Screwed twice in less than two months! BAD luck or sabotage?

[MorrisonHiker]

I've had non-repairable tire damage twice in less than two months!

I picked up my new S 90D on 12/7/16 and noticed the TPMS warning when driving home. Since it was cold and snowy and a change in elevation, I figured the weather was the culprit...but every day when driving to work I would have to reset the TPMS warning to remove it from the dash. At first, the tire pressure went down slowly but eventually, it started dropping rapidly and I was having to add air every day.

I took my car in on 1/7/17 and found there was a screw in the inside sidewall and it was non-repairable. I mentioned that I'd been receiving TPMS warnings since day 1 and asked them to check their logs but they said the logs only went back two weeks. I ended up having to pay $250 for a new tire. Oh well.

Fast forward three weeks to 1/28/17, the day we're selling the other Model S and the TPMS starts going off again. This time, it was the right rear tire and the pressure was already down 10 PSI. I looked all around the tire and after moving the car a bit, I found a large screw in the tread. I took the car into Discount Tire and they said it wasn't repairable since it was such a large screw. Oh well. I bought the tire warranty from them before they looked at it. Since it wasn't repairable, it sounds like the warranty will be covering the cost of the new tire.

I've been driving thirty years and NEVER had a flat or a screw/nail in any of my tires over the years. I've had the CR-V for 20 years and taken it off-road, on rough roads, etc. and never had a problem. I find it really odd that I've gotten two tires damaged irreparably in less than two months of ownership. I'm pretty sure the screws are not coming from my driveway as we had three other cars (including another Tesla) which have never had a tire issue in the 7+ years I've lived at the house.

I started getting a bit paranoid, wondering if someone at work might not like my new car. Surely that's not the case and I'm just having a bad streak with tires...right?

Has anyone else had such bad luck?

 

[Max*]

You're not paranoid if they really are out to get you...

 

[Yggdrasill]

Probably just bad luck. I cracked the windshield on my CR-V a couple of years ago, and had to replace it. About two weeks later I cracked the windshield again... One time was a small rock that came off an oncoming truck, the other time I don't quite recall what it was. Something similar.

Those are the two cracked windshields I've ever experienced. (Well, except when the CR-V was totaled by someone who fell asleep at the wheel and torpedoed me. The windshield wasn't in great shape after the car rolled over a couple of times.)

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Probably just bad luck. I cracked the windshield on my CR-V a couple of years ago, and had to replace it. About two weeks later I cracked the windshield again... One time was a small rock that came off an oncoming truck, the other time I don't quite recall what it was. Something similar.

Those are the two cracked windshields I've ever experienced. (Well, except when the CR-V was totaled by someone who fell asleep at the wheel and torpedoed me. The windshield wasn't in great shape after the car rolled over a couple of times.)

When I first got my CR-V back in 1997, the windshield was cracked within 3 weeks. I got it replaced and it got cracked again with a few months. I've been driving around with that crack for nearly 20 years now. No new cracks since then!

 

[steve841]

Every new car or tires I get ... make it about 2 months before I find a present in the tread.

No way around it... it sucks.

 

[Doug_G]

Bad luck happens. My favorite story:

The local corner store got broken into. Someone drove a stolen minivan through the front door and took off with all the cigarettes.

When the repaired the front door, they installed two large concrete bollards to prevent a repeat occurrence. Three days later some lady did the "mistake-the-gas-for-the-brake" thing, somehow drove around the freshly-installed bollards, and smashed through the front door again.

 

[Ardie]

Talk to the BMW i3 folks. Skinny high pressure low profile tires. People who have never had a flat tire are now inducted into the Flat Tire Club within their first year of i3 ownership. Some of them are given this dubious distinction twice. Or more.

There are some of us who are beginning to believe that BMW has an undisclosed nail-seeker option in their Assisted Cruise Control...

-- Ardie
Three-time member of the Flat Tire Club :-(

 

[NikeWings]

Stay out of the construction zone and you'll be good for another 7 years.

I had a similar run of bad luck, 3 flats within a month, several years ago. Eventually determined it was tied it to a residential rehab/construction project that was on my typical back road route home. No recourse, but I altered my route pretty quickly. Good luck.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Stay out of the construction zone and you'll be good for another 7 years.

I had a similar run of bad luck, 3 flats within a month, several years ago. Eventually determined it was tied it to a residential rehab/construction project that was on my typical back road route home. No recourse, but I altered my route pretty quickly. Good luck.

There's only one road leading to my neighborhood. They've been building a new house at the entrance of my neighborhood on and off for the past two years. I was a little suspicious of the construction activity there but there's no way to avoid it...and none of our other cars have had any problems while they've been doing construction. They just had the utilities turned on last week so maybe they are finally done with construction. I did take the car out for a few extra miles last Thursday, right after I got the 17.3.15 update. I suppose it could've happened then.

 

[NikeWings]

There's only one road leading to my neighborhood. They've been building a new house at the entrance of my neighborhood on and off for the past two years. I was a little suspicious of the construction activity there but there's no way to avoid it...and none of our other cars have had any problems while they've been doing construction. They just had the utilities turned on last week so maybe they are finally done with construction. I did take the car out for a few extra miles last Thursday, right after I got the 17.3.15 update. I suppose it could've happened then.

Ouch! Since you have no alt route, maybe hop in your CRV with a big broom and give the area a good sweep or ask the homeowner to hose it down? Possible residual screws rolling around, that have bounced out of those trucks for two years. And thankfully your other cars have escaped. I feel your pain, not to mention the inconvenience of it all on top.

 

[Canuck]

It's probably just bad luck. But install a dual camera dashcam (that points both front and back) to constant 12 volt so it runs constantly. That will give you peace of mind at least.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

It's probably just bad luck. But install a dual camera dashcam (that points both front and back) to constant 12 volt so it runs constantly. That will give you peace of mind at least.

I have the front dashcam installed but am waiting until the hatch is replaced next week (clear coat issue) before installing the rear cam. Hopefully I don't collect any more screws before then!

 

[ev-now]

Stay out of the construction zone and you'll be good for another 7 years.

I had a similar run of bad luck, 3 flats within a month, several years ago. Eventually determined it was tied it to a residential rehab/construction project that was on my typical back road route home. No recourse, but I altered my route pretty quickly. Good luck.

Sage advice. When I first came to Colorado I lived in Denver - no issues. Moved out to the 'burbs the following year - 3 nails/screws in about 6 months - of course I'd moved into a neighborhood still under construction. Bought tire insurance, used twice in remaining two years in that neighborhood. Moved to older (30+ years) neighborhood almost fourteen years ago. Stopped buying tire insurance after about five years. So far, so good - nothing like tempting fate!

 

[Andyw2100]

Since we're talking about foreign objects in tires...

I had a nail or a screw causing a slow leak in one of my tires a year or more ago. A local repair shop was able to repair (plug) the hole. I had called Tesla Service first, just to see what my options were. As it turns out, Tesla Service won't repair tires. So my only option with Tesla would have been to replace the tire.

 

[Spyder14]

It does suck...do you have any new or home construction going on in your neighborhood or commute to work? I've had 2 issues--one on my 911S Cab and the other on my golf cart! The builders are supposed to clean the street by the job sites everyday but...

 

[artsci]

I've had non-repairable tire damage twice in less than two months!

I picked up my new S 90D on 12/7/16 and noticed the TPMS warning when driving home. Since it was cold and snowy and a change in elevation, I figured the weather was the culprit...but every day when driving to work I would have to reset the TPMS warning to remove it from the dash. At first, the tire pressure went down slowly but eventually, it started dropping rapidly and I was having to add air every day.

I took my car in on 1/7/17 and found there was a screw in the inside sidewall and it was non-repairable. I mentioned that I'd been receiving TPMS warnings since day 1 and asked them to check their logs but they said the logs only went back two weeks. I ended up having to pay $250 for a new tire. Oh well.

Fast forward three weeks to 1/28/17, the day we're selling the other Model S and the TPMS starts going off again. This time, it was the right rear tire and the pressure was already down 10 PSI. I looked all around the tire and after moving the car a bit, I found a large screw in the tread. I took the car into Discount Tire and they said it wasn't repairable since it was such a large screw. Oh well. I bought the tire warranty from them before they looked at it. Since it wasn't repairable, it sounds like the warranty will be covering the cost of the new tire.

I've been driving thirty years and NEVER had a flat or a screw/nail in any of my tires over the years. I've had the CR-V for 20 years and taken it off-road, on rough roads, etc. and never had a problem. I find it really odd that I've gotten two tires damaged irreparably in less than two months of ownership. I'm pretty sure the screws are not coming from my driveway as we had three other cars (including another Tesla) which have never had a tire issue in the 7+ years I've lived at the house.

I started getting a bit paranoid, wondering if someone at work might not like my new car. Surely that's not the case and I'm just having a bad streak with tires...right?

Has anyone else had such bad luck?

Bad luck it is. I had a similar experience about a year ago -- two screws in tires. Fortunately they were repairable.

 

[TexLaw]

No flats in thirty years? It sounds more like you had good luck for thirty years, rather than bad luck for a month.

Actually, I'd put good money on it being that construction. We have a home being built just down the street from us, so I am bracing myself for a flat.

 

[Merrill]

Most likely construction, have had that happen before.

 

[sorka]

If anyone wonders why you get screws and nails in the rear tires and almost never the front, it's because you run over them with the front tire which pops them up at just the right angle for your rear tires to inject them.

 

[David29]

I also had a screw damage a tire on my Model S, and had the Tesla service center replace it. My price was higher, though. I understand the Michelins cost more. Anyway, I was disappointed that the Tesla folks do not warranty the tire in any way, whereas you can get a road hazard warranty if you buy a tire at a tire store. Lesson for next time...