ARTICLE: How to handle (and prevent) a Tyre Burst / Blowout

[adimicra]

Found the culprit - there is a hacksaw blade into the tyre.

Some idiot would have thrown it on the road and unfortunately it chose to go in my tyre

Anyways, I am lucky in a sense that it was the rear tyre and not the front.

Also, I have realized one more thing - a Tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) along with air pump/inflator is mandatory to any outstation trip. Also, pay attention to any unusual noise vibration etc.

Any advice on how could I have possibly found out the issue beforehand which would have saved the tyre and also the scare?

[wanderernomad]

Generally you will notice a slight wobble and if you let go of the steering the vehicle will give you a slight feeling of a glide since its a rear tire. Stop, get down, visually inspect the tires and if every thing is ok start off again. But stop at the next tire shop and check for pressure loss. XM2 are good treads and can take a lot of beating.

[adimicra]

Thanks @wanderernomad.
I think air loss from the front tyre should be easier to identify. Can you please tell me what symptoms I should watch out for in that case?
Also, any symptoms regarding left or right tyre to look out for ?

[wanderernomad]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Thanks @wanderernomad.
I think air loss from the front tyre should be easier to identify. Can you please tell me what symptoms I should watch out for in that case?
Also, any symptoms regarding left or right tyre to look out for ?

Front tyre pressure loss is immediately noticeable from the steering feedback. The vehicle will steer towards the direction where the tyre is loosing pressure. Its the rear tires that generally go unnoticed at times even to the most sensitive of the drivers.

[mi2n]

Are there any precedence of air pressure gradually building up in tyres ? Sounds stupid but I had filled air (32 psi all around) in my Figo 8 weeks back. A fortnight later I felt the ride to be harsh and little bouncy so went in to check the pressure. The readings were 35FR,36FL,33RR,34RL. Thinking the last fill-up had messed things up I correct it back to 32 psi. Now, today I felt similar harshness and bouncy ride, so drove in to a new bunk to check the pressure. It read 35,35,32,33! I have no idea what's happening here!

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by mi2n

Are there any precedence of air pressure gradually building up in tyres ? Sounds stupid but I had filled air (32 psi all around) in my Figo 8 weeks back. A fortnight later I felt the ride to be harsh and little bouncy so went in to check the pressure. The readings were 35FR,36FL,33RR,34RL. Thinking the last fill-up had messed things up I correct it back to 32 psi. Now, today I felt similar harshness and bouncy ride, so drove in to a new bunk to check the pressure. It read 35,35,32,33! I have no idea what's happening here!

Better do a few regular weekly check-ups at the same place. Not clear if you did this or went to different places. Also, a pressure of 32 PSI in cold tyres, can show 34+ PSI when the tyre is hot.

[puchoo]

Should have posted earlier but better late than never , have gone from being reader to having had experience now on tyre bursts , attaching photo of the way the tyre burst on my Linea in August - coming back , reasonably good roads , only at about 55 KMPH and no prior indicators whatsoever and then it just happened.

Managed to control the car decently enough but could not avoid the left fender going into a guard rail - it bounced off it rather than dig in but i had to change the fender a few weeks ago , completely new panel

By the time Good Year customer service decided to respond i was already running on new one's and the older ones had been sold off to the dealer - i replaced all of them and kept the best one out of the original set for a full size alloy backup.

As can be seen clearly , the bumper was torn from its spot this side of the car thanks to it being hit by the loose rubber , fortunately fixing the bumper was a 5 min job. The alloy seen with the burst tyre also miraculously managed to avoid being bent or injured in any manner.

[BipB]

Dears, Is this cut/crack dangerous? I have not seen it myself. Just received this from our driver. He just noticed it while cleaning the car.

Make is Bridgestone , on a Safari storme (2015-June) . Has done only around 8,000 kms.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by BipB

Dears, Is this cut/crack dangerous? I have not seen it myself. Just received this from our driver. He just noticed it while cleaning the car.

Make is Bridgestone , on a Safari storme (2015-June) . Has done only around 8,000 kms.

Yes it is buddy. Get this tyre swapped to the stepney you have in your Safari.

When on the move this crack will give way definitely leading to larger problems.

[BipB]

Thanks Anurag. Bad luck continues! Spare tyre already had a bad puncture.
In our old dicor, with similar tyres I never had a single puncture for around 45,000 kms.

[virgopal]

"The car didn't slide, there was no drama at all.....reason? ESP. The electronics kept the car in a straight line"
GTO,could you explain what is the ESP feature and how did it help you in the situation?
Thanks

[Metallicar]

My front tires have worn little less then the rear ones. I am going to put the rear ones in front and front in rear. Now my doubt is whether I need wheel alignment too ?

[Vigkey]

Till about 3-4 months back, our pre-owned Dzire ZXi (2010 model) had run ~32k in 6 years. It was running on stock tires as the condition looked good enough. Especially since we thought our low running did not demand a new set of tires. The usage pattern of our car is pretty much like this:

• Lie idle in the closed garage / open parking for 2-3 weeks under the car cover
• Travel ~750 kms in 3-4 days
• Cycle continues

These are the 3 incidents, that led me to make a post here, on this topic.

1. 3 months back - in October: In one of our trips from Trivandrum to Madurai, the front left tire burst off. It was a slightly downward slope and turning towards right. My speed was ~50kmph and I managed to steer the car to the left and stopped without any drama. I had just inflated the tire with Nitrogen to 36 psi on all 4 wheels that morning (~60 kms before the burst). I had noticed a floating feel on the left side of the car for some time and my wife felt the ride was too bumpy and she felt like being thrown around. I thought it was because the guy had not inflated that tire properly - maybe it was under inflated or was inflated too much. I was going pretty slow because of this and in anticipation to find a tire shop to get the pressure checked. The tire burst before I could do so. We found a tire shop close by, he helped us with removing the burst tire and fitted the spare tire and we were back on the road in 20 mins. I concluded it was because of an over-inflated or under-inflated tire.
   
   Before I move on to the story further I have to make a confession that I was stupid enough not to buy a new tire and get the spare back in place We had made a 2-3 of Madurai to Trivandrum to Madurai trips since then without a spare. Now, the spare alloy was in Trivandrum with our mechanic (don't ask me why).
   
   
2. This month - first week: Was on a return trip from Madurai to Trivandrum, the front right tire burst off. This was on a pretty flat road and a left turn. My speed was again ~50kmph and I managed to steer the car to the left and stopped smoothly. The tires were inflated with normal air to 36 psi on all 4 wheels a week back only. The ride was smooth and I had not at all anticipated this to happen. We were stranded in a village without a spare and with the nearest tire dealer (MRF) some 20 kms away. Had no option but to 1. Go there and buy the tire 2. Remove the alloy 3. Take it to a puncture guy, get the new tire fitted to the wheel and inflate it and 4. Finally fit the car with the wheel. Did all that and it took 2 hours + Rs. 4500 to get all this done. We had made a pit-stop in a temple some 15 minuted before this burst and the parking had a VERY rough terrain with stones all around. I told myself that I must have hit some stone badly while taking a turn which might have caused this burst.
   
   I also suspected some issue with the suspension or bearing or some other part which might have caused undue force on the tires, which triggered the burst. Reason - Left tire burst while taking a right turn and vice versa. So, left the car at Bosch service station and told them the entire incidents. They inspected and said the suspension and bearing were all fine. However, the lower arm and tie-rod ends were having a lot of wear. These parts were replaced and I felt the car was back in shape.
   
   By now, I had decided that in my next trip to Trivandrum, I will get 4 new Bridgestones / Michelins and keep the MRF as the spare and do away with ~7 yer old JKs. Since the spare wheel was still with our mechanic in Trivandrum, I still did not have a spare tire.
   
   
3. Today: This time, it was my dad driving. I was not in town. Dad, Mom, my wife and kid were travelling to my sister's place and the trip was all fine. While parking in an open spot near my sister's home, appears that the left tire (the original spare tire which was in duty after the first burst) brushed a waste sheet of plywood. Dad immediately inspected the tire and confirmed that there was no visual damage or air leak. However, after 4-5 hours, while they were back to the car to return home, the left tire was flat with a cut in side wall. Dad thinks it could have been because of the brush with the sheet of wood, but I wonder if brushing with a plywood sheet at parking speeds would cause so much of a damage?
   
   Anyways, he got a new tire and fixed it and the car was back on road.

I am left wondering if it was sheer bad luck that we had 3 tire damages in the last 3 months? Is there some mechanical mistake that we have not checked / taken care so far? Or is it the age of the underused JK tires that is causing all this menace? Is it because of our usage pattern where the car is left idle for a long time before we take it for a long journey? Am I missing something with regards to maintaining the tire?

I am taking delivery of our new S-Cross in a couple of weeks. JK tires on them is already receiving a lot of flak and that coupled with my experience over the last 3 months has ensured that I am definitely going for a tire upgrade. But, I would like to know from the experts if I have to learn a key lesson from these 3 episodes (other than to make sure a spare tire is ALWAYS available).

[devsoftech]

Originally Posted by Vigkey

...Lie idle in the closed garage / open parking for 2-3 weeks under the car cover...

...My speed was ~50kmph and I managed to steer the car to the left and stopped without any drama....I was going pretty slow because of this and in anticipation to find a tire shop to get the pressure checked

You have solved it for yourself. Get yourself a tyre pressure gauge at the least. S-Cross can benefit with a TPMS kit, if budget restricts, a pressure gauge is definitely worth it. Even nice to have a portable compressor and puncture toolkit. Also, I don't know about you, but some of us will not stop the car and keep driving till we find the "worthy" shop or restaurant. When it comes to safety, reviewing the tyre pressure ASAP was the key thing.

Also for the benefit of others, it will help to know how you responded to the tyre burst. Does it make you nervous, or a heart stop. After how many seconds did you realise that you had a burst (reaction-time) ? How did you keep things in control ? How was the steering behaviour ?

[Vigkey]

Originally Posted by devsoftech

Also for the benefit of others, it will help to know how you responded to the tyre burst. Does it make you nervous, or a heart stop. After how many seconds did you realise that you had a burst (reaction-time) ? How did you keep things in control ? How was the steering behaviour ?

If did make me nervous for a second, mainly because I had my wife and kid in the car - on both occasions. No heart stops or passing out though .

In the first instance, since I felt something was wrong with the tire, I was very cautious and the second I head the "poof" sound, I told my wife "the tire is gone". Since the speed was pretty low, there was not much of drama. I was on the third or fourth gear when it happened and I down-shifted to second gear, slowly applied brakes and slowly turned to the open space on the left side of the road in front of a tea shop. There was not much misbehavior from the steering or the car overall - it followed my inputs pretty decently.

In the second instance, it took me a second extra to understand it was a burst because things were very smooth until that moment. By then, the alloy also started rubbing against the tarmac. That sound got my mother very nervous but I was calm - I had seen it before. Again, I down shifted and the car stopped in a couple of seconds. But it was in a turning and in the middle of the road. I stepped out and confirmed that the tire burst, got in put the car on first gear, slowly moved the car forward with 0 inputs on the gas and minimum steering input. Car was running on the wheel making rough sounds, but I had to do it to avoid an accident. Parked the car on the side and put up the hazard triangle.