[Sumanyu17]

I had a similar experience with pirelli cinturato p7's on our passat. We were going out of city so we decided to get the tyre pressures checked. There were aftermarket TPMS installed on the valves. To our bad luck one of the sensors wasn't fitted properly by the guy filling air so the valve started leaking air while the car was being driven on a highway. The pressure released in a very linear fashion so a sudden change wasn't observed, but as the tyre went flat we pulled to the side and no surprise there was a huge cut in the sidewall. The damage was quite similar to yours. I suspect a leaking valve as the culprit here.

[su1978]

My take on this is that you may have accidentally hit some foreign object. Probably a sharp stone or a piece of iron left behind on the road or fallen from some vehicle that may have passed just before you crossing that stretch. it resulted in the outer wall getting severely damaged. Post that, since the weight of the car is on the higher side and all the air pressure in the tyres started to play here putting an extra pressure on the damaged part. I am highlighting the affected area for your reference



It gave away immediately. You must have realized it a bit late because, you would be busy in some conversation with your family/friends or would be enjoying the drive. By the time u realized it, damage was done.

[NiInJa]

The damage looks serious, I am relieved that nothing major happened !

Just my analysis: when rear tyres lose pressure its usually not 'felt' until it becomes alarmingly low in case of hatchbacks. The wheel will not drop completely but will be touching ground or getting suspended in air rapidly with the help of the other three wheels (think of a stool with one leg short), given the low profile of the tyres you may have not felt it. I've had rear tyre punctures in my Honda Brio and by dad's Zen while driving so can vouch for that. Same might have happened to your tyre. It was punctured long before it actually gave up completely.

On another note, I see the wheel bolts removed in one picture and they seem to have lost/worn threads of almost half of the threaded portion. The bolts are made of aluminium and can deform quickly if not inserted and turned properly. Always turn the bolts with your fingers to make sure they are aligned and use the tommy bar to tighten it. Never use the pnuematic gun to turn the bolts when you have wheel alignment or balancing done, those guys are careless. We had 'screwed' all the wheel's bolts of my brother's Linea over the years and sort of discovered once that the bolts could just be 'hammered' in. After replacing the bolts, we found that the threads inside the front hubs were damaged too as a result of forcefully inserting them in a misaligned manner. That required changing the front wheel hubs and related parts. It was one of the reason for selling the car. A disaster waiting to happen.

[Bibendum90949]

While i've nothing much to offer on the possible cause of failure since most of the points are already covered, here are my two cents on tyre safety and few good practices (in my book) which I've been following for years

- Always invest in a proven tyre brand (Michelin, Yokohama etc). You'll never regret having a good set of shoes. I always prefer Michelin.

- Also keep a reliable tyre pressure gauge and a portable tyre inflator handy.

- 90% of the gauges you find in filling stations give you inaccurate readings, hence the need of a reliable gauge handy with you.

- Do inspect the tyres, especially sidewalls, every now and then for possible cracks, bubble etc. Make it a habit to do this when you're on long highway drives. You can do this when you stop for bio breaks, food breaks etc.

- When the car is taken for service or for alignment jobs, always get it up on a hydraulic lifter and see for yourself any cracks or deformation on the inner side of the tyres.

- Do periodic alignment and balancing. Ensure to check the health of valves.

- Keep the music in the car to a reasonable volume so that you get to hear any strange noise that may be emanating from the tyre or engine.

- Try and park cars in shade more often than not to get longevity from tyres.

- Keep an eye on TPMS more often when you're on a long and briskly run on a highway. Even if it's ABS sensor fed TPMS, you may still get a hint of something amiss.

- Drive cautiously over bad roads keeping in mind the side walls.

- On our roads, a tyre with low aspect ratio is bound to invite trouble. So have a decent side wall height even at the expense of losing out a bit of handling.

- Always replace your tyres when it reaches the tread wear limit.

- Maintain correct psi and check the pressure when it's cold.

- Have a good quality tyre valve cap. In case you do top up the pressure at filling stations, do get down and check if they're shut back properly. Most attendants don't do that cleanly. Ensure not to over tighten it.

- When you carry out the tyre balancing, insist to check for punctures or leaks too by dipping them in a small tank of water which the tyre shops usually have.

- Avoid using unknown brands.

- Always buy tyres from reputable shops, even if the prices are a tad higher, after inspecting the tyres and checking it's manufacturing month. It shouldn't ideally be more than 6 months old.

I'm sure most of these points would've been discussed in tyre section. Even then, thought of sharing them again as tyres are one of the most critical elements for a safe drive.

[KPR]

Originally Posted by amoghchaphalkar

Similar story! I am almost tempted to bash FIAT now

Yes. What happened post that incident when I escalated to Fiat & Apollo?
First, the executives/engineers at Apollo are not interested in us. They have huge targets to supply tyres for heavy duty vehicles. So,
1. Replaced a new alnac 4g at 65% discount as the old one had run 22k kms.
2. Bought and installed a TPMS. Don't know if it can save considering sudden burst and shoulder damages.
3. At odo of 50k switched to Michelin as I always felt them comfortable.
4. Did a March 2018 all India drive for 7000+ kms for 11 days. No issue with Michelins. Currently at 28k kms with my Michelin XM2. Compromise on grip yet I drive sedately under 100 kmph.

My humble suggestion to you. Switch to Michelin P4ST for Abarths. My brother own an Abarth and I've suggested him to switch to Michelins soon 40K odo finished with stock Alnacs.

Alnacs are actually good rubbers. But Michelins are supreme anyday. That incident of mine was the main reason I didn't opt for MC5s or Alnacs again during last replacement.

[WhiteKnight]

Looks like a clear case of tyre losing pressure leading to stress on sidewalls, and eventually, tear. MC5 sidewalls are pretty strong, and don't give any visual cues even when the pressure is low. I won't thing any warranty claim would be honoured, unless purely for goodwill. I do wish you get it, though.

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

, here are my two cents on tyre safety and few good practices (in my book) which I've been following for years

- Always invest in a proven tyre brand (Michelin, Yokohama etc). You'll never regret having a good set of shoes. I always prefer Michelin.
.

I'm sorry I do not see your point. If it is just a generic comment, let's leave it. If you are saying Continental is not a proven tyre brand, especially in comparison to Yokohama, I disagree.

[Bibendum90949]

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

I'm sorry I do not see your point. If it is just a generic comment, let's leave it. If you are saying Continental is not a proven tyre brand, especially in comparison to Yokohama, I disagree.

I guess you missed the word 'etc' in there. Just quoted those two examples. Hope that clears the air

[anandharamanp]

I suspect there could be a significant drop in air pressure because of the air check you performed while on a long drive. when the wheels are in motion, temperature of the tyre increase to the extent of 50-55 degree C which in turn increase the pressure of the tyres, so when you do a air check, the automated air filling machines reduces the pressure to make it in sync with normal pressure specifications. When you drive with the low pressure, it increase the temperature of the wheels shooting beyond normals which causes a damage to tyre.

Glad it happened gradually so that you could sense and act upon rather than a sudden tyre burst.

Few suggestions for all of us here:
1) Never check air pressure when tyre is hot (while you are on a long drive) - do a refill/check when tyre is cold. The specifications mentioned by the manufacture are for cold pressure only.
2) Invest in a TPMS which will alert you when tyre pressure or temperature goes beyond normal.
3) in my experience 98% of the air check systems even in reputed petrol bunks top up incorrect air pressures. So suggest using a branded Digital pressure guage ike Michellin considering accuracy or relying upon TPMS for readings will help us minimize this risk to a great extent.

[amoghchaphalkar]

Originally Posted by anandharamanp

I suspect there could be a significant drop in air pressure because of the air check you performed while on a long drive. when the wheels are in motion, temperature of the tyre increase to the extent of 50-55 degree C which in turn increase the pressure of the tyres.

Please check OP and my subsequent posts:
1. Tyre was cold when pressure was checked
2. No air was filled. Only pressure was checked

[scuderiamania]

Hi Amog, I am attaching continental's response on the team bhp facebook page. Please get in touch with these guys and update the forum when you can.

I am pleasantly surprised that the brand is being so pro active in solving a customer's issue.

[hemanth.anand]

One of my friends also experienced similar thing on his 5000kms odd run Yokohama Earth1 tyres of his ford figo. To add to that, one of the bolts were slipping and he couldn't remove it. I was running 20mins behind him and I reached. We put sand on the bolt and that helped in gripping that bolt and removed it. After that we didn't put that bolt back on



In his case the tyres had run those 5k kms in 2 years and hence he didn't claim for a replacement under warranty.

This is most probably a case of small puncture which you may have not noticed and the wheel has cut it. Hope Continental agrees to replace it for you. Do update the end result

[hamhaj16]

Continental tyres are not good as it's being advertised, in Dubai every week I used to get a flat tyre due to a Puncture. The rubber is soft, designed for comfort and better road grip, it's doesn't withstand in tough terrain.

[amoghchaphalkar]

Update:

I had tried to lodge a complaint/raise this issue with Continental. However, due to the lockdown the response times were poor and I was finally told that I need to raise this issue through the authorised dealer from where I had purchased the tyre.

This particular dealer was in a Containment Zone and while the rest of the city was slowly opening up, shops in this particular area were not. Also, it was difficult for me to get there without a police issued e-pass. Considering this scenario, I finally dropped the idea of going to the dealer and got the tyre changed from another dealer. For whatever it is worth, the new dealer, after seeing the tyre, opined that there was slim chance that Continental would have agreed to a warranty replacement. In his opinion, in such cases it is extremely easy to prove that it was a slow puncture and point to driver negligence. The lack of a TPMS makes the manufacturer's case stronger.

Originally Posted by scuderiamania

Hi Amog, I am attaching continental's response on the team bhp facebook page. Please get in touch with these guys and update the forum when you can.

I am pleasantly surprised that the brand is being so pro active in solving a customer's issue.

Thank you for the update! Unfortunately, I am not on Facebook hence unable to respond to Continental. I checked with the new dealer if he has the old, damaged tyre still with him. He does not so I guess that seals the case.

Lesson learnt: I have installed Sensairy TPMS with HUD in both my cars now. All put together this incident cost me ~22k (2 x TPMS + 1 x Tyre). Looking back, I should have been proactive about the TPMS.

[harryputtar]

Sorry to rake up this old thread, but it was an eye-opener, as I was also considering Continental MC5s.

Amogh, which tyre did you end up buying after this horrifying experience? I am planning to change the tyres on my Jetta shortly, and am looking for recommendations based on durability, safety, ride, handling and price.

How has your experience been with the new tyres?

[SinghBHP]

What use are these Tyre Warranties for ? Are these tyre companies taking us for granted and fooling in case of sidewall damages by creating tricky clauses ?

In last 12 years of my driving I have experienced damage in 6 tyres and all in sidewalls. The tyres were of different make (JK, Bridgestone , Good year , Continental MC5). All of them were in warranty, none of them were replaced by dealers and they successfully proved that it is driver's mistake :-)
What use are these warranties for ? Sometimes it can be driver hitting protruding sharp objects but not always ? We as a customer can ever prove or find out if it was manufacturing defect or genuinely our mistake ?

@Moderators : Although I am writing under this thread but please if you feel this is an important topic kindly create a new independent thread. We should discuss and find out via teambhp discussion that what could be a course of action we as customers should take in such situation.

Adding to the experience with Continental MC5 I have been driving it for last 1 year, recently while parking a car I noticed the tyre was punctured upon checking it was a small cut in sidewall. Dealer after all arguments proved that it was some pinch with the protruding rock or a bump in hole and hence not covered under warranty. Finally had to buy new tyre expense of 6200 /-.

These companies are creating some silly clauses and we can never get warranties. if the tyres are being damaged by hit in the potholes (although I am sure it was not the case) what good are these expensive tyres for ?