did make contact with him.
- I'm 0 for 2 for dealerships in Southern AZ, and don't want to have to drive >2 hours up to north Phoenix or New Mexico. Luckily, with the lack of real Isuzu options, I can say unless things drastically change, my next vehicle will definitely not be an Isuzu. Not because of the company, because of the dealerships. And remember I'm the guy that flew from Dallas (when I lived there) to Tucson to pick up a Rodeo.

Wayne have you thought about trying a Honda dealership? They have worked on the Passports for 13 years or better. I'd say you'd have better luck there. I'd guess you'd have a Honda dealership a whole lot closer as well.

The Honda dealerships we've been to really did seem to care about customer service. Only dealer I've ever been impressed with.

Joe