Brand new Y with flat tire - my journey

[Bednarz42]

I just had a full blowout on my rear passenger tire...nothing would've saved it. 90 minutes waiting on a tow from Tesla Roadside assistance, followed by an hour and a half ride to dealership. Called several tires places, either no one had the tire in stock, or they said they couldn't change the tire on a Tesla. Moral of the story, a spare is needed. Especially on long trips, which this wasn't. First blowout I've ever had in 20 years of driving...4k miles into driving a car without a spare. Ha

Planning to go up to VT in February for a snowboarding trip. What happens if you're stuck somewhere with a blowout and no service?? No thanks. Hate to have to carry a spare and use up a ton of cargo space...but what option do you have when the above scenario is a possibility.

 

[donviper23]

I just had a full blowout on my rear passenger tire...nothing would've saved it. 90 minutes waiting on a tow from Tesla Roadside assistance, followed by an hour and a half ride to dealership. Called several tires places, either no one had the tire in stock, or they said they couldn't change the tire on a Tesla. Moral of the story, a spare is needed. Especially on long trips, which this wasn't. First blowout I've ever had in 20 years of driving...4k miles into driving a car without a spare. Ha

Planning to go up to VT in February for a snowboarding trip. What happens if you're stuck somewhere with a blowout and no service?? No thanks. Hate to have to carry a spare and use up a ton of cargo space...but what option do you have when the above scenario is a possibility.

Similar thing happened to me last weekend, mine has 3k miles and first flat I’ve had in a LONG time. Luckily I was driving locally and happened right by a friends house, but 2 tire shops wouldn’t touch it and I had it towed to the third, close to my house but the tire took 5 days to get in (other option was to tow 67 miles to the nearest SC...no thanks).

Found a spare with jack on Amazon, tough choice to eat up all the cargo space as you mentioned, but seems like it’s worth it given the alternative

 

[Pianewman]

Bednarz42 and donviper23:

It would help all of us if you posted which tires/which size you have.

Thanks.

 

[Radpeds1]

I ended up buying a 19 inch tire and wheel from Tesla to keep it as a spare. Cost nearly 1100 dollars. But living in rural Texas, it gives me peace of mind.

 

[donviper23]

Bednarz42 and donviper23:

It would help all of us if you posted which tires/which size you have.

Thanks.

Sorry, good point! Stock LR 19” Gemini, so 255/45 R19 Continental ProContact. Tire itself was $295, took 3 days UPS to arrive. I was most bummed about missing my first chance testing it out it in the snow :-(

 

[Feathermerchan]

Modern Spare is looking better and better as an alternative to the above.
#1 Spare Tire Kit Engineered Specifically For Your Model Y | Modern Spare

 

[Bednarz42]

Bednarz42 and donviper23:

It would help all of us if you posted which tires/which size you have.

Thanks.

Yea, same tire. 19" Gemini's with OEM tire, Continental pro contact. First flat i've had where i couldn't make it somewhere in probably 15 years, first blowout ever. I was just driving down the middle of a road, heard a pop and the tire was completely flat in under 10 seconds. Shredded down the entire side portion of the tire, no insta inflate could've saved this tire.

 

[Pianewman]

Both incidents were cold weather, right? (NJ, PA). Manufacturer defect? It would be interesting to compare both failures, but it's probably too late for photos. I wonder if Tesla, or Continental, might know the production dates?

Were tires warm, or did the blowouts occur early in the cold-weather drive?

 

[PDXgreen]

How about finding this sticking out of your tire?
19” OEM tire on MY. Front tire must have kicked it up and aimed it at the rear tire. Just a small bit of the threaded end sticking out of the tire when I stopped. Tesla roadside would not bring a spare to me since I had aftermarket wheels. Bummer.
Fortunately, I was close to home and a plug and pump got me home the last 1/2 mile with about 4 psi in the tire to spare.
I have found screws in tires in the past but never anything this big!
Tire Rack is shipping me a new tire.
Another consideration is, when a tire is flat, there is not much clearance to get a Jack into position (with a puck) to lift the car.
Suggestions for a suitable Jack to carry?

 

[tk1971]

I assembled my own spare tire kit for my Y.

I’ve had 2 flats this year on my Bolt EV. The spare kit I assembled for that car came in quite handy.

 

[Bednarz42]

Both incidents were cold weather, right? (NJ, PA). Manufacturer defect? It would be interesting to compare both failures, but it's probably too late for photos. I wonder if Tesla, or Continental, might know the production dates?

Were tires warm, or did the blowouts occur early in the cold-weather drive?

Yea cold weather, it was around 32F yesterday. Tires were warm, I had already driven for an hour on them.

I find it very strange, when i went back over my tracks there was nothing in the road that I saw that could've caused the damage on the tire. Also watched over a 100 cars drive back in the hour and half I was waiting for a tow with nothing happening. Even stranger hearing other people have the same issue.

 

[house9]

I got the modern spare for my Model 3 and throw it in the back when going on long trips, but it takes up a lot of room.

I really wish the frunks were designed to hold a spare tire and jack.

 

[Kamban]

I assembled my own spare tire kit for my Y.

I’ve had 2 flats this year on my Bolt EV. The spare kit I assembled for that car came in quite handy.

What wheel and tire did you get? and the Jack too. Thanks

 

[donviper23]

Both incidents were cold weather, right? (NJ, PA). Manufacturer defect? It would be interesting to compare both failures, but it's probably too late for photos. I wonder if Tesla, or Continental, might know the production dates?

Were tires warm, or did the blowouts occur early in the cold-weather drive?

Mine wasn’t a blowout, but the tire went completely flat in about 15 minutes. I’d attribute it to bad luck driving over a piece of metal I guess? Yes, it was cold maybe 35-40 and the tires would have been warmed up a little bit from driving beforehand around town

 

[Bednarz42]

Just heard back from SC....5 days for a new tire to come in. With the holiday coming up, told me that Monday would probably be best case scenario...

They're giving me a loaner, but wow. Cars out of commission for over a week because of a flat...not ideal. How does a Tesla SC not have an inventory of Model Y tires?

 

[tk1971]

What wheel and tire did you get? and the Jack too. Thanks

I pieced mine together because Modern Spare was on back order. See this post as I started out with a 18” steelie donut and ended up with a 19” aluminum rimmed one:

DIY Spare Tire Kit

 

[krcossin]

I'm am now a member of the Y now blow out club.
Following the moving van from old home to new, and sure enough passenger rear flat! Of course I'm an hour away and have the cash to pay the crew.
I had the same experience as others very similar to Bednarz42. My vehicle has been at the TSC since Saturday, I just sent a text asking for an update, nothing yet.

 

[techmagnetic]

I really wish the frunks were designed to hold a spare tire and jack.

When I picked up my MY a few weeks ago I was pretty surprised to not see a spare. Almost "WTF!?" level surprised.

 

[DanDi58]

I'm wondering if MY owners seem to have more flat tires with the Tesla, than they did with their previous cars...? Prior to this summer, they were few and far between for my cars....

Note: this summer, most everyone in my neighborhood chose to have their roofs replaced. Many of them used a cut-rate installer and I had three tires between 2 of my cars end up with punctures by roofing nails. Two neighbors also had flats. I was almost afraid of walking around the neighborhood with all of the nails that seemed to be flying around....

 

[Bednarz42]

I'm am now a member of the Y now blow out club.
Following the moving van from old home to new, and sure enough passenger rear flat! Of course I'm an hour away and have the cash to pay the crew.
I had the same experience as others very similar to Bednarz42. My vehicle has been at the TSC since Saturday, I just sent a text asking for an update, nothing yet.

So I called Continental (they have a warranty program). They schedule a pickup of the blown out tire, so make sure you ask your SC to return to you. If they determine manufacture failure they will reimburse you the cost of the replacement tire. Even if they determine it was not a manufacturer failure, they will give a partial reimbursement. Just need to send them a copy of your SC invoice. Tesla SC will also have to call Continental to give them the tires dot number and tread depth.