[aniketi]

Originally Posted by kkunal.shah

Hi,

I replaced the tyres on my Jetta to Michelin PS4 in August this year & have run around 5k since.
These tyres have been an absolute delight esp on highways.
Recently on a Mumbai-Kolhapur drive I discovered a cut on the front right tyre, the cut is not deep & tyre is not losing air. I made a return trip from Kolhapur to Mumbai without any issues.

Spoke to The dealer (Premji tyres, thane) & according to him this would not be covered under warranty & since there is no air leakage it’s absolutely safe to continue driving it.

Need advice of fellow members if:
1. Let it be the way it is.
2. Carry out some repair.
3. Change to new tyre.

P.S.: my spare is a Goodyear one so no sense in making this a spare.

I guess it's ok to use this tire for now as air pressure is maintained.

My advice would be to shift this tire to rear as a safety precaution. Don't use such tire at front.

[NYMEX]

Need advice of fellow members if:
1. Let it be the way it is.
2. Carry out some repair.
3. Change to new tyre.

As you are doing highway runs a blow out could occur, so replace the tyre because lives are more important than a few thousand rupees.

[careind]

Originally Posted by Bhalla

Facing same issue. Cut on sidewall. Tyre is only 6,000 kms old. Checking air pressure regularly. Sometimes, air pressure decreases and sometimes, it doesn’t. So confused what to do. Whether to get it replaced or not !

Definitely not the same issue! That one looks bad. Just the fact that there is variance in tyre pressure ( only on that tyre ) is a good indication that it should be replaced, notwithstanding the fact that there is a sidewall tear.
If you have already checked the valve mouth for leakage and excluded it as a reason, better go for replacement.

[Bsimhan]

Originally Posted by Bhalla

Facing same issue. Cut on sidewall. Tyre is only 6,000 kms old.

I would suggest you change this quickly. The sidewall cuts can't be taken lightly. The integrity is compromised. Please drive carefully at low speeds. Rgds.

[NYMEX]

Originally Posted by Bhalla

Facing same issue. Cut on sidewall. Tyre is only 6,000 kms old. Checking air pressure regularly. Sometimes, air pressure decreases and sometimes, it doesn’t. So confused what to do. Whether to get it replaced or not !

This is a 'NO Brainer' query.
You have to replace the tyre because weak tyre sidewall blowout is common occurrence. SAFETY FIRST

[zeng]

Originally Posted by Bhalla

Facing same issue. Cut on sidewall. Tyre is only 6,000 kms old. Checking air pressure regularly. Sometimes, air pressure decreases and sometimes, it doesn’t. So confused what to do. Whether to get it replaced or not !

According to tyre manufacturers, this tyre cut at sidewall is not safe and should be replaced.

[naikameya]

Originally Posted by kkunal.shah

Need advice of fellow members if:
1. Let it be the way it is.
2. Carry out some repair.
3. Change to new tyre.

My engineering brain says you need to smooth out the cut. Take a Dremel type grinder bit to smoothen out the entire cut depth. It is okay to remove some of the rubber material.
Currently, there is stress concentration at the deepest end of the cut which means it is the weakest point of your tire and it may continue to expand very slowly eventually failing. It is called notch sensitivity in Strength of Materials (SOM).

[RGK]

Originally Posted by kkunal.shah

Spoke to The dealer (Premji tyres, thane) & according to him this would not be covered under warranty & since there is no air leakage it’s absolutely safe to continue driving it.

Shift this tyre to the right rear wheel and start to use. Do a periodical check regularly.

[RMN]

Depends on the depth of the cut. I curbed my wheel once and it sliced the top layer a little bit. I have seen these happen quite often and people continue to use it. So did I for another 7,000kms.

However couple of months back, driving to Kollam at night, came across a bad stretch on the highway and drove through 2 really bad potholes at over 70kmph. The sliced portion of the tire promptly gave out and there is a gapping hole in it now Im on a 195/55 which means the sidewalls are relatively small. A thicker tire might be a little more safer.

[Akshay6988]

Originally Posted by Bhalla

Facing same issue. Cut on sidewall. Tyre is only 6,000 kms old. Checking air pressure regularly. Sometimes, air pressure decreases and sometimes, it doesn’t. So confused what to do. Whether to get it replaced or not !

Please replace this damaged tyre at earliest ! It's structural integrity is compromised as the sidewall is cut and it is risky to continue drive with this tyre. Our Altroz had developed such a cut on sidewall which had covered barely 4000kms, replaced it straight away.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

I had noticed a similar chip during periodic rotation of my Michelins, where a chunk of the tread had disappeared, and pinged our resident Tyre Expert, DBHPian NikhilB. He suggested there is nothing to worry about, and the tyre could be safely used. The XM2s have been flawless despite this minor incident.

How does one judge how deep the cut is? In the photo, it appears that the cut is also present below the tread height? Is it determined via a probe?

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by whitewing

How does one judge how deep the cut is? In the photo, it appears that the cut is also present below the tread height? Is it determined via a probe?
Attachment 2240107

On the groove part it was a superficial cut, just on the surface. Since the experts opined it was fine, and the tyre has been doing duty normally, I've left it as it is. There is no pressure leak or anything abnormal. Although I do give it a check often to see how that particular tyre is doing.

Regards,
Shashi

[Rshreyansh]

Recently, after a drive, while doing a customary walk around of the car I found this cut on the front left tyre.

Should I try to get it fixed or replace it?

About the tyre : It is four years old and done about 20,000 kms.

[vinaydatla]

Originally Posted by kkunal.shah

Hi,


Need advice of fellow members if:
1. Let it be the way it is.
2. Carry out some repair.
3. Change to new tyre.

I would recommend to "Let it be the way it is". I had a similar experience few years ago on my Ford Figo with Michelin XM1, there was a cut in the tyre due to an improperly cut street light pipe on the road. There was no pressure loss and the tyre performed as usual until I sold the car 30 - 40 K kms later.

To be on a safer side, move the tyre to the rear.

[zeng]

Originally Posted by Rshreyansh

Recently, after a drive, while doing a customary walk around of the car I found this cut on the front left tyre.

Should I try to get it fixed or replace it?

About the tyre : It is four years old and done about 20,000 kms.
Attachment 2240531

Cut is on the tread area not sidewall, I would personally keep running with the tyre whilst monitoring pressure drop, if any.