10400 kms and tyres replacement under warranty

codemarauder · 31st March 2008, 18:34

My 5 months old Palio Stile 1.6's odometer reads 10500 kms now.

I was experiencing some wobbling in the car at speeds 75kmph+. Gradually, I was able to feel it at 45kmph too. I went for wheel balancing at a tyreshop last week (not at Tata Motors workshop), even then it reduced a lot but was there. I was not able to feel the road hugging trait of the car so I took it to the authorised workshop. Some senior fellow did a road test and told me that it is all in my mind and car is not wobbling.

Yesterday my friend visited me and he seconded me that car is feeling weird. I drove my cousin's brand new Stile 1.6 and my car really felt bad at roads. My friend took it again to the tyre shop and when he checked the tyres - all 4 of them had tyre undulations. Then he took it to Dhingra Motors workshop where they supported us and said that it is a manufacturing defect and tyres should be changed by GoodYear. He also gave a letter on their letter head addressed to GoodYear distributor in Gurgaon to replace the tyres under warranty.

Now the questions are:

1) Would GoodYear create any problem to honour the replacement under warranty?
2) Would I be charged some amount by GoodYear if they honour the warranty on a pro-rata basis of tyre wear and tear?
3) Do I need to get the wheels balanced again after putting the new tyres?
4) Shall I upgrade the tyres when I get new ones (a little broader ones)?
5) Anything else that I need to take care of while visiting the tyre distributor?

rajivanoj · 31st March 2008, 20:31

1) It depends on the good year's technical service engineer's report. If it is manufacturing defect. then you will get replacement

2) Yes they would charge some amount according to wear and tear, you have to pay the difference amount

3) Yes its best to align wheels once your car gets into new shoes. Bu i have no idea about wheel balancing.

4) If company replaces new tyres, then they would only give same tyre size and model.

5) You have to take the bill. Thats it

anyone..correct me if i am wrong

codemarauder · 2nd April 2008, 13:26

I spoke to the tyre dealer today and he asked me to call up the service engineer directly.

I called him up and told him about the problem in all the 4 tyres. When I mentioned to him that my dealer has given a letter mentioning that car is under warranty terms and conditions, the guy told me that - your dealer's diagnosis could be wrong and he won't honour their request until he checks the tyres himself. Only then he will tell whether warranty terms apply to it or not. He has asked me to meet him on Monday at the tyre shop itself.

Now the technical part, the undulations can be felt by moving hand on the side walls. It is like many bubbles with diameter of 1 inch approx on the wall. This phenomenon is observed when tyres are warm and undulations dissappear slowly as the tyres become cold. That means, I need to heat up the tyres before visiting the goodyear engineer

My friend said it is "Under filling of the side walls" which causes wobbling and certainly is a manufacturing defect.

Searching the Team-Bhp threads gave me an impression that that tyre companies don't honour warranty easily and it is a tough job getting them to it .

HappyWheels · 2nd April 2008, 13:49

if it can be felt by just moving your hand over the tyre, i reckon that you do have much to worry about. the SE is right in mentioning that the dealers analysis might be wrong since he does not have the hard facts in front of him. am sure a visit and a check of your tyres will convince him.

i once had an issue with one of my cars JK tyre just after 2 months of purchase. had a letter from the Maruti dealer; took that to JK SE and had to hand over the tyre also to him to check. two days later he asked me to come down and collect the new tyres.

should be the same case with you also. once they know that it is a manfacturing defect they will replace it.

sukiwa · 2nd April 2008, 23:16

Please carry out dynamic balancing after change of tyres.
Also don't think of tyre upgrade just now, let's sort out existing problem first.

codemarauder · 9th April 2008, 12:02

Visited Tyre Cafe in Gurgaon where GoodYear's engineer came to meet me. He says there is no problem with tyres. The undulations that I feel are joints in the tyres and there could be upto 5 joints in a GoodYear tyre. He also showed me same undulation in the tyres of a Maruti Esteem parked there.

He says, there is uneven wear of the front tyres that is causing the problem and he did not consider my argument that I feel wobbling from the rear. He suggested me to mount front tyres inside-out on the rims and put them on rear, while move rear tyres to front.

If I mount tyres inside-out, that is equivalent to rotating front wheels from right to left and vice-versa, while Palio's owner's manual advises against rotating wheels sideways as direction of rotation will change. So, I have not yet carried out his suggestions.

Of late, wobbling seems to be subsiding but car has started pulling towards right. I am planning to move front tyres to the rear, rear to the front and get wheel alignment done before calling the tyre engineer.

I would appreciate inputs from learned team-bhp members.

HappyWheels · 9th April 2008, 12:21

Did you take the engineer for a ride (the actual ride!) so that he feels the wobble?

And why does he have to give you a solution when he says that there is not problem, is it because of the uneven wear? If so, how did the uneven wear happen at just 10k kms! :-(

tsk1979 · 9th April 2008, 13:12

The engineer is taking you for a ride. Its obvious from your descriptions that the steel belt inside the tire has bent, and this should not happen.

codemarauder · 9th April 2008, 13:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

Did you take the engineer for a ride (the actual ride!) so that he feels the wobble?

And why does he have to give you a solution when he says that there is not problem, is it because of the uneven wear? If so, how did the uneven wear happen at just 10k kms! :-(

No, I did not. He was in a hurry and I too had to rush for the office.

Before meeting with him next, I want to arm myself with more technical knowledge about tyres/wheels so that he can't give excuses anymore.

HappyWheels · 9th April 2008, 14:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by codemarauder

No, I did not. He was in a hurry and I too had to rush for the office.

Before meeting with him next, I want to arm myself with more technical knowledge about tyres/wheels so that he can't give excuses anymore.

He being in a hurry is not an excuse. He is not doing a charity work over here, infact this is his work!

You should also not rush thing, since this will be taken for advantage by these guys. Please do make out the time and schedule accordingly.

As said by TSK there is an issue with the tyre and it is not due to driving! Get back to Dhingra Motors and also find out the reason they said the tyre needs to be replaced and has manufacturing defect. Use this information against the engineer's argument.

Do not know if GoodYear has a website where you can give a feedback / raise an issue. If you can get a hold of that, please do.

31st March 2008, 18:34	#1
codemarauder BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 110 Thanked: 7 Times	10400 kms and tyres replacement under warranty My 5 months old Palio Stile 1.6's odometer reads 10500 kms now. I was experiencing some wobbling in the car at speeds 75kmph+. Gradually, I was able to feel it at 45kmph too. I went for wheel balancing at a tyreshop last week (not at Tata Motors workshop), even then it reduced a lot but was there. I was not able to feel the road hugging trait of the car so I took it to the authorised workshop. Some senior fellow did a road test and told me that it is all in my mind and car is not wobbling. Yesterday my friend visited me and he seconded me that car is feeling weird. I drove my cousin's brand new Stile 1.6 and my car really felt bad at roads. My friend took it again to the tyre shop and when he checked the tyres - all 4 of them had tyre undulations. Then he took it to Dhingra Motors workshop where they supported us and said that it is a manufacturing defect and tyres should be changed by GoodYear. He also gave a letter on their letter head addressed to GoodYear distributor in Gurgaon to replace the tyres under warranty. Now the questions are: 1) Would GoodYear create any problem to honour the replacement under warranty? 2) Would I be charged some amount by GoodYear if they honour the warranty on a pro-rata basis of tyre wear and tear? 3) Do I need to get the wheels balanced again after putting the new tyres? 4) Shall I upgrade the tyres when I get new ones (a little broader ones)? 5) Anything else that I need to take care of while visiting the tyre distributor?
	() Thanks

31st March 2008, 20:31	#2
rajivanoj BANNED Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 398 Thanked: 52 Times View My Garage	1) It depends on the good year's technical service engineer's report. If it is manufacturing defect. then you will get replacement 2) Yes they would charge some amount according to wear and tear, you have to pay the difference amount 3) Yes its best to align wheels once your car gets into new shoes. Bu i have no idea about wheel balancing. 4) If company replaces new tyres, then they would only give same tyre size and model. 5) You have to take the bill. Thats it anyone..correct me if i am wrong
	() Thanks

2nd April 2008, 13:26	#3
codemarauder BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 110 Thanked: 7 Times	I spoke to the tyre dealer today and he asked me to call up the service engineer directly. I called him up and told him about the problem in all the 4 tyres. When I mentioned to him that my dealer has given a letter mentioning that car is under warranty terms and conditions, the guy told me that - your dealer's diagnosis could be wrong and he won't honour their request until he checks the tyres himself. Only then he will tell whether warranty terms apply to it or not. He has asked me to meet him on Monday at the tyre shop itself. Now the technical part, the undulations can be felt by moving hand on the side walls. It is like many bubbles with diameter of 1 inch approx on the wall. This phenomenon is observed when tyres are warm and undulations dissappear slowly as the tyres become cold. That means, I need to heat up the tyres before visiting the goodyear engineer My friend said it is "Under filling of the side walls" which causes wobbling and certainly is a manufacturing defect. Searching the Team-Bhp threads gave me an impression that that tyre companies don't honour warranty easily and it is a tough job getting them to it .
	() Thanks

2nd April 2008, 13:49	#4
HappyWheels Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,106 Thanked: 537 Times	if it can be felt by just moving your hand over the tyre, i reckon that you do have much to worry about. the SE is right in mentioning that the dealers analysis might be wrong since he does not have the hard facts in front of him. am sure a visit and a check of your tyres will convince him. i once had an issue with one of my cars JK tyre just after 2 months of purchase. had a letter from the Maruti dealer; took that to JK SE and had to hand over the tyre also to him to check. two days later he asked me to come down and collect the new tyres. should be the same case with you also. once they know that it is a manfacturing defect they will replace it.
	() Thanks

2nd April 2008, 23:16	#5
sukiwa Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: pune Posts: 2,378 Thanked: 2,562 Times	Please carry out dynamic balancing after change of tyres. Also don't think of tyre upgrade just now, let's sort out existing problem first.
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 12:02	#6
codemarauder BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 110 Thanked: 7 Times	Visited tyre engineer Visited Tyre Cafe in Gurgaon where GoodYear's engineer came to meet me. He says there is no problem with tyres. The undulations that I feel are joints in the tyres and there could be upto 5 joints in a GoodYear tyre. He also showed me same undulation in the tyres of a Maruti Esteem parked there. He says, there is uneven wear of the front tyres that is causing the problem and he did not consider my argument that I feel wobbling from the rear. He suggested me to mount front tyres inside-out on the rims and put them on rear, while move rear tyres to front. If I mount tyres inside-out, that is equivalent to rotating front wheels from right to left and vice-versa, while Palio's owner's manual advises against rotating wheels sideways as direction of rotation will change. So, I have not yet carried out his suggestions. Of late, wobbling seems to be subsiding but car has started pulling towards right. I am planning to move front tyres to the rear, rear to the front and get wheel alignment done before calling the tyre engineer. I would appreciate inputs from learned team-bhp members.
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 12:21	#7
HappyWheels Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,106 Thanked: 537 Times	Did you take the engineer for a ride (the actual ride!) so that he feels the wobble? And why does he have to give you a solution when he says that there is not problem, is it because of the uneven wear? If so, how did the uneven wear happen at just 10k kms! :-(
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 13:12	#8
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	The engineer is taking you for a ride. Its obvious from your descriptions that the steel belt inside the tire has bent, and this should not happen.
	() Thanks