In the middle of May I bought 4 new Goodyear Wrangler tires for my 4 runner through the Toyota dealership. About 2 weeks later, the right rear tire was losing air. I brought it to the shop and I was told there was a hole in the side wall which they patched. Less than a week later, it was losing air again and even caused me fishtail on a major highway during rush hour. The tire was then replaced. Yesterday, I came out to find my left front tire completely flat. I had the tire checked at an independent shop, again, a small (pin hole size) hole on the sidewall?
How likely is this to happen? I believe I have been sold defective tires. I drive to and from work on major highways.
I have an appointment on Saturday with the dealership and I want to make sure I know what I am talking about as they have already implied failure of both tires is my fault.
Also, from what I understand, patching a side wall on a tire is unsafe prectice as it can lead to things such as the fishtailing on the highway I experienced
Thanks for any input
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If that dealership actually patched a sidewall puncture, they have violated every principle of tire repair and are both incompetent and uninterested in the safety of their customers–or in the safety of the people who share the road with those customers.
I suggest that you speak with the owner of that dealership, and demand a full refund.
Take the money, go to a legitimate tire dealer, and replace the tires.
How do you know if a tire dealer is legitimate?
Ask the tire salesman if it is safe to repair a sidewall puncture, and if he says “yes”, then it is not a place to do business.
I agree with VDC. Don’t waste any time asking questions. Tell them to get that crap off your car and put some michelins on
Local Chevy dealer had special. Buy 3, get 4th free. And they will match any sale price. Normal price is $150/ea. bobs auto ranch had them on sale for $105. So u get 4 for $315. That’s for any tire dealer can get, any brand
I’m having a really, really hard time believing there was a pinhole leak in a new tire sidewall.
On the other hand, I find it really, really easy to believe that a car dealership lied to you… and are now stringing you along.
When two out of four new tires develop pinhole leaks, the first thing I suspect is that the tire buster that mounted them didn’t do good work. He probably skipped the bead sealer, was miserly with it, cross threaded the valve stems, or who knows what else.
However, there is a third possibility… that hey mounted really, really old tires that are no longer good. I’ve attached a link that’ll show you how to tell how old the tires are. You can read the manufacturing date right on the sidewall. Post back with the dates of manufacture.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=33&s_kwcid=AL!3756!10!3308524034!30371468006&ef_id=U1LkVgAAAanjQRrG:20140717165124:s
Let us know what they say on Saturday.
I wonder if your vehicle is being vandalized. A pinhole leak in the sidewall is rare and two different tires having the same problem has a really low probability. However, punching a pinhole in the sidewall would be easier than putting a hole in the tread by a vandal.
It would be highly unusual for this to occur twice in such a short time although an underinflated tire would be more prone to a sidewall puncture than a fully inflated tire.
Offhand, it could be some local 15 year old comedian in the 'hood or an equally juvenile fellow employee with an axe to grind. Ice picks are cheap and effective.
I’m surprised the place patched a sidewall puncture.
I just have to ask, because nobody else has . . .
Have you curb checked the tires . . . the ones that had the sidewall pinholes?
In other words, did you hit the curb with those tires, since you bought them in May?
I’m just asking . . . don’t take it the wrong way
I have not hit any curbs, I never parallel park. Always a parking lot or driveway. Doubt it is sabotage/vandalism either. Live in a good quiet neighborhood and work in an upscale part of town.
Interestingly, when I went to check the dates the tires were made, I noticed a bubble on the side wall of the tire that replaced the first one with a problem. I felt safer driving on the bald tires!
“I noticed a bubble on the side wall of the tire that replaced the first one with a problem.”
This convinces me even more than ever that you need to request a full refund.
It sounds like that dealer is selling nothing but “reject” tires.
OK, first tires don’t “develop” leaks. Any leaking problem caused by the tires will be there from the git-go. Not be fine initially, then be a problem later.
And it is quite possible to get pinhole leaks from road debris - even on the sidewall. (OK, maybe curbing isn’t exactly road debris, but you get the idea!)
I suspect there is something else going on. Perhaps some impact damage?
Update: I went to Toyota of Tampa Bay yesterday to meet with the service director. Would be $300 to replace with Michelin, could not afford it. Got 4 new Goodyear Wranglers
Also contacted Goodyear about the problem and they want those tires back.
Let’s see how it goes with this set.
Frankly, I am puzzled as to these punctures occur and the likelyhood of it happenening to me twice in two months with new tires when I have been driving the same route for over 4 years and never had a problem. I have been checking as I drive now and have not seen a horizontal projectile nails on any roads I drive. Just can’t understand the physics behind why this is happening
I still suspect that the tire buster failed to use bead sealer or didn’t install the stems right… or installed the stems from the car in the next bay, which had different stems. Or something even weirder.
I cannot for the life of me imagine two of four tires getting pinhole leaks by themselves. Tire carcasses have multiple layers impregnated with and under the rubber under high heat and pressure. A pinhole leak in a new tire sidewall is, to me, beyond credibility. Two has a probability approaching absolute zero.
As for curb damage, I’ve damaged sidewalls on curbs before. The last was 2" long. Granite curbs don’t cause pinhole leaks.
Maybe the tire guy didn’t even install new valve stems . . .
I had a ten penney nail in the sidewall of my VW Bug tire once at work. Drove it home 5 miles and changed it. Don’t know how it happened but some of the guys didn’t like smart aleck summer workers so who knows? Sticking right straight out just like it was hammered in.
"Sticking right straight out just like it was hammered in. "
Heh, heh, you answered your own question. If it quacks like a duck…