[SS-Traveller]

Last evening, the rear right tyre on my Swift ZXi came apart in a weird fashion. It's a JK Vectra 185/70R14 tubeless tyre. No deflation, but the tread peeled off from the casing @60 km/h(and damaged the rear bumper and mudguard core somewhat). It's run 51k km (in 4 years & 10 months), but still had sufficient tread left to allow me to change in the next few weeks. Take a look.















I've seen similar peeling off in retreaded tyres, but this is the first time I've noticed the same in an OE tyre.

[AbhiJ]

This should be reported to JK.

This has to be a manufacturing defect. The rubber has not bonded sufficiently with the steel cords...

[kpzen]

Insufficient curing of tread rubber in the vulcanizer !

Btw, whats the mfg date of the tire ?

[predatorwheelz]

That tyre probably committed suicide. It just couldn't take the punishment you meted out to it over 51K kms .

Jokes apart, its good to know that the peeling didn't lead to any serious damage for you and the car. Forget this dada. In any case it was time to get a new set of tyres.

And get something good this time, like Yokohama A-Drives.

[khoj]

@SS-Traveller,

Thank God you got away lightly.

Notwithstanding the time line and the mileage, I believe this should be brought to the attention of both the tyre company as well as the vehicle manufacturer. It is a premium product from the former and offered with the highest variants of it's premium models by the latter. The idea is not to look for a replacement etc but to make them aware of such shortcoming in the product &/or the manufacturing process for universal benefit.

[Roy.S]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

........
It's run 51k km (in 4 years & 10 months), but still had sufficient tread left to allow me to change in the next few weeks......

Almost 5 years. Way too long I think.
This sort of thing would probably not happen to a Michelin or Yoko but you pushed your luck with the JKs. I've owned 2 Marutis so far and one of my happiest ownership moments was when I chucked the OE JKs.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Roy.S

Almost 5 years. Way too long I think.
This sort of thing would probably not happen to a Michelin or Yoko but you pushed your luck with the JKs. I've owned 2 Marutis so far and one of my happiest ownership moments was when I chucked the OE JKs.

Can happen to any tyre.
Consumer complaints about Michelin Tires


At 4 years, 10 months, the tyre is pretty old. Rubber in the tyre hardens with age. I don't think it's recommended to use tyres beyond 4 years even if you've hardly used them.

[Akshay1234]

I dont think you should have used them for so long my friend. It would have been advisable to change earlier. JK tyres will probably blame it on your usage or something, I doubt anything can be gotten from them.

[Roy.S]

Originally Posted by carboy

Can happen to any tyre......

I agree but most complaints related to early tyre failure can be traced to a manufacturing defect or impact. In SS-Traveller's case, the tyres failed mostly because of age.
However, if someone put a gun to my head and forced me to drive on half a decade old tyres, my last choice would be JKs.
I ran 60k km in 2 years on the stock JKs on my Swift and there was still enough tread left on them to certify them as safe 'on paper'. But I drove rather gingerly the last 5k km. IMO, the JKs respond reasonably well to frequent but rough use (60k over 2 years in my case) rather than occasional but prolonged use (51k over almost 5yrs with SS-Traveller).

[kpzen]

Its a Sept 2005 manufactured tire.

I'm assuming there must have been a flat spot on the tire from where this rupture might have started.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

This should be reported to JK.

This has to be a manufacturing defect. The rubber has not bonded sufficiently with the steel cords...

Originally Posted by kpzen

Insufficient curing of tread rubber in the vulcanizer !

That's what it looks like. Never seen anything like it when it comes to non-retreaded tyres.

Originally Posted by khoj

Notwithstanding the time line and the mileage, I believe this should be brought to the attention of both the tyre company as well as the vehicle manufacturer.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

JK tyres will probably blame it on your usage or something, I doubt anything can be gotten from them.

I'm not even bothered to pursue this matter any further than placing it on record on Team-BHP. Tyre warranties are worded very foggily, and in 99% of cases, tyre failure blame lies squarely with the user - which apparently all of you gentlemen have proved right now, by saying...

Originally Posted by Roy.S

Almost 5 years. Way too long I think.
This sort of thing would probably not happen to a Michelin or Yoko but you pushed your luck with the JKs.

Originally Posted by carboy

At 4 years, 10 months, the tyre is pretty old. Rubber in the tyre hardens with age. I don't think it's recommended to use tyres beyond 4 years even if you've hardly used them.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

I dont think you should have used them for so long my friend. It would have been advisable to change earlier.

Originally Posted by Roy.S

I agree but most complaints related to early tyre failure can be traced to a manufacturing defect or impact
[As I mentioned, manufacturing defects (such as sidewall bulges or tread cracks) are blamed squarely on the user - the manufacturer refuses in 99% of cases to acknowledge manufacturing defect, and impact, bad driving etc. are blamed as the culprits. That's how it is...]
....occasional but prolonged use (51k over almost 5yrs with SS-Traveller).

Just for the record again, I've used Bridgestones and Ceats for close to 6 years and over 70,000 km before discarding them, not because of any apparent damage to tread, wall or casing, but because there wasn't sufficient tread depth. I do not as a matter of principle retread tyres, but my tyrewallah was more than happy to have the old tyres back for retreading and selling onwards.
=========================

Originally Posted by kpzen

I'm assuming there must have been a flat spot on the tire from where this rupture might have started.

Spot on about the manufacturing date, kp. However, a flat spot assumes a broken bearing or binding brake, or serious misalignment. None of those exist on this car. Checked recently, as a matter of routine.

[AbhiJ]

Age has nothing to do with this failure...

It is a bond failure, where the rubber has failed to sufficiently bond with the steel of cords...

Worryingly, the layer of rubber in the tread has let go of its joint and the whole ply containing the tread has been ripped apart.

Not acceptable for a 5 year old tyre ... not even a 7 year old tyre.

[phamilyman]

This is just plain scary! But knowing indian mfrs, you will not gain anything from bringing it to anyone's notice - its just a big waste of your time!

[noopster]

I changed my stock Vectras at 52,000 km despite there seemingly being nothing "wrong" with them. Am glad I did. Never again will I risk my life and safety by neglecting such a vital component on my car. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

I'm not even bothered to pursue this matter any further than placing it on record on Team-BHP. Tyre warranties are worded very foggily, and in 99% of cases, tyre failure blame lies squarely with the user - which apparently all of you gentlemen have proved right now, by saying...

SS-T, but even if the blame lies with the manufacturer - is he supposed to rectify it if it failed after nearly five years. i.e. even in a clearly worded warranty, I don't think the warranty is valid after one year - or is it in case of manufacturing issues?

Also in your original post, you wrote

but still had sufficient tread left to allow me to change in the next few weeks.

Does this mean, you were able to drive your car for a couple of weeks after this happened?

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Spot on about the manufacturing date, kp. However, a flat spot assumes a broken bearing or binding brake, or serious misalignment. None of those exist on this car. Checked recently, as a matter of routine.

What exactly is a flat spot?