Ruptured wheel (not tyre!!)

[TheWolf]

Had the car for about 6 weeks now, but on New Year's Eve I hit a pot hole that had disguised itself as a puddle, and am very surprised to find that the rear wheel rim has a puncture hole!!

The wheel (19") is not distorted, and the inner and outer lip of the wheel are undamaged. Superficially at least, the tyre itself looks sound. No splits, cracks or bulges

I know that teslas and potholes don't go together, but even so, this seems to be very unusual, especially since the front wheel has escaped altogether. I've shown the image to a number of time served mechanics all of whom are bemused by the damage.

Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and if you think that this may be a manufacturing fault?

 

[yobigd20]

i've never seen anything like this before. and very surprising that this was on 19s.... maybe its a rare manufacturing defect with that specific wheel?

 

[Sirguydo]

Looks weird tyre pressure was ok ?
Go back and look at the pot hole take some pictures and seek damages from the council .

youve had the car six weeks and this is your first post , naughty boy :scared:

 

[Skotty]

Well, one thing's for sure -- the wheels are made in Mexico. Even the 19's aren't that deep (still low profile), and it is a heavy car. It looks like maybe it rolled over something like a pole end that was small but blunt, such that it deformed the tire and punched through the wheel without noticeably damaging the tire itself. I've never seen that before, but I suspect it's possible on a low profile tire.

 

[msnow]

Never seen anything like that. Looks like a manufacturing defect.

 

[CHG-ON]

I can't imagine that being anything other than a defect. How could that not trash the tyre too if the wheel were solid.

 

[TheWolf]

Sorry for not posting sooner, but I've been too busy driving the car or telling everyone how good it is!!

As far as I know the tyre pressures were OK prior to the incident. Was a fairly cold night, only a few degrees above freezing, but had driven for about 6 miles prior, so tyres should have been warm

Had a look at the place where it happened today, and the cold / wet weather is taking its toll. The Tarmac is degrading quickly and the pot hole looks like it's turning into a sink hole almost!! Ok maybe that's a bit dramatic, but it is getting bigger

Will have a chat with tesla service tomorrow, and see what they have to say

Thanks for all your input

 

[aus]

Sorry to see that OP.
Is the tire bubbled anywhere?
How much is a 19" wheel in the UK?

.

 

[Zybane]

That looks like a small but tall object struck the center of the tire, deflected the center of the tire inward enough so that the object put pressure on the center inside of the wheel.

Some pretty high forces are involved with a 4,800 pound car with relatively low profile tires travelling at speed.

 

[Chris TX]

I've cut through a few Tesla wheels (see my items for sale) and that thickness looks about right in that spot. You must have jammed that wheel on something sharp enough to poke into the "soft spot" of the wheel. I'd be curious to see what the inside of the tire looks like after that. Please tell me you're replacing the tire along with the wheel. It might look okay, but I wouldn't trust the inner belts after that hit.

 

[ArtInCT]

Wow that is one heck of an impact rupture to the wheel! Most certainly not a defect but rather an impact stress crack and deformation.
You really must have hit something that was pointed and hard at the bottom of that pothole.
Incredible that your tire did not blow as well.
I totally agree with CHRIS TX, that wheel is toast and the tire cannot be trusted at all.
You should check the other suspension components to make sure that you do not have any deformation in the links and bushings.
Additionally, your alignment needs to be checked when you get a new wheel and tire mounted.

Might I ask what happened to the other wheel on the same side? Did the front somehow miss the pothole?
If not you need to check out that rim as well.

 

[ecarfan]

I would replace that wheel immediately.

 

[islandbayy]

I would replace that wheel immediately.

I disagree. A bit of Mighty Putty in that crack, let it sit for a day to fully cure, your good to go. As the commercial says, it's great for auto repairs. I don't see one reason why it would not work in this situation. (Sarcasm ;-] )

 

[jaguar36]

I doubt its a defect, far more likely that there was just something at the bottom of the pothole that hit in the middle of the tire. That would generate a huge amount of force and as long as it wasn't really sharp wouldn't puncture the tire. Wheels aren't strong in the middle as there normally wouldn't be much force going through that area, particularly in the radial direction.

I disagree with the previous poster though, defiantly don't want to use Mighty Putty on it, that would be hugely unsafe. You should really be using some quality JB Weld instead.

 

[ArtInCT]

LOL

 

[TheWolf]

I had thought just putting an inner tube in would have sorted it....:scared:

the he car is on its way to tesla now for a wheel and tyre replacement as well as a geometry check

the front wheel hit the same spot but can't see any damage, but am keen to get it checked too

Went back to the pothole today. The hole extends from the kerb by about 1.7m. Even though the water level has now dropped, the depth of the water nearest the middle of the road is about 10cm. There is a lot of broken Tarmac, and I can only presume that it's one of these pieces that is submerged under the water. When I drove by the other day, none of this was visible at all, so pretty gutted.

fingers crossed it all gets sorted quickly and that there's no major damage elsewhere!!

 

[Chris TX]

Be thankful it's only a 19" which are cheap compared to the other two.

 

[TheWolf]

Ok, so the vehicle has been inspected and the wheel was not at fault. On the outside the tyre looked perfect even to Tesla, however when they took it off, it has split and the inside of the tyre is trashed.

so £550 for a new wheel and tyre

the cost to check the tracking .... £350!! Ouch

The good news is that the rest of the car is completely unharmed, so I can be thankful for that.

most expensive New Year's Eve party I've been to

Thanks again for all your responses

 

[Drewflux]

The last time I saw damage like this, was from runing over a 5" coach bolt. Although in that case the bolt was firmly wedged in the tyre. Was there any rebar sticking out of the pot hole?

 

[TheWolf]

The pothole is next to a drain which is blocked. There has been so much rain for the last week that I haven't been able to see inside of it

All I can see is the surface of the road is now breaking up, with large clumps of Tarmac being scattered everywhere