Bubble on tire wall...WTF

[ramvfin2003]

I am so pissed, just took the car out for a ride and when I pulled back into the garage I noticed that my front drivers side tire has a bubble.

Car is 6 months old with only 3k miles. Should I call the dealer? Any experiences with this.

20 inch tire, definitly dont want to come out of pocket to pay for it.

[AudiFan6482]

look on the INTERNET, find the site that manufactures your tires and look through to find warranty information. There is a very good chance that it is covered damage and you can go to the dealer and get it replaced free of charge.

[hender]

i doubt audi will cover it.
maybe your tire manufacturer warranty. pirelli p6?

[Bairum]

I doubt the dealer will replace the tire, although I guess its certainly worth trying.

Depending on your tread depth on your other 3 tires, you might have to replace all 4. I just had a similar situation where I ran over a screw and no one (Firestone for instance) would just replace the one tire. The screw was basically on the sidewall so the tire couldn't be fixed. Apparently it states the following relating to the tread depth in the manual:

• "rolling radius of all 4 tires must remain the same" or within 4/32-inch of each other in remaining tread depth.

My other three tires are fine so I opted to just buy a single tire from Tirerack. They have a tire shaving service for $35 which I luckily found while googling for a solution. Anyway, check it out in case you have to replace all 4 tires, as 1 is definitely much better/cheaper than 4.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=18

[bigblue]

Ya a bubble is your fault... you hit something... a pothole or whatever... and if your tires are withing 2/32 of a new one you can replace just one... otherwise your boned

[hender]

Oh, and

look on the INTERNET

Audifan's snark is right.
You can start on this INTERNET site here:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ire-wall...WTF

[AudiFan6482]

most tire manufacturers such as hankook cover bubbles as a "manufacturer defect" as long as your the original owner of the tires(bought or came new) they will replace it with whatever shop you choose.

Pirelli is just about the same way.
(from Pirelli's warranty)
If there's no impact damage, it's a Pirelli warranty item at any authorized Pirelli dealer. Replacement is free for 1 year from original purchase & thereafter:

After the initial warranty period, if a Pirelli tire becomes unserviceable due to workmanship or material anomalies, the owner must pay the cost for a new Pirelli replacement tire on a pro-rata basis. The authorized Pirelli dealer will determine the cost by multiplying the percentage of the original usable tread worn by the current dealer selling price. The owner must pay for any associated service charges, including mounting and balancing of the tire.

The owner, when making a claim under the terms of this warranty, must present the tire along with proof of purchase to any authorized Pirelli dealer.

i said to the dealer because im pretty sure they are authorized Pirelli dealers.

[snowdogg]

tire mfgr will make good if you purchased the "ROAD HAZARD" option... otherwise you're SOL [my experience with Pirelli] but try what others have posted... you may get lucky.

[MrStuff]

They have a tire shaving service for $35 which I luckily found while googling for a solution. Anyway, check it out in case you have to replace all 4 tires, as 1 is definitely much better/cheaper than 4.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=18

Great find! I had no idea a service like this was offered.

[ramvfin2003]

Yokohama 255/30 ZR 20s

Spoke to Yokohama in CA, they opened a case and need to take the car to a Yokohama authorized shop to have it inspected and we go from there.

My dealership was worthless!!!

[jordancl]

Bubbles are a result of a manufacturing defect OR impact stress. They will take the tire off the wheel and inspect the inside of the sidewall. They can tell by the looks of the inner wall whether it was a defect or if you hit something to cause the stress.

gl

[ultra]

well if you had 20s on your A4 they were not OE I presume, so why would the dealership help you ?

[coolwater]

Bubbles are dangerous. Tires and brakes cannot be skimped on. Bring it to a couple more tires places and see what they suggest. They may be able to do the tirerack shaving on one tire and get you back in business. Last thing we all need is a highway blowout especially in this recent inclement weather.

Good luck.

-cW

[NickZag]

A bubble in the sidewall is probably a defect in the tire, especially with only having 3k miles on them. You would have to scrap something hard enough to take a huge chuck out of the sidewall or hit something hard enough to bend/crack a wheel to get a bubble. The sidewall is the strongest part of the tire.

[ham hands bill]

[ramvfin2003]

well if you had 20s on your A4 they were not OE I presume, so why would the dealership help you ?

Stasis package was purchased new from dealership

[ramvfin2003]

Bubbles are a result of a manufacturing defect OR impact stress. They will take the tire off the wheel and inspect the inside of the sidewall. They can tell by the looks of the inner wall whether it was a defect or if you hit something to cause the stress.

gl

First tire place I went to did not even take the tire off, just looked at it and said "low profile, you hit something". Then went on to try and sell me the same tire for $400.00 then down to $198.00 installed. I baby my car, am the only one who drives it. I would know if I hit something.

[NickZag]

First tire place I went to did not even take the tire off, just looked at it and said "low profile, you hit something". Then went on to try and sell me the same tire for $400.00 then down to $198.00 installed. I baby my car, am the only one who drives it. I would know if I hit something.

I'd call BS. You would REALLY have felt hitting something to put a bubble in the sidewall. I've seen people break wheels before damaging the sidewall of a tire. It's always amazing to see companies pass the buck... I guess Yokohama doesn't want to cop up to having a defective product. Probably the last set of Yokohama's you'll ever buy. Great customer service move on they're part.

[wpod]

and unfortunately found out from the Firestone Dealer that in 97+% of the cases, a sidewall bubble is caused by an impact (pothole or curb) and will most likely not be covered by the manufacturer. Appears to be a trait of low profile tires, and from what I was told, the bigger the rim, the higher the chance for a sidewall failure , especially on these pothole infested North Eastern US streets. Ask your dealer if you can purchase one of those upgraded tire warranties that cover sidewall damage..... for the next time. Good Luck, regards, Paul, Providence, RI

[wpod]

how was that sidewall damage caused? I'd love to hear the story that goes along with that tire (Achilles ? - as in heel ?.... who makes that tire??). Please elaborate. Thanks, Paul

[ham hands bill]

Some cheezy tire brand called achilles. 235/40/18. Believe it or not. the tire held in 38lbs of air! Must have been a crappy re-inforced side wall.

[jordancl]

First tire place I went to did not even take the tire off, just looked at it and said "low profile, you hit something". Then went on to try and sell me the same tire for $400.00 then down to $198.00 installed. I baby my car, am the only one who drives it. I would know if I hit something.

I'm not insinuating you wouldn't know if you hit something, just making it more clear to a bunch of the first replies saying it's obviously a manufacturing defect. But yeah, I'd pretty much demand that the tire be taken off and I would want to be shown the weakend section as well as receive an explanation of how its caused by 'hitting something'.

I'd call BS. You would REALLY have felt hitting something to put a bubble in the sidewall. I've seen people break wheels before damaging the sidewall of a tire. It's always amazing to see companies pass the buck... I guess Yokohama doesn't want to cop up to having a defective product. Probably the last set of Yokohama's you'll ever buy. Great customer service move on they're part.

The lower the profile tire the weaker the sidewall. I've never put a bubble on 20s but I know I put a bubble on a 18 l/p hitting a relatively light pothole.

[ramvfin2003]

Second place I went to was a lot more professional. There is "impact" damage and slight damage to my rimm so I guess I wouldn’t know that I hit something, these damn NJ roads.

So since I occasionally drive my 13 month old daughter in the car, I need to be safe. So the question is, can I just replace the tire for now and leave the slightly damaged rimm to be replaced in the spring or is that unsafe and will that screw up the new tire?

[NickZag]

Second place I went to was a lot more professional. There is "impact" damage and slight damage to my rimm so I guess I wouldn’t know that I hit something, these damn NJ roads.

So since I occasionally drive my 13 month old daughter in the car, I need to be safe. So the question is, can I just replace the tire for now and leave the slightly damaged rimm to be replaced in the spring or is that unsafe and will that screw up the new tire?

Is the rim cracked or bent? You can live with a bend, but a crack is serious

[coolwater]

Not sure of your car specs. But I have some 17's with Tires (Pirelli P6's) for sale in the classifieds.
Only 7k miles on them.

http://www.audizine.com/classifieds/...-wheels&cat=46

$500.00 picked up. Very fair price for B8 A4 OEM wheels with tires.

PM me if you are interested.

-cW

[Pared]

Second place I went to was a lot more professional. There is "impact" damage and slight damage to my rimm so I guess I wouldn’t know that I hit something, these damn NJ roads.

So since I occasionally drive my 13 month old daughter in the car, I need to be safe. So the question is, can I just replace the tire for now and leave the slightly damaged rimm to be replaced in the spring or is that unsafe and will that screw up the new tire?

Your best bet is to replace the rim. A bent rim will cause that same bubble to a new tire as well.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news. This has been my experience so hopefully it helps you. Of course you can always risk not repairing the rim but just imagine that new tire on a messed up rim... Not good...

[jordancl]

A bent rim won't cause a bubble to form the same way. The bubble was formed from impact stress, which is what also bent the rim. A bent rim can cause all sorts of other problems like uneven wear or chronic low tire pressure but shouldn't form a bubble. Based on the OP saying he didn't remember hitting anything, the bend is probably slight anyway.

[ramvfin2003]

A bent rim won't cause a bubble to form the same way. The bubble was formed from impact stress, which is what also bent the rim. A bent rim can cause all sorts of other problems like uneven wear or chronic low tire pressure but shouldn't form a bubble. Based on the OP saying he didn't remember hitting anything, the bend is probably slight anyway.

The bend in the rimm is so slight you cant even see it. When I run my finger around the lip of the rimm, I can feel the slight bend.

[Pared]

A bent rim won't cause a bubble to form the same way. The bubble was formed from impact stress, which is what also bent the rim. A bent rim can cause all sorts of other problems like uneven wear or chronic low tire pressure but shouldn't form a bubble. Based on the OP saying he didn't remember hitting anything, the bend is probably slight anyway.

Sometimes you get things like that and you don't even know it.

Truth be told, you don't even know if it's worse elsewhere on the wheel unless you take the tire off... but your point is a good one as well.

[quality_sound]

Yokohama 255/30 ZR 20s

Spoke to Yokohama in CA, they opened a case and need to take the car to a Yokohama authorized shop to have it inspected and we go from there.

My dealership was worthless!!!

Why is this even a surprise? There is a tire warranty supplement in your manual folder for a reason...

[johnnythepie]

Its sidewall seperation plain and simple.Bad manufacture.

[ultra]

Stasis package was purchased new from dealership

well did you contact Stasis ?

[NickZag]

I just read this again and I think I'm changing my opinion. I didn't notice that your running 20" wheels with a 30 series sidewall. I think it's likely that a pothole could caused the bubble to the tire, especially with the damage done to the wheel. Unfortunately thats the price for going with a larger wheel, and there isn't anyway around it. I would still say I'm a little surprised that this would happen on just a size 30 series sidewall, but if the wheel shows damage in that spot then it's hard to debate. It could be a mix of a weaker tire meeting a nasty pothole, but unfortunately it's hard to argue with the manufacture on this one. Hopefully you get it taken care of though. I still think they would be better off just replacing it and keeping your business.

[Dasquade]

I didn't read the full topic, but around here puthole dammage can be cleamed back from your insurence...from what i heard. Offcourse you somehow need to proof it (road) and have a good insurence policy.
Just mentioning...but maybe worth checking out.