Tire problems

[RBaker]

I am a happy owner of a new M75D. Great car! I am having one concern, however.

Less than two weeks after delivery, I took a inaugural road trip. The first day, I was driving up a freeway in Northern California and suddenly the tire pressure alarm came on. I pulled over and a tire was flat. Really flat, despite supposedly being a "run flat" tire. My car came equipped with the Goodyear Eagle Touring tires on 19 inch wheels. I had purchased an emergency tire inflator from Tesla. I messed with that for about 20 minutes on the very busy freeway but couldn't make it work. I called Tesla and they sent a tow truck. I got lucky, the truck came in 20 minutes instead of the advertised 60 minutes. The truck towed me 94 miles to the San Rafael service center. The service technician said I hit a pothole and replaced the tire. The whole ordeal took about four hours. They charged me for the tire but not for the tow. Overall, I am pretty happy with Tesla's service. However, afterwards I did some research on Tesla tires and came away with some concerns.
1. The inflator will work on slow leaks like from a nail but not on blowouts. Makes sense. I wish I knew that before I risked my life on the freeway.
2. Apparently the low profile tires used on Teslas (and other performance cars), are more susceptible to blowouts than the old style high profile tires I am used to. In addition, Tesla's are heavy, making the problem worse.
3. The Goodyear Eagle Touring tires currently being supplied on Tesla's are used mostly or exclusively by Tesla. They have a special foam liner to reduce road noise. Apparently the tires are not readily available at regular tire dealers and the foam lining scares off some tire dealers from being willing to repair punctures.
4. Tesla will tow your car 50 miles for tire service. Over 50 miles it would have cost me $3.00 per mile had Tesla not covered me. Tesla did cover me, I assume because the car was so new.
5. I understand that Tesla will replace a flat tire, but will not repair a puncture.

So I am trying to figure out how to handle future road trips. For example, I am going to Oregon, which has only one Tesla service center. I called Tesla about this and they said that they have tire dealers in remote areas they can bring in if necessary.

Still, I have concerns. First, I wish that I had insisted on the car being equipped with the previously supplied Michelins, which are readily available at tire dealers. Also, I wonder if the Michelins are a little tougher than the Goodyears, if a little more noisy. Second, if you call Tesla for a puncture, I guess you are going to get a new tire whether you need it or not. Finally, if you decide to use AAA and get towed to the closest tire dealer, will they work on your Goodyear Eagle tire or can they get a replacement? Not to mention being able to lift the Tesla without damaging the battery case. Oh, and get the tire pressure sensor installed correctly.

Does anyone have experience to bear on this issue? Thanks. Before I go off on a trip far from Tesla Service Centers I would like to get this figured out.

 

[patrick40363]

Try Americas tire. I get my tires and rotations done there. They also offer hazard insurance for the tires. I do have Michelins but Goodyear tires should be just as good.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

Tires are on every car...any tire shop can fix them (if not, they probably shouldn't be doing tires). Tesla charges crazy $ for tires- check tire rack when you need replacements or some other vendor
most racks can lift a tesla with no problem. most jacks can also lift a Tesla with no problem, I change/rotate tires 10-15 times a year and have had a couple of screws removed and tires patched (always free of charge at a local tire shop!)

 

[kev1n]

tire pressure sensors are universal, if the shop you bring it to cannot do that right.. i dont know how they are still in business..

most of your issues are typical of owning any car, not just a tesla. you can change out the tires to anything you want if you really hate the goodyear tires that much.

advice for road trip, get tire plug repair kit so you can fix the tire on the road if you have to.

the 19's already come with 45 series tires, these are pretty normal. might want to reconsider your driving habits if youre constantly driving into pot holes

 

[Sawyer8888]

I wonder if the Michelins are a little tougher than the Goodyears, if a little more noisy.

Thank you for sharing your experience. "What to do" when a tire goes flat on my Tesla is always in the back of my mind. I kind of know about the 1-time tow that Tesla covers, but still. BTW, I do not believe run-flat tires are offered on any new Tesla.

In any case, 12K miles from new, my two rear Goodyears are already below the wear mark according to my service center. And the front tires are very close. That didn't take long. I will be switching to Michelins through BJ's Wholesale Club. Tesla charges more for the same tire with mounting. Michelin is known to be a soft tire, however I was happy with the 3 sets I went through on my previous car. I just hope they last longer than the Goodyears on the much heavier Tesla. My SC recommends rotating every 3K miles to extend their life.

The foam inside the Goodyears seems to have mixed reviews. Some believe it does not help reduce road noise. I really don't know.

 

[patrick40363]

Thank you for sharing your experience. "What to do" when a tire goes flat on my Tesla is always in the back of my mind. I kind of know about the 1-time tow that Tesla covers, but still. BTW, I do not believe run-flat tires are offered on any new Tesla.

In any case, 12K miles from new, my two rear Goodyears are already below the wear mark according to my service center. And the front tires are very close. That didn't take long. I will be switching to Michelins through BJ's Wholesale Club. Tesla charges more for the same tire with mounting. Michelin is known to be a soft tire, however I was happy with the 3 sets I went through on my previous car. I just hope they last longer than the Goodyears on the much heavier Tesla. My SC recommends rotating every 3K miles to extend their life.

The foam inside the Goodyears seems to have mixed reviews. Some believe it does not help reduce road noise. I really don't know.

Tires have a mileage warranty as long as you have even wear. I go through a set on Michelins every year at approx 12K miles. I go go to Americas tire and a a credit toward the new ones. You might want to check with a tire company and see.

 

[Snerruc]

1. Tesla does not use run flat tires.
2. Most of us carry tire changing tools, plugs and fix a flat as well as an air compressor. We are slightly paranoid.
3.BMWs don’t have a spare and many other cars don’t either. It’s not just Tesla.
4. There are many threads on tires here. People are all over the map on tire wear and noise.

 

[jerry33]

Keeping the tire pressure up is your main defense against unavoidable pot holes. In almost all cases, use the vehicle placard pressure as the pressure you never want to go below. Snerruc is correct: No Tesla has ever come with runflat tires. (He's right about the other items as well). FWIW, Michelin Primacy seem to be more robust than the GY tires, but any tire will fail if the pressure is low, and low profile tires are more susceptible to low pressure failures.

 

[Dromanez]

I am a happy owner of a new M75D. Great car! I am having one concern, however.

Less than two weeks after delivery, I took a inaugural road trip. The first day, I was driving up a freeway in Northern California and suddenly the tire pressure alarm came on. I pulled over and a tire was flat. Really flat, despite supposedly being a "run flat" tire. My car came equipped with the Goodyear Eagle Touring tires on 19 inch wheels. I had purchased an emergency tire inflator from Tesla. I messed with that for about 20 minutes on the very busy freeway but couldn't make it work. I called Tesla and they sent a tow truck. I got lucky, the truck came in 20 minutes instead of the advertised 60 minutes. The truck towed me 94 miles to the San Rafael service center. The service technician said I hit a pothole and replaced the tire. The whole ordeal took about four hours. They charged me for the tire but not for the tow. Overall, I am pretty happy with Tesla's service. However, afterwards I did some research on Tesla tires and came away with some concerns.
1. The inflator will work on slow leaks like from a nail but not on blowouts. Makes sense. I wish I knew that before I risked my life on the freeway.
2. Apparently the low profile tires used on Teslas (and other performance cars), are more susceptible to blowouts than the old style high profile tires I am used to. In addition, Tesla's are heavy, making the problem worse.
3. The Goodyear Eagle Touring tires currently being supplied on Tesla's are used mostly or exclusively by Tesla. They have a special foam liner to reduce road noise. Apparently the tires are not readily available at regular tire dealers and the foam lining scares off some tire dealers from being willing to repair punctures.
4. Tesla will tow your car 50 miles for tire service. Over 50 miles it would have cost me $3.00 per mile had Tesla not covered me. Tesla did cover me, I assume because the car was so new.
5. I understand that Tesla will replace a flat tire, but will not repair a puncture.

So I am trying to figure out how to handle future road trips. For example, I am going to Oregon, which has only one Tesla service center. I called Tesla about this and they said that they have tire dealers in remote areas they can bring in if necessary.

Still, I have concerns. First, I wish that I had insisted on the car being equipped with the previously supplied Michelins, which are readily available at tire dealers. Also, I wonder if the Michelins are a little tougher than the Goodyears, if a little more noisy. Second, if you call Tesla for a puncture, I guess you are going to get a new tire whether you need it or not. Finally, if you decide to use AAA and get towed to the closest tire dealer, will they work on your Goodyear Eagle tire or can they get a replacement? Not to mention being able to lift the Tesla without damaging the battery case. Oh, and get the tire pressure sensor installed correctly.

Does anyone have experience to bear on this issue? Thanks. Before I go off on a trip far from Tesla Service Centers I would like to get this figured out.

I strongly recommend that you purchase a tire in advance and just throw it in the trunk. I recently had a tire blow-out in South Carolina while on vacation with my family, where Tesla does not have any Service Centers. The nearest Service Center was in Savannah, Georgia, which was closed on weekends. My tire popped on Friday evening. I called Tesla's roadside service and was advised that Tesla would only pay for 50 miles of towing. The rest ($945.00) was on me. I opted to get towed to the nearest "open" Tesla Service Station in Jacksonville, Florida. I called over 30 tire shops in South Carolina and Georgia and no one carried the tire size for my vehicle (255/40 R20). This was my first road trip with our Tesla, but I quickly came to the conclusion that you are on your own. Tesla offers loaner tires, but none were available in South Carolina or Georgia.

 

[airborne spoon]

I strongly recommend that you purchase a tire in advance and just throw it in the trunk. I recently had a tire blow-out in South Carolina while on vacation with my family, where Tesla does not have any Service Centers. The nearest Service Center was in Savannah, Georgia, which was closed on weekends. My tire popped on Friday evening. I called Tesla's roadside service and was advised that Tesla would only pay for 50 miles of towing. The rest ($945.00) was on me. I opted to get towed to the nearest "open" Tesla Service Station in Jacksonville, Florida. I called over 30 tire shops in South Carolina and Georgia and no one carried the tire size for my vehicle (255/40 R20). This was my first road trip with our Tesla, but I quickly came to the conclusion that you are on your own. Tesla offers loaner tires, but none were available in South Carolina or Georgia.

Holy thread resurrection batman 4 years old and its back

Anyway if you ride around on non standard size tires like your 255/40/20's you can expect to be up *sugar* creek, but on a weekday just like any issue you can get it taken care of pretty easily. Also you don't need to go to tesla for tire problems, go to anywhere that sells tires, seriously anywhere like a Bob's tire, free can of dip while you wait can fix a tesla tire

I hit a rock on a Sunday morning and blew out the sidewall of one snow tire and it was a 255/40/20 and i had to wait till Monday to drive my moms car to the tirerack warehouse in Sparks to get a new tire, (i was visiting around topaz lake NV when it blew out), got it mount balance at a random tire shop and i was on my way home southbound. Since it was a weekend i tried a couple places but as i expected since it was not only a weird size but also a snow tire nobody had one. It worked out for me easily since i was close to one of the tirerack warehouse's and that's where i get my tires. if i was further away from one they would've likely had to do 1 day shipping to a random tire shop of my selection to get it replaced.