Plaid 21” rear tire woes - factory defect?

[seshepard1]

1. Pick up the 19" Wheels & Tires off eBay or FB marketplace (I know, not a great deal but buys time for the rest of this list to expand / mature...)

I actually bought the 19” winter tire/wheel set from T-Sportline to run this winter, so it buys me some time to figure this out before next spring. Even though I am not a fan of how these tires make the car look, they are MUCH quieter than the stock Pilot Sport tires. I got the Pirrelli SotoZero 3 winter tires and they are smooth and quiet.

 

[Lhshockey24]

Remember earlier in this thread when everyone was trying to blame Tesla when from the get-go it was so clearly a tire defect?

Pepperidge Farm remembers.

ANY other manufacturer and everyone would have gone straight to blaming the tire, rightfully so.

 

[daddymalu]

I have a hard time believing these tires would last their 300 tire rating even if our tires were not staggered.

 

[KOL2000]

Remember earlier in this thread when everyone was trying to blame Tesla when from the get-go it was so clearly a tire defect?

Pepperidge Farm remembers.

ANY other manufacturer and everyone would have gone straight to blaming the tire, rightfully so.

To be fair I still blame Tesla for this partially. Having owned a model S for a decade, this rear inner wear problem on the 21" tires has been there from the beginning. While it may be the tire issue partly, the engineering team at Tesla should have factory settings coupled to a tire that doesnt require customers to buy new tires every 5-6k miles.

 

[WilliamG]

To be fair I still blame Tesla for this partially. Having owned a model S for a decade, this rear inner wear problem on the 21" tires has been there from the beginning. While it may be the tire issue partly, the engineering team at Tesla should have factory settings coupled to a tire that doesnt require customers to buy new tires every 5-6k miles.

I agree. Still absolutely Tesla’s fault, while also Michelin’s. Did Tesla not drive these cars on these tires for thousands of miles in the testing phase? Unbelievable. Or, maybe, given Tesla’s QC, completely believable.

Either way, some tire exchange program needs enacting because someone is going to get seriously hurt.

 

[daddymalu]

Michelin charges more for these acoustic tires and adds some foam and skimps on the rubber. Amazing.

 

[lbowroom]

I’m starting to suspect my non OEM 295’s don’t suffer from the same problem

 

[DigitalNav]

Had the same surprise recently when I started loosing air. I didn’t even notice the wear on the inside until I took the car to the shop to have the tire looked at. Still had plenty of thread on the tire otherwise. For sure a factory defect. Are both of your rear tires worn the same or one more than the other? For me was the rear right side.

Just had this SAME thing happen to me... we should start a bigger issue with tesla.

 

[DigitalNav]

 

[daddymalu]

This warrants a complaint with the safety administration if Michelin does not step up.

Report a Safety Problem | NHTSA

File a complaint with NHTSA if you experienced a vehicle, tire, car seat or equipment safety problem that could be a safety defect.

www.nhtsa.gov

 

[TSLA Pilot]

View attachment 861536

How is this tire still retaining air pressure?!?

Wow, what a picture.

Tesla/Michelin: it's time to step up and announce a recall. Have you learned nothing in the past three decades? Do NOT wait until there are "Firestone/Explorer" events . . . .

 

[dannycamps]

Yeah this is definitely a NHTSA issue and should be a recall. Whether it's bad tires or Tesla using improperly sized tires on the car, it needs to be addressed before someone gets hurt.

 

[Gadget-X]

Great Photo DigitalNav !!

IMHO - I have seen this type of belt separation or slippage on my ICE cars before, years ago. In the old days ( ~1970s) wanted more tire meat look on hopped up cars and wide width rims were not easily found. Usually caused by putting too wide radial belt tire on too small width rims. Today with the advert of very low profiles tires I am unsure if it applies or not.

Definitely deserves some investigating by both manufacturer and tire maker !

Be safe !

M

 

[Russell]

Remember earlier in this thread when everyone was trying to blame Tesla when from the get-go it was so clearly a tire defect?

Pepperidge Farm remembers.

ANY other manufacturer and everyone would have gone straight to blaming the tire, rightfully so.

If Tesla played no part in the failure of the tires then why did the adjustable camber and toe arms fix the problem?


If I owned another heavy sedan that used similar sized tires as my Model S, I would put the T version tires on it to see if it has the same wear problems.
Then I would know if the problem was with the tire or with the car.

 

[Lhshockey24]

If Tesla played no part in the failure of the tires then why did the adjustable camber and toe arms fix the problem?


If I owned another heavy sedan that used similar sized tires as my Model S, I would put the T version tires on it to see if it has the same wear problems.
Then I would know if the problem was with the tire or with the car.

We’re talking about 2 different things. The uneven wear over time is a low suspension settings issue that we have known about for years both on the S and X... This post appears to be about the tire defect where the sidewall actually starts to come apart, only on the Michelin stock tires.

 

[Tarpmaster]

Add me to the list. Had an air pressure warning show up on my panel this morning (the red variety). I thought it was a sensor or software issue. Went to Discount Tire and the guy knew exactly what the problem was. He showed me and then said, you probably have the same issue on the other side. Sure enough, he was correct. He said it's an issue with Tesla's. Of course, they had no such tires in stock. Fortunately, Tesla will take care of me early tomorrow morning but for a cool price of $1,500 for 2 tires and alignment.

 

[NeuroRad]

Add me to the list. Had an air pressure warning show up on my panel this morning (the red variety). I thought it was a sensor or software issue. Went to Discount Tire and the guy knew exactly what the problem was. He showed me and then said, you probably have the same issue on the other side. Sure enough, he was correct. He said it's an issue with Tesla's. Of course, they had no such tires in stock. Fortunately, Tesla will take care of me early tomorrow morning but for a cool price of $1,500 for 2 tires and alignment.

What’s your mileage on the tires? Does Michelin not warranty the tires for 15k miles?

 

[daddymalu]

Good Luck with the warranty. It looks like Tesla is only company worth the tires and they don’t and won’t help with a warranty claim and if you take the tires home, no authorized Michelin dealer will help you with a claim because you are not buying tires from them.

 

[Tarpmaster]

What’s your mileage on the tires? Does Michelin not warranty the tires for 15k miles?

15,539

 

[Altes]

It’s the camber folks.

I would have to agree underinflated would wear both edges, and not that dramatically. I have a 2016 S75 and went thru first set of tires in 20k miles. tire guy said teslas have mega camber for better handling due to weight. tried to get them to align it to reduce camber but they said they couldnt go beyond tesla specs due to liability. so I found a shop that would and they set it half a degree higher than spec, next set went 35K and i tried 3/4 degree to see if it got better. last set of tires went 45K. I drive 90% highway miles and dont track the car so i cant say what it does to handling but anyone racing should probably learn to live with sh-t tire life anyway