Questions & answers

Straight answers, no runaround

Everything people ask us on the phone, written down. If your question is not here, call and ask it.

How mobile service works

What is mobile tire and auto repair?: A fully equipped technician comes to your vehicle instead of your vehicle going to a shop. Torque & Tread performs tire replacement, flat repair, brakes, batteries, starters, alternators, oil changes and diagnostics at homes, workplaces, fleet yards and the roadside throughout Polk and Highlands County, Florida.
Do you have a shop I can drive to?: No. We are mobile-only, which is deliberate — no building overhead, no waiting room, no scheduling around bay availability. We come to you anywhere in Polk or Highlands County.
Are you actually available 24 hours a day?: Yes. Open 24/7 — including nights, weekends and holidays. Emergency roadside calls are why the phone is answered at 3am; scheduled work is normally booked during the day.
Do I have to be present while you work?: Only long enough to hand over the keys and approve the quote. Many customers leave for work and come back to a finished vehicle.
Where can you not work on a vehicle?: We need a flat, hard surface. Grass, soft shoulder, steep driveways and gravel are jack-stand safety problems. Parking garages are usually fine as long as there is room to work beside the vehicle.

Is mobile service more expensive than a shop?: Generally comparable and often less. You pay for parts, labor and a service call, and you get the total before we start. There is no building, no service advisor and no upsell desk in the price.
Do you quote before starting work?: Always. Parts and labor are quoted before anything comes apart. If we find something else once we are in there, you get told and you decide.
Do you charge for diagnostics?: Yes — diagnosis is real work with real equipment. We tell you the fee up front and apply it toward the repair when we do the job.
How fast can you get to me?: It depends on where you are in the two counties and what is already in the queue. We give a real arrival window on the phone rather than a vague afternoon.

Can you replace tires in my driveway?: Yes. We bring the mounting and balancing equipment, fit the new tires, torque to spec with a calibrated wrench and take the old tires away. A set of four typically takes 45 to 75 minutes on site.
Can I supply my own tires?: Yes. We will install tires you bought online or picked up locally, or we can source them and quote the whole job.
Can every flat tire be repaired?: No. Tread punctures under a quarter inch are usually repairable. Sidewall and shoulder damage is not, and neither is a tire that was driven flat long enough to destroy the inner liner. We dismount and inspect the inside before deciding.
Do you plug tires from the outside?: No. We dismount the tire and install a combination patch-plug from the inside. An external string plug hides internal damage and is the reason repaired tires fail at highway speed.
Can you do wheel alignments?: No — alignment requires a fixed rack and cannot be done mobile. We will diagnose whether you actually need one, and tell you when you do not.

Can brakes be replaced at my house?: Yes. Pads, rotors, calipers, hoses, hardware and fluid flushes are all mobile jobs. Front or rear typically takes 90 minutes to two hours.
How long does a car battery last in Florida?: Usually three to four years. Heat kills batteries faster than cold does. We load test the battery and check alternator output and parasitic draw before selling you anything.
My car won't start — do I need a tow?: Often not. No-crank and no-start faults are frequently a battery, ground, relay or starter, all of which we diagnose and can usually repair on the spot.
What does a flashing check engine light mean?: Active misfire dumping raw fuel into the catalytic converter. Stop driving and call — continuing costs you a converter on top of the original repair.
What jobs genuinely require a shop?: Wheel alignments, transmission work, engine internals, timing chains, exhaust welding and anything needing a lift. We will say so on the phone rather than charging you to find out in your driveway.

What areas do you cover?: All of Polk County and all of Highlands County, Florida — including Lakeland, Winter Haven, Bartow, Auburndale, Haines City, Davenport, Lake Wales, Mulberry, Sebring, Avon Park and Lake Placid.
Why only two counties?: Because coverage claims are worthless if arrival times are not. Two counties is what we can serve with honest windows and same-day availability.
Do you work on the interstate and highways?: Yes — I-4, US-27, US-17, US-98 and SR-60 among others, with cones, reflective gear and portable lighting for night calls.

15 years of mobile tire and auto repair across Polk and Highlands County. Call and talk to someone who actually turns the wrench.