One Pothole, 2 Flat Tyres on a Model 3P+

[louco73]

The rain has been intense on the Gold Coast over the last few days and the roads have suffered with potholes opening up all over the place. I was on my way home from my parents in Helensvale on the Gold Coast and hit a pothole with both left tyres at less than 60 km/h. It was bad enough that I thought I'd better check the tyre pressures straight away and sure enough the rear left was near 0 and the front left was deflating fast.

In the video you can see the pothole just after the 60 km/h speed limit appears on the road surface at around 44 seconds. Towards the end of the video you can see I'm deciding where to pull over. It happened that fast. I ended up driving slowly with the hazard lights on to a dog park with parking off the road and called roadside assistance. From what I could see there was no damage to the rims.

The lady who answered was very helpful, arranging for a flatbed tow truck to arrive within 25 minutes. The tow truck driver had moved a few Teslas, so it was a simple matter of giving him a key and contact details. I had read all the towing information from the manual before he arrived, just in case.

My parents were able to pick me up and drive me home.

Unfortunately the nearest service centre is in Brisbane and they don't have an after hours drop off area, so I'll only find out what will happen in the morning. I'll update the thread once I know more.

I love the look of the wheels and tyres on the car, but it could get expensive over the lifetime of the car if a pothole at <60 km/h is all it takes to require a call to roadside assistance.

 

[MacGreiner]

The main reason I went P3D- over here. I'll track it maybe once in the cars lifetime, so set up for street use.

 

[conman]

Yep, I did the same on my model S, though it was dry weather and I was accelerating hard at the time, but under 60.

 

[EcoCloudIT]

Happened on my S also (21's), 2x left wheels.....dry weather and going at 30km's or less (massive pothole)....no idea how didn't see it. Flatbed turned up in 25mins, I was at Bob Jane within an hour of the blowout's, back on the road within 2 hours. I was in Adelaide on my way home to Melbourne.

Was super impressed with how Tesla handed the situation.

 

[mswlogo]

Is the pothole at the 45 sec mark?

 

[louco73]

Yes, that's correct.

 

[conman]

Happened on my S also (21's), 2x left wheels.....dry weather and going at 30km's or less (massive pothole)....no idea how didn't see it. Flatbed turned up in 25mins, I was at Bob Jane within an hour of the blowout's, back on the road within 2 hours. I was in Adelaide on my way home to Melbourne.

Was super impressed with how Tesla handed the situation.

I was not so lucky. It was 2am and I was returning from work and even though I was in metro Melbourne they only trusted a contractor with a flat bed truck that was 45 minutes away to take my car, and he turned up about 90 minutes later but he did drive me home and then take the vehicle to Tesla. I was still on call for work and they offered to call me an uber if I needed it.

 

[louco73]

I called Tesla this morning to find out what was happening. Rather than going all the way to Brisbane they said they could get it sent to Bob Jane T-Marts at Southport who have the same tyres and that other Tesla owners have used them before. I thought that was fair enough, as long as they do the balancing and check for damage too.

It wasn't until after 1 pm that I noticed the car had finally moved to Bob Jane T-Marts. I hadn't heard from anyone, so I called them to see if they had the car and what was going to happen next. They had the wrong owner information and were glad I called to sort it out. Unfortunately they did not have the tyres and nor did their normal suppliers. That means I have to pay $590 for each tyre, including the cost of freighting them up from Sydney and not getting the car until Tuesday.

Do Tesla service centres normally carry tyre stock? I wonder if it would have been easier to just send it to Brisbane?

 

[paulp]

I called Tesla this morning to find out what was happening. Rather than going all the way to Brisbane they said they could get it sent to Bob Jane T-Marts at Southport who have the same tyres and that other Tesla owners have used them before. I thought that was fair enough, as long as they do the balancing and check for damage too.

It wasn't until after 1 pm that I noticed the car had finally moved to Bob Jane T-Marts. I hadn't heard from anyone, so I called them to see if they had the car and what was going to happen next. They had the wrong owner information and were glad I called to sort it out. Unfortunately they did not have the tyres and nor did their normal suppliers. That means I have to pay $590 for each tyre, including the cost of freighting them up from Sydney and not getting the car until Tuesday.

Do Tesla service centres normally carry tyre stock? I wonder if it would have been easier to just send it to Brisbane?

Tesla in adelaide carry tyres, although not many. I keep my own spares just in case.

 

[meowsers]

Just an FYI the Tesla “T0” pilot sport tires just have a strip of foam in them. Have a read around to see how much of a difference it makes, as I understand it’s not much.

Costco can also order them significantly cheaper than bob jane

 

[Vostok]

Yowser, that’s ridiculous that such a seemingly innocuous pothole (I had a lot of trouble even seeing it in the video) could kill 2 tyres so fast. When you hit the pothole did it feel really bad?

I’ve never understood the attraction of low-profile tyres for exactly this reason.

 

[mswlogo]

Just an FYI the Tesla “T0” pilot sport tires just have a strip of foam in them. Have a read around to see how much of a difference it makes, as I understand it’s not much.

Costco can also order them significantly cheaper than bob jane

Some folks (more knowledgeable than I) believe the "T0" tire is different in other ways besides just the foam.

 

[louco73]

Yowser, that’s ridiculous that such a seemingly innocuous pothole (I had a lot of trouble even seeing it in the video) could kill 2 tyres so fast. When you hit the pothole did it feel really bad?

I’ve never understood the attraction of low-profile tyres for exactly this reason.

It did give a pretty loud thump for each tyre, but I didn't think it was that bad. I just checked the tyre pressure out of caution given that I was weary with low profile tyres after seeing Engineering Explained get his rims damaged on a freeway pothole.

It was hard to see at night, with the rain and because I was following another car. Thankfully the the pothole was fixed the following day.

If it happens again I think I'll switch to a smaller wheel size and tyres with thicker sidewalls.

I spoke to a Model S owner in my apartment complex and he's never had an issue. I guess it could just be bad luck.

 

[jaykaye]

I thought I'd better check the tyre pressures straight away and sure enough the rear left was near 0 and the front left was deflating fast.

Didnt the Tesla warn you of low tyre pressure?? I would think you wouldve gotten an alarm before having to check it and see it was already near zero.

 

[louco73]

It did, straight after I swiped to check the tyre pressure. It all happened very quickly and within 10 seconds of hitting the pothole I was looking to pull over. After the low pressure warning the car was telling me to pull over too.

 

[Candleflame]

how much pressure do you put in your tires?

 

[louco73]

The last time I pumped them up to 43 PSI after a bit of driving, but they were only at 41 when this happened.

 

[djayz]

Claim
Given that you have dashcam footage showing the pothole I think you have a decent case at least to claim your costs from the local council responsible.

See here for details:
Who Pays For My Tyre And Rim Damage After Hitting A Pot Hole?

. Sure they will try to wiggle out of it but you have a decent chance with the evidence. At the very least if more enough people put in claims the councils will be a bit more proactive at fixing the damn potholes rather than leaving them like that for years..

 

[smithy]

The one thing that annoys me about Teslas is the lack of a spare, even spacesaver. I got a flat on a Friday afternoon in Sydney, called the assist number and they said someone would be there within an hour with a replacement wheel and would then exchange. Two and a half hours later I called asking where they were and I got a response saying "oh we couldn't get a spare wheel, but we can arrange to get your car towed to the nearest tyre centre and you can go tomorrow morning and get it fixed". Really? I mean it is just a flat tyre, which I could change in 5 minutes if I had a spare.

 

[Vostok]

The one thing that annoys me about Teslas is the lack of a spare, even spacesaver. I got a flat on a Friday afternoon in Sydney, called the assist number and they said someone would be there within an hour with a replacement wheel and would then exchange. Two and a half hours later I called asking where they were and I got a response saying "oh we couldn't get a spare wheel, but we can arrange to get your car towed to the nearest tyre centre and you can go tomorrow morning and get it fixed". Really? I mean it is just a flat tyre, which I could change in 5 minutes if I had a spare.

Have you purchased the Tesla tyre repair kit? It won’t help with sidewall rips, but for most other punctures it should at least get you to a tyre repair place.