[A.K.]

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Originally Posted by Rehaan

The airbag sensor (accelerometer) relies on a very sudden force (extremely high rate of deceleration) to deploy the airbags.
==============The fact that both your left side tyres were instantly punctured points to the severity of the impact on that side too.

cya
R

"Interesting experience"
Well, it's qualified as a terrifying one to me, Rehaan.

It sounds like a reasonable explanation.
The sensor mistaking the jolt as an impact.

I blame those damn Goodyear NCT5 tyres for this.
Lots of people on this forum have had bad experience with those tyres.
If I remember correctly, Sam's Superb also had blown tyres.

My car is not even 20k kms old.
I thought I would wait till 40k before replacing them.
Guess they gave up way before their time.

Originally Posted by mobike008

AK, Weird experience and glad to know it ended well. Can you give us more insights on the tyre? Make, how many kms it has done etc.
=================
Sorry for so many questions but, it would be interesting to know the answers. Thanks in advance

You're pretty correct on the location, mobike008.
It was after Humnabad. I was just 150 kms away from Hyderabad.

Oh it's taken lots of potholes before.
But this was a bad stretch made worse due to rains.

As I said before I blame the tyres - Goodyear NCT5.
20,000 kms run - 3 years old
Visibly in very good nick.
They were OEM fitment with the car.

I never asked them reason for deployment.
Mahavir Auto, Hyderabad took care of all repairs & they were fantastic.
No issues at all.

Had to pay approx 30% of the cost of repairs.
I didn't have the zero depreciation policy.

[deetee]

One off incident or not, it seems considerable impact on tyre can trigger airbags. Not sure how much impact can be called 'considerable'.
Hope this is not going offtopic, else I request mods to move the post. Some links:

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=95054
My Front passenger side tire blows out, while simultaneously deploying the drivers side airbag right into my face!
The impact throws my glasses off my head, and the whole cabin fills with airbag smoke, while tring to get to the break down lane.. Luckly, there were not too many cars around, and my friend was driving behind me.

http://65.110.12.166/showthread.php?t=271938
It happened to me today. Hit something on the road(icy condition) then rear tire blew up and in split seconds side curtain airbag deployed. Did this happen to anyone before?

http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forum...rbag-Deployed&
Hit pothole on left passenger seat front tyre. Tyre was burst, door and curtain airbag deployed. Airbag faulty light on.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=1966716
Driving home from work on a busy road, his driver's side air bags suddenly deployed (steering wheel bag and pass side bags did not blow). He's okay...his arms and head took a beating from the air bags, but seeing as the car wasn't in a wreck, he's otherwise okay.
The front driver's side tire had a sidewall blowout.

And this is from India:

http://www.******************.com/fo...0-airbags.html
I met with an accident as a bike rammed in to the right side of my car tyre which burst on impact and the sensors got activated with airbags deploying at full speed.I and my wife were wearing seat belts so I was not injured but the airbag hit my wife's left arm and the arm got factured.I was fustrated as the accident was a small one but due to airbags my wfe got injured and she has to take rest for nearly 4-6 months.Is it normal??

[amitoj]

The i20 accident in the accidents thread (again due to tyre burst) brought me to this thread and i felt the need to highlight this point below:

Originally Posted by GTO

Reducing the odds of a Tyre blowout:

• Never overload the vehicle. Ensure that your tyre’s load rating (specified on the sidewall) and vehicle payload capacity are never exceeded.

How often do we check whether we are overloading our vehicle or not? And are mindful of this fact when driving?

[adi_sun]

Great thread, covers largely every scenario.
Will like to add one, in most parts of UP if you are driving in night and suddenly you feel there is a Tyre blowout, elders advise never ever to stop . Its a typical way of being robbed. I am no expert here but would like others to share their view. The Tyre blowout thread talks about how to handle this, can some one help explain how to move on ?

regards,

[Ascari]

Guys is there any way one can spot a bulge on inner side of the tyre? I mean a bulge on the outer side may be spotted but how do you spot a bulge on the inner side?

I am no fan of thin side walled tires, particularly on roads as bad as ours.You could be doing triple digit speeds and suddenly out of nowhere you hit a bad patch or a badly designed unmarked speed breaker.I have had multiple bulges and sidewall cracks on my cars.

To be honest with you I can maintain a higher average speed on my laura with stock high profile tires than on my E class on our roads(Not on the GQ's but nevertheless) simply because I am too scared to hit a pothole at speed and lose another 16 grand on a blown Tyre. I feel high performance tires simply don't work in our country particularly if you take your car down some of terribly paved state highways.

Originally Posted by deetee

does airbags deploy when a tyre blows out?

No, my Linea's airbags didn't deploy. My Linea had a tyre burst on NH 1 between Karnal and Chandigarh on 24 September 2012 during our Himachal Pradesh trip.

After a delicious lunch at Pahalwan Dhaba, Murthal, I was cruising at 80 kmph on the left lane of NH1, crossing Sonepat, Panipat and Karnal. Suddenly, I heard a loud bang. My wife, who was enjoying a siesta after a good meal, froze. My Linea dragged towards the left. I knew, it was the front right tyre burst. I brought my Linea to halt on the extreme left of NH1. Thankfully, there was very less traffic on NH1 at that time of the day. I got down and inspected. Yes, it was the tyre burst with more than a foot of tyre opened up on the tread portion including sidewall, exposing metallic mesh beneath the rubber layer.

It was OE stock Good Year GT3 nearing 52 k km at the time of burst. I did not replace them at Bangalore before starting the trip as they had sufficient tread for another few thousand km. I had planned to replace 4 of the GT3s at Chandigarh as they cost less at Chandigarh than at Bangalore. I got them replaced with the new GT3s at Tyre Zone, Manimajra, Chandigarh, the next day and continued our trip.

Till today, it remains an unsolved puzzle to me as to why that tyre got burst as the tyre's air pressure was okay; it didn't have any deformation/bulge with only two of us travelling. I checked the tyres twice at Yamuna Expressway, but did not expect that it would burst in another few hundred km!

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

I knew, it was the front right tyre burst. It was OE stock Good Year GT3 nearing 52 k km at the time of burst. I had planned to replace 4 of the GT3s at Chandigarh as they cost less at Chandigarh than at Bangalore.

Till today, it remains an unsolved puzzle to me as to why that tyre got burst

Ravi, I am horrified to read about your experience and so glad that nothing untoward happened to you and your family (and the car) from that incident.

A tyre blow out at highway speeds can be disastrous where a driver can lose control of the car. Hate to sound morbid but that can be a death sentence.

A tyre that has done 52K kms are at the end of life or nearing end of life. Did you check the Tread Wear Indicator? That will help you decide when the tyres should be replaced.

I believe you should have replaced them before heading off on your long journey. No amount of money is worth putting yourself and your family at risk.

A couple of years back I had taken my wife out to dinner, it was our wedding anniversary. The restaurant we planned to visit was in an area with a lot of building and sundry construction activity going on. A metal bar or stone slashed the sidewalls of both left hand tyres. There was no puncture, no bulge absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.

I use my car for long distance runs and would not take a risk how so ever small. I had the entire set of 5 replaced that very week.

Originally Posted by R2D2

Did you check the Tread Wear Indicator?

Thanks, R2D2. I didn't check tread wear indicator. But, before starting the trip, I checked the tread depth in each tyre by depth gauge. They had 3 to 4 mm deep tread. So, I planned to have them replaced at Chandigarh. Thank god, nothing untoward happened.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by Ascari

Guys is there any way one can spot a bulge on inner side of the tyre? I mean a bulge on the outer side may be spotted but how do you spot a bulge on the inner side?

Spotting a bulge on the inner sidewall is tricky. I make it a point to get down on my knees and feel the inside sidewall of all four tyres before starting out on a long journey. My folks think I'm crazy, but on our highways these days I find that majority of the time I am travelling at triple digit speeds and I shudder to think what would happen if any of my tyres were to burst.

I feel one sure shot give away of a bulge in any sidewall is vibrations felt in the steering and the suspension at higher speeds. This is another good reason why we must keep our wheels well balanced, coz if your wheels are already vibrating (due to imbalance) you are oblivious to any signs that would indicate a sidewall bulge.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Thanks, R2D2. I didn't check tread wear indicator. But, before starting the trip, I checked the tread depth in each tyre by depth gauge. They had 3 to 4 mm deep tread. So, I planned to have them replaced at Chandigarh. Thank god, nothing untoward happened.

Please keep a close eye on your tyres. Indian roads are punishing and tyres last no where close to what they would in the West where good roads and well enforced driving behavior generally lead to better tyre life.

Make it a habit to check the tyre sidewall and treads (for stuck rocks/objects) at least once a week, tyre pressure every fortnight.

Check tread depth/wear once in 6 months, more frequently if you run your car like a fleet taxi. Wheel balancing & alignment should be performed every 5-10 kms or 6-12 months. Check your owners manual for the recommended frequency.

The best friend to ascertain tread wear is, well, the tread wear indicator. Take a note of the TWI on your tyre's side wall. Once the tyres are past service life a line/rib appears that crosses the width of the tyre. You must get your tyres replaced at that point in time. Alternatively any tyre shop should have a tread depth measuring gauge.

You may have read about horrifying accidents on the Mumbai Pune expressway. Many were caused by tyre blow outs. Most people forget
to treat their tyres well. That hand size patch of rubber is what your car (and the car driver/passengers' lives) ride on.

Cheers!

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Spotting a bulge on the inner sidewall is tricky. I make it a point to get down on my knees and feel the inside sidewall of all four tyres before starting out on a long journey. My folks think I'm crazy, but on our highways these days I find that majority of the time I am travelling at triple digit speeds and I shudder to think what would happen if any of my tyres were to burst.

+1

What I do is turn the steering to the left and subsequently the right lock position which exposes the inner sidewall to a certain extent.

I examine the tyre using a bright torch for any bulges from both sides (front & rear, where rear is the side nearest the mud flap ) of each tyre.

It is good to perform these inspections every month or two and as soon as possible after hitting a rock, sidewalk or deep pot hole.

[SujAce]

Hi GTO,
Excellent article. Was planning for a long drive this weekend and was browsing thru' TBHP for informative articles.
Good one this, even though I read this almost 3-4 months late !!

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Till today, it remains an unsolved puzzle to me as to why that tyre got burst as the tyre's air pressure was okay; it didn't have any deformation/bulge with only two of us travelling. I checked the tyres twice at Yamuna Expressway, but did not expect that it would burst in another few hundred km!

I came across your this link at your Linea thread.

The same thing happened to me. You remember Dalkola? After crossing the Dalkola toll, I heard a loud bang, but dismissed it & within the next 200mtrs, knew one tire has gone. It was the rear right one.

To this day, it is a surprise as the car tire didn't pick up anything that sheared it & the tire's side wall was cut from inside.

Originally Posted by Sheel

To this day, it is a surprise as the car tire didn't pick up anything that sheared it & the tire's side wall was cut from inside.

That's why, I replaced the deformed tyre after I found that bulge the other day as I did not want to take any chance any more. Once bitten, twice shy. Already, life is full of surprises; why to add more to that list!

[GTO]

This moron has 20 lakhs for a Jetta, but not 40 thousand for new tyres. Sooner or later, he's going to learn a lesson the hard way.