Cooper Tire 225/55R18 ATT - Manufacturer Defect or Damage?

Had an incident driving my vehicle (SUV) on a sealed road travelling 35 KM/H after a left turn with a vehicle in front and behind when the front-left tyre dropped pressure from 36 to 0 PSI in seconds causing the vehicle to swerve.

Tyres are 11,500 KM into their mileage.

Tried to claim under warranty since I believed it was not a puncture or cut as there was no debris indicative of causing damage.
Tyre damage to the side-wall and no inward markings from something penetrating the wall.

Tyre Deflated
Tyre Whole
Tyre Closeup 1
Tyre Closeup 2

Had a meetup with the dealer and a representative of Cooper Tires and I was not too happy with the analysis.
Asked to send the analysis in writing to me which is described below (Tyre Dealership and Names Removed):

Thanks for meeting up with me this afternoon, From our meeting this afternoon for Inspection of 225/55R18 ATT COOPER, Looking at the tyre and wheel it clearly shows that an impact has occurred slicing the sidewall and damage to alloy wheel.
As I said a tyre wont just blow out without some sort of impact or tyre deflation.
Tyre dealership has offered a replacement tyre @ cost including free fitting & Balance plus disposal of old tyre.
Unfortunately this type of damage does occur now and then and sometimes not even seeing what’s on the road can cause the damage.

Just wanted a second opinion, moving on.

On another note, the representative mentioned As I said a tyre wont just blow out without some sort of impact or tyre deflation
So when does a tyre fall under a defect warranty? Just driving the vehicle normally is causing impact on the tyre.

Poll Options expired

  • 0
    Manufacturer Defect
  • 37
    Damage (Cut/Slice/Puncture)

Comments

  • +7

    Damage (Cut/Slice/Puncture)

    /tread

    • A car sliced his tyres?

    • +4

      /tread

      Da boom tish

  • +4

    Tyres are 11,500 KM

    you'd think a defect would have shown up well before then, and your pic looks awfully like a slice from outside inwards

  • +2

    Got to love the scuff marks on the tyre wall from rubbing against something (most commonly a gutter).

    On the second photo there is a huge scrape on the wheel that is right next to the cut. This shows OP scraped something and when ever was hit cut the tyre.

  • +1

    Just because you didn’t see any debris, doesn’t mean you didn’t hit any. Definitely hit something.

  • +1

    Are you the only driver of the Kia?

  • +1

    PSA: MyCar have 1 year road damage free replacement policy.

    https://www.mycar.com.au/offers/all-offers-and-benefits

    • I had soft sidewall tyres failing in car parks.
      I have seen fleet customers getting 4 new tyres if one became suss under their policy.

  • +1

    Hit the gutter, you don't get that sort of deep damage on a rim from a "defect" (closeup 1) … lol

    (Image 1) shows a lot of gutter hits on the walls already :/

    It isn't hard to learn where your wheels sit on the road while driving, it will save you many tyres in the future ;)

  • Get a new Kia that knows where to drive!

  • +1

    Fresh witness mark from hitting a gutter in the exact place the tyre 'blew out'. cut and dried case of gutter bashing, maybe you hit part of the protective metal cover some gutter drains have on them but either way the fault was caused by the loose nut behind the wheel.

  • You've punched that I to a curb or a pothole.

  • Unanimous. Sorry OP.

  • +2

    Lol… oh, it’s a defect alright… in the nut behind the steering wheel. Common issue with these kind of sidewall issues. Loose nut behind the steering wheel… does it every time.

  • +1

    Defective driver

  • I mean, it's quite clearly a cut - there's even corresponding damage on the rim.

  • In addition to the damage on the rim that others have mentioned you can see the gouging of the letter V just before the sidewall cut/puncture occurred.

  • After 11,500km thats not a defect.
    somethings sliced your sidewall/you've driven it against a kerb a few too many times.

    Maybe in the first couple of hundred k's it would be a defect and could be claimed.

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