Does Costco Give You Free Nitrogen Tire Refills?

• Cars

One of the main reasons for the popularity of a Costco membership is the various perks associated with it. Take, for example, the company's tire installation package, available to customers who purchase tires from Costco. In addition to continued tire maintenance throughout the life of the product, Costco offers customers free periodic pressure checks, tire balancing, and repair services as part of the package. For many people, however, the greatest value addition to a Costco tire installation package is the guarantee of free nitrogen refills. This is a great deal considering that a full nitrogen conversion of air-filled tires may cost anywhere between $70 to $175, and subsequent refills may cost an additional fee elsewhere. 

Every time a member brings an eligible vehicle (basically a car with Costco-installed tires) to the Costco tire center, the maintenance staff will fill it with nitrogen as part of the maintenance process. With Costco confirming that it exclusively uses Nitrogen to inflate tires instead of compressed air, you can be rest assured that it is, indeed, nitrogen gas that is being pumped into your car tires.

If you are at Costco for a short errand and want a quick nitrogen refill for your tire, it is impractical to schedule an appointment at the Costco tire center just for that purpose. Costco has come up with a solution to this problem as well. If you are in for a quick tire refill, Costco has set up self-filling nitrogen tire inflators installed at its stores across the U.S., usually outside/near its tire center parking lot, and they're free to use for members!

How to use Costco's free nitrogen refill service

These self-serving nitrogen inflators are pretty easy to use and feature an LCD panel at the front that displays the tire pressure. Beneath the display, there are prominent "+" and "-" buttons you can use to adjust your desired tire pressure. Once you reach the desired pressure, remove the valve stem caps from your car tire and attach the locking hose clamp to the tire. Once the inflator detects that the clamp is locked, the inflation process will start automatically. When the tire reaches the desired pressure, you will hear a beep, following which you can repeat the process with the other tires.

Costco specifies that if your car tire is "hot," which means it has just driven 3 miles or more, the air pressure should be set to 4 psi higher than the tire inflation specification mentioned in your manual. Secondly, the machine also specifies that it would not work if your tire pressure has dropped to below 14 psi. Costco also insists that these nitrogen tire inflators are intended only for Costco members. However, at no point during the tire inflation process does the machine request an ID or verify that the user is a Costco member.