[Phukan23]

Originally Posted by Vitruvius

I'd like to update regarding the query that I had raised earlier.

I had a tyre sidewall bulge on my new-ish Yoko Earth1s that were driven for 7000 odd kms.

I took it to the dealer from whom I had purchased them last year. They were still under warranty.

The tyre was unmounted from the rim, and I was not surprised to find a small hole on the inside of the sidewall bulge. The hole would've been 3mm in length at most. And although the bulge was at the sidewall, this hole was more towards the tread area from within.

Presence of a hole on the inside usually means that the sidewall bulge has occurred following some trauma to the tyre, not unlike what happens when you hit a deep pothole at relatively high speed.

The dealer promptly raised a warranty claim, and measured the tread depth. I was finally asked to pay Rs 1100 towards the warranty claim, and was given a fresh tyre as replacement.
Upon seeing the damage inside, I was expecting the dealer to refuse the claim, but to my surprise I didn't even have to discuss anything with him.

Kudos to Yokohama, and their dealer!!

I think the claim was handled under their 'Unconditional Warranty' program(?)


Attachment 2238221
Attachment 2238222
pictures of the tyre (posted earlier also), and the damage to the inside.



Attachment 2238223
If you look closely at the image, you might see a broken steel cable within. Damn our potholes!!

I installed Earth 1's today. Regarding warranty the dealer said that there isn't any specific warranty card, rather they asked to keep the receipt property. Dealer said that, to claim warranty i just need to show the receipt.

[Vitruvius]

Originally Posted by Phukan23

I installed Earth 1's today. Regarding warranty the dealer said that there isn't any specific warranty card, rather they asked to keep the receipt property. Dealer said that, to claim warranty i just need to show the receipt.

No. Your dealer has to complete registration on Yokohama Smart Service application. You just have to give him your contact details, and you will get an OTP that the dealer will enter in this application.



If you have bought the tires recently, get this done soon, because according to Yokohama website, this process has to be completed within 7 days of buying.




When I had applied for warranty claim, the Registration sms was the first thing the dealer asked me to provide. Save a screenshot of the sms in your email inbox just in case you decide to change your phone and you lose it in the process.

[Phukan23]

Originally Posted by Vitruvius

No. Your dealer has to complete registration on Yokohama Smart Service application. You just have to give him your contact details, and you will get an OTP that the dealer will enter in this application.

Attachment 2241763

If you have bought the tires recently, get this done soon, because according to Yokohama website, this process has to be completed within 7 days of buying.

Attachment 2241764


When I had applied for warranty claim, the Registration sms was the first thing the dealer asked me to provide. Save a screenshot of the sms in your email inbox just in case you decide to change your phone and you lose it in the process.

Yes, the dealer did register the warranty for my tyres. It seems quite a lot of other brands like CEAT, Good Year, Bridgestone, Apollo etc allows the buyer to register by themselves.

[herculesksp]

Hi all, bumping up this thread to get support for an issue that I am facing. I have an Alcazar that < 1 year old and driven about 5K kms.

Last week while reversing there was a granite piece which was just below sensor height and the tyre rubbed past it. It ended up ripping the sidewall and the tyre just burst and all the air let out.

I took it to the Hyundai dealer who sent a warranty claim to Apollo, but they rejected warranty saying it was driver error due to sharp object (which it was, so I am not contesting this).

However is there anyway that I can get a new tyre for a discount or with a buy back. The existing tyre, though punctured, has only 1% wear. I suppose the rubber could be recycled into a new tyre or something and the entire thing wouldn't go to waste.

Isn't it possible to get a buyback for the single tyre? Is there any insurance process that I should try to go through? The new tyre is INR 10K (according to internet - have to wait for dealer's quote), and if it's a hassle with insurance and loss of NCB, then I'll just pay for it myself. But I'm hopeful for some buyback discount at least.

Any thoughts / guidance?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by herculesksp

It ended up ripping the sidewall and the tyre just burst and all the air let out.

I took it to the Hyundai dealer who sent a warranty claim to Apollo, but they rejected warranty saying it was driver error due to sharp object (which it was, so I am not contesting this).

The existing tyre, though punctured, has only 1% wear. I suppose the rubber could be recycled into a new tyre or something and the entire thing wouldn't go to waste.

Isn't it possible to get a buyback for the single tyre?

1.You generally cannot get a buy-back for a sidewall damaged tyre irrespective of wear. At best the tyre shop may give some ‘goodwill’ discount but I wouldn’t bank much on that either considering the tyre sidewall is gone.
2.Yes when you discard it at a tyre shop when mounting your new tyre, it will go off to scrap along with all the other unusable and worn tyres.
3.Im surprised at Apollo’s rejection of your warranty/ insurance claim because I received excellent support from Madhu’s Tyre store in Bangalore and Michelin tyres India when I had a sidewall cut in my Michelin Pilot Sports. Because I had specifically bought tyre insurance when I fitted those tyres.

[RubberGuru1113]

Originally Posted by herculesksp

Any thoughts / guidance?

Hello.

Linking a post of a similar issue faced by another BHPian whose warranty claim was rejected by Apollo. In his case, the Hyundai dealership was able to push Apollo into offering a 50% "goodwill" discount as mentioned by Shankar sir. Be persistent with the dealership and they might do this for you.

Originally Posted by Ays7

So I was contacted by the Hyundai team today who stated that Apollo Tyres have rejected the warranty for the tyre, stating reasons as attached in the report. The car has not gone through any impact damage or been mounted on a flat bad, improper repair, external application or so on. In fact as can be seen it is just 2658 Kms on the ODO.

The Hyundai SA is saying they are still figuring this out, but how does one challenge this report?

Are there any options that I have? This is the first time that I have encountered such a thing, any leads and helps would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by RubberGuru1113

Hello. I’m a tyre industry professional and this is a very typical issue on low profile tyres - sidewall bulges. It happens when the rim touches the inside of the tyre and creates a small rupture in the ply cords and in that region the tyre becomes like a balloon (because the fabric is not there to keep the tyre’s shape). Unfortunately a majority of companies do not cover this as part of warranty - I feel for you though, because I know that this is unavoidable in certain sizes and is a case of bad luck more than low pressure or negligence by the user.

Only JK and Ceat have an unconditional warranty policy where they would accept a claim for anything short of you slashing your tyres with a knife. However, the rest have very rigid boundaries on what is covered under warranty, and this is not considered a manufacturing defect and so will not be covered.

Just posting the experience of a BHPian whose stock Creta tyres were adjusted via warranty after (probably) miscreants had punctured the sidewall.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-...-warranty.html (Sidewall issues, Warranty or FNG? | Update: JK Tyres replaced tyre under unconditional warranty)

Also linking a post where I’d explained the pinching phenomenon in detail with visual aids (though I guess it’s scant consolation to your issue, I guess it does help to understand how it happened)

[Ays7]

Just a very quick update on this. I kept on persisting and following up with Hyundai dealership for over a month and they finally agreed to a 70% Goodwill discount over the new tyre. I could have held out for more, but it was simply not worth my incremental time and effort it would have taken. So I called it a fair compromise, paid for 30% for the new wheel and moved on.

I must say RubberGuru Sir's post explaining this gave me a lot of perspective and hence, I went ahead and agreed with a 70% Goodwill and put it down to one of those freak mishaps that can happen.

Originally Posted by RubberGuru1113

Hello.

Linking a post of a similar issue faced by another BHPian whose warranty claim was rejected by Apollo. In his case, the Hyundai dealership was able to push Apollo into offering a 50% "goodwill" discount as mentioned by Shankar sir. Be persistent with the dealership and they might do this for you.

[SmoothOperator]

Hi team,

I just observed this crack on my tires recently during washing the car. Tires are still under warranty but dealer is saying that this is cut from small sharp object.

What I feel that cut should be in straight line and not like this. I'm posting this issue here to hear more opinion.

- Is it really a cut and should not be claimed in warranty?
- if it is a cut then, definitely this is manufacturing fault in 4 months old tyres. What is correct way to claim warranty?

Thanks

[EV NXT]

This doesnt look like a cut as it doesnt have abrasive marks where a sharp object would have pierced. It looks like a crack that has occurred on account of sidewall weakness.

Sidewall cracks can also happen if driven with very low tyre pressure but then it is likely there would have been other marks on the circumference of the tyre.

You need to talk with the Michelin service engineer for your area and not the dealer.

Michelin is usually wary about admitting claims. But then their tyres are good and usually develop faults on account of abuse / improper use.

[PrasadS]

Extremely unhappy with YOKOHAMA and their refusal for any claim/goodwill for my Earth-1s

Wanted to post this as a seperate thread or on the Earth-1 page but this page seemed apt for my conundrum. I had shared my problem previously about my tyres on the forum here (When is the right time to change tyres?)

I've been trying to follow-up with Yokohama since end of Jan about this issue. After being met with an unresponsive technician, who my tyre dealer initially asked me to contact, i sent an email to Yokohama with the links to my post. The representative i was assigned again gave me vague timelines, false promises of technician visit, until today when I Put my foot down. All for the claim to be rejected in a couple of hours.

To Summarise the events:

1. 2019- OEM Apollo Alnacs went partially bald due to steering rack issues on my Skoda Rapid.
2. May 2019 - Got Yoko Earth 1 as replacement after reading good reviews on them.
3. December 2022 - 3.5 years of uneventful ownership with all Due diligence done.
4. Dec 2022Noticed weird patches of rubber erosion around the side wall.
5. Jan 2023 started searching for the cause of the same as I've not heard of anyone who own Yoko Earth1 complaint of this issue earlier
6. Jan to May 4th Constant follow-ups with Yoko to arrange someone to come and take a look at the tyres atleast
7. May 5: Finally inspection done, claim raised and rejected on same day.
   Dear Prasad, Your claim MH/23-24/37554 has been rejected under No Manufacturing Defect as it is not covered under Yokohama warranty policy. If you have any concerns,kindly connect with the dealer. Yokohama India

My main concern is that no one so far has been able to explain the cause of this chipping.
The tyres were just 3.5 years old and around 37k run in during this period. My Rapid ran on good roads within city and occasionally highways. Our Innova is the beast of burden, the heavy lifter and Rapid always got the girlfriend treatment.
I was explained that the cause of this chipping is due to running on bad roads(which the car never or very rarely did).

I informed the Yokohama representative that i am not at all confident about the tyres. I'll be soon moving around with my infant son (who's 1.5 months old now btw, and i got a Graco 4ever Dlx car seat for him thanks to the forum. Will post review once he starts using it) on long journeys. The recent Samruddhi Mahamarg tyre burst cases has me worried and I'm not at all enjoying the ride.
I wanted to go for Michelin instead of Yoko, but avoided those due to sidewall and chipping issues which people kept mentioning. Traded enjoyment for economy but it came biting me back.

What i learnt and what i expect now:
Should have checked the warranty period for Yoko(was just 1.5yrs and i assumed it was 4yrs) and blindly belived the dealer 'kuch hua toh hum hai yahan' (I was a non member T-BHP follower then)

Given the tyres still have 50% tread life left, I was expecting pro rata or Goodwill discount, but i am offered none. Yokohoma rep says tyres are at end of life, 5 years is the expected life of any tyre, and in the current condition they're safe to use despite the chipping.

All in all, I feel my warranty should have been honoured given this is a rare occurrence of chipping on yokos.
Given the way i was kept hanging and the resolution given I am never ever going near a Yokohama tyre again and would advise my known circle the same.. This is my personal opinion and i would rather buy premium rubber from now on, enjoy my ride, burn the rubber with the know devils.

[zeng]

I'm afraid this rejection of warranty claim by Yoko is not unwarranted.

I wouldn't have initiated a claim against tyre manufacturer under such context.

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by PrasadS

Dear Prasad, Your claim MH/23-24/37554 has been rejected under No Manufacturing Defect as it is not covered under Yokohama warranty policy. If you have any concerns,kindly connect with the dealer. Yokohama India

The tyres were just 3.5 years old and around 37k run in during this period. My Rapid ran on good roads within city and occasionally highways.

Pardon my being blunt, but your expectations from the tires do seem somewhat unrealistic. 3.5 years / 37,000 Km is enough for any tyre to reach the end of its useful life. If you drive very smoothly, perhaps it could last a bit longer - but you should consider that an upside. And there is clearly no basis for a warranty claim here. Buy a new set of tyres and enjoy your drive.

[PrasadS]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Pardon my being blunt, but your expectations from the tires do seem somewhat unrealistic. 3.5 years / 37,000 Km is enough for any tyre to reach the end of its useful life. If you drive very smoothly, perhaps it could last a bit longer - but you should consider that an upside. And there is clearly no basis for a warranty claim here. Buy a new set of tyres and enjoy your drive.

I would readily accept your opinion if this was normal wear and tear or any issues due to non proper usage of the tyres. The tyres still have healthy 50% thread left, but feels unsafe to use. Also keeping in mind that these are economy tyres and not performance rubbers.

These tyres are supposed to last atleast minimum 4 years(safely) as thats the warranty period most of the manufacturers are offering now. Yokohoma offers 4 years warranty on all the new tyres since last year as told by dealer/technician.

I would not be posting it here had this not been a safety issue or having unrealistic expectation beyond the expected age/performance of tyre. I want to know if the trust i put in a product and a company and the care i took to maintain, was worth it at the expense of certain things. If the company is not caring, then i would steer clear of it in the future and close the topic and enjoy my ride while making my fellows aware of it.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by PrasadS

If the company is not caring, then i would steer clear of it in the future and close the topic and enjoy my ride while making my fellows aware of it.

Your disappointment is justified but the 37k kms is the primary factor going against you. I am expecting the frontline person would've been given an age/kms threshold and that would be way lower than 37k hence your claim didn't even make it across the initial scrutiny.

Some questions :
- Until now I am assuming that the manufacturing date of the tyre is also 3-4 years and not older. Am I correct ?
- I was assuming that Earth 1's are softer compound than Apollos and the stones embedded in your tyre reaffirmed that ?

Since the warranty claim has been rejected I would suggest to drop a mail/feedback with these pics and communicating your displeasure over the state of the tyres.

[PrasadS]

Originally Posted by shancz

Your disappointment is justified but the 37k kms is the primary factor going against you. I am expecting the frontline person would've been given an age/kms threshold and that would be way lower than 37k hence your claim didn't even make it across the initial scrutiny.

Some questions :
- Until now I am assuming that the manufacturing date of the tyre is also 3-4 years and not older. Am I correct ?
- I was assuming that Earth 1's are softer compound than Apollos and the stones embedded in your tyre reaffirmed that ?

Since the warranty claim has been rejected I would suggest to drop a mail/feedback with these pics and communicating your displeasure over the state of the tyres.

Thanks a lot for your understanding.
I'll honestly say i was naive and gullible when i went to change my stock Apollo tyres. The dealer suggested me to go for Earth-1s stating they easily last around 50k to 60k if taken care of, and Warranty won't be an issue. Apollo was giving 2 years unconditional warranty that time. I didn't bother to check Yoko warranty terms due to the dealers word assuming all will be offering almost same

For the first question; the tyres are have just finished 4years, but i had raised this issue almost 6 months ago.

For the second point:
I don't know the technical specifications or remember much, but both were offered stating same compounds. Infact Earth-1s were cheaper than Apollo Alnac, if i remember correctly.
Apollo actually gave me a better planted ride and confidence which Earth1 never gave me. Regretted that during every spirited drive i had.

At 37k the tyres still look good and hold more than 50% tread. So the dealers 50 to 60k estimate was not wrong. The chipping and the safety hazard of the degraded rubber is the only problem i am facing.

Attaching YOKOHAMA warranty specs for all it's recent tyres including Earth-1s. Here they just mention 5 years and nothing about the amount of kms run.(this came in effect only this year, else my claim would have been approved in a jiffy if it was 5 years ago).