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- Canada
I agree that he was treated fairly, but he is also being treated poorly. That being said, we're only hearing one side of the story. Your neighbour may be making unreasonable demands and may be speaking impolitely (for lack of a better word) due to their frustration, and the dealer is being short with them as a result. Cooler heads would prevail.
The text I quoted from the manual is there because if you replace only one tire at a time, the new tire will have better traction than the others due to the difference in treadwear. In extreme cases, the new tire may also have a slightly larger diameter, which can cause damage to the AWD system in the long term, and cause the AWD the behave unexpectedly due to the new tire having more traction than the others. This is why the manual advises to replace all four tires at the same time.
All that being said, it is common for tire shops to shave down a brand new tire so that the new tire's tread matches the remaining tread on the other tires. They do it all the time for tire warranty claims and insurance claims on vehicles that need it. If the dealer doesn't do this for whatever reason, just drive the car to the nearest tire shop and get them to shave the new tire down.
The text I quoted from the manual is there because if you replace only one tire at a time, the new tire will have better traction than the others due to the difference in treadwear. In extreme cases, the new tire may also have a slightly larger diameter, which can cause damage to the AWD system in the long term, and cause the AWD the behave unexpectedly due to the new tire having more traction than the others. This is why the manual advises to replace all four tires at the same time.
All that being said, it is common for tire shops to shave down a brand new tire so that the new tire's tread matches the remaining tread on the other tires. They do it all the time for tire warranty claims and insurance claims on vehicles that need it. If the dealer doesn't do this for whatever reason, just drive the car to the nearest tire shop and get them to shave the new tire down.