I went to Sears today to have my wheels balanced due to increased vibrations in the steering wheel.
I have 19's and 20's Lowenhart LD5's and was using H&R wheel spacers 10mm front and 15mm rear just enough to get clearance from the brake calipers. It also helps compensate the offset in the rear.
Then, a rep approached me and keeps telling me that they will not be responsible if my wheels come off because of the spacers. I told him that I've had those spacers for 2 years now and since I was the one that installed them, I will solely be responsible for whatever's gonna happen due to the wheel spacers.
Any input on this?

 

If your spacers fit snuggly on your hub and have a new hub built into the spacer for your rims/wheels to mount to then they can be safe. If your spacers just ride on your studs and cover your hub so the rim is not mounted to it, then I would say that you have made a poor choice in spacers.
The hub is the ring of metal that passes through the brake disc and the center hole of the rims snugs over it. It does two things: It supports much of the load of the vehicle and it causes the wheel to be centered on the car.
Many non centric spacers cover the hub so all of the weight is carried by the lugs. This stresses the lug and can allows the rim to be mounted off center. If the rim is tightened up off center the indication can mimic the wheel being out of balance or in the worst case can give you the wash board effect of riding on a corduroy road.
Pot holes can cause studs and wheels to break when everything is perfect, a poor quality spacer can increase stud and rim fatigue and failure. Tire dealers and alignment shops have seen these issues, so they are not going to cover any material used with a spacer.
If you have non hub centric spacers, don’t be fooled by the fact that you have not had a failure. It takes time for the small amount of movement or mis-alignment to fatigue the wheel studs or rim but the damage is being done.
Cheap universal rims that are not hub centric and just hang on the lugs can cause the same problem with or without spacers.
Hope this helps.

 

This is also true for a set of rims that do not have a proper centric ring for your hub and just float on the lugs as well.

Always make sure the spacers you use are specific for your car make and model and fit the hub VERY snugly and have a duplicate of the center of your stock hub for the wheel to attach to. As said above, this will take the load off the studs and put it back on the main wheel/hub combination where it belongs.

 

Also, with any spacer the proper extended length wheel studs are required.

 

i have ran 'hub centric' spacers for years with no issues... it is recommended to tighten the lugs a week or so after install but that's it... a care free addition.

a universal spacers are where the issues would be created.

you'll be just fine... enjoy!