Tire punctured by not so sharp rock

[turbogolfcart]

Just got my first flat tire after owning my Model S 75 for a 1.5 years. I called Tesla and they sent out a van and swapped my wheel for a loaner wheel (Burbank, CA). The experience was pretty easy. They'll take the tire back to the service center for repair / replacement.

I thought others might find this part interesting:

The tire was punctured by a rock that wasn't very sharp or pointy. The guy that swapped my wheel told me he's seen unusual things puncture Tesla tires - things you wouldn't expect like rocks and pieces of wood. He told me that since the car is so heavy, unusual objects end up having enough force to poke through the tire. (my car has the Goodyear Eagle Touring tires 245/45R19)

Not sure if others have experienced this before but it was surprising to me...

 

[Retrospected]

Well that sucks, and no, I've never heard of this before. That would have smashed someones windshield if it propelled from that tire though!

 

[Drewflux]

@turbogolfcart I have seen rocks puncture tyres before. Your third photo is the telling one. If you look close, you will see the exposed edge of the rock has been ground down from driving. That rock was in there for a while, the weight of the vehicle slowly forced it through the tread.

 

[Exiom]

I wouldn't think Teslas are any more unusually heavy than other cars it's class/size...

A MS P100D has a curb weight of 2,250 kg (4,960 lb)
A BMW 7-series has a curb weight of 2,274 kg (5,013 lb)

I actually do own a BMW 7er LWB as well as a 3er coupe, and I have for a long time and their previous generations.

I don't experience any more tyre issues on the 7er that I wouldn't encounter on the 3er as well.

I have yet to experience any tyre issues on my Tesla... *touch wood*

 

[MurrayJimW]

I bought an S in June '17. Thus far I have had 3 tires punctured in only 4800 miles of use. Prior to getting the Tesla I had not experienced a tire puncture in the previous 10 years of driving. While this may be dumb luck, 3 failures in such a short period of time make me believe either the Goodyears that came on the car or the car itself has a greater than normal tendency to experience tire punctures. I've already decided to try something other than the Goodyears when the time comes. It's truly a pain when you get in there at 5am for work and one of them is flat again. I've also lost the acoustic foam in 3 out of 4 tires at this point due to patching. Again, this all may be the luck of the draw and I may have been overdue for a tire failure or two, but two of the three items removed from the tire appeared to have needed to hit the tire just right to puncture it. They were not really sharp. One of them was a nail and I would have expected that to get in.

 

[Tiger]

Not much weight difference in cars: Compare Mercedes-Benz S-Class vs. Tesla Model S vs. Porsche Panamera

Is more likely that Tesla factory installed tires are crap: How long do tires typically last on a Tesla? • r/teslamotors

 

[Chickenlittle]

Just got my first flat tire after owning my Model S 75 for a 1.5 years. I called Tesla and they sent out a van and swapped my wheel for a loaner wheel (Burbank, CA). The experience was pretty easy. They'll take the tire back to the service center for repair / replacement.

I thought others might find this part interesting:

The tire was punctured by a rock that wasn't very sharp or pointy. The guy that swapped my wheel told me he's seen unusual things puncture Tesla tires - things you wouldn't expect like rocks and pieces of wood. He told me that since the car is so heavy, unusual objects end up having enough force to poke through the tire. (my car has the Goodyear Eagle Touring tires 245/45R19)

Not sure if others have experienced this before but it was surprising to me...

View attachment 280061 View attachment 280063 View attachment 280064

A BFR (big fuxxing rock)

 

[navinsiri]

I’ve had that happen before in my Honda Odyssey. Not that unusual if the rock is big enough.

 

[jerry33]

One of the ways to reduce rolling resistance is to make the belts more flexible (e.g. thinner). The Michelin Primacy OE tires seem about the best for flat resistance.

 

[OlderThanDirt]

Rear tire? Front tire flips the object up and......... the timing is perfect for the rear tire to go to tire heaven. Found some pretty surprising things inside rear tires through the years.

 

[Krazaak]

I had a rock puncture a tire on my old Honda S2000. It doesn't take a heavy car, just bad luck.

 

[unbelievable]

Hey, has anyone seen my arrowhead?

 

[dhanson865]

Just got my first flat tire after owning my Model S 75 for a 1.5 years. I called Tesla and they sent out a van and swapped my wheel for a loaner wheel (Burbank, CA). The experience was pretty easy. They'll take the tire back to the service center for repair / replacement.

any idea what your cold tire pressure was before the rock? Many very good advantages to running your tires at high PSI but one of the few drawbacks is punctures are more likely, especially so if you go much above sidewall max.

Personally I drive at very high tire pressures and have ever since I got the Prius and had a center screen telling me my gas mileage (same with the Leaf showing my my miles per kWh). I haven't had any more punctures than expected in the last 10 years or so I've been driving around with highly inflated tires.

 

[Falcon3]

Just got my first flat tire after owning my Model S 75 for a 1.5 years. I called Tesla and they sent out a van and swapped my wheel for a loaner wheel (Burbank, CA). The experience was pretty easy. They'll take the tire back to the service center for repair / replacement.

I thought others might find this part interesting:

The tire was punctured by a rock that wasn't very sharp or pointy. The guy that swapped my wheel told me he's seen unusual things puncture Tesla tires - things you wouldn't expect like rocks and pieces of wood. He told me that since the car is so heavy, unusual objects end up having enough force to poke through the tire. (my car has the Goodyear Eagle Touring tires 245/45R19)

Not sure if others have experienced this before but it was surprising to me...

View attachment 280061 View attachment 280063 View attachment 280064

That rock is huge compare to what I experienced. Mine was a bit smaller but still enough to puncture the tire. Waiting for road side assistance right now. New model 3 owner and gotta day road side assistance is great. They are going to give me a loaner tire and get the other tire fixed for free. I’ll pick it up when it’s done with one 3 days.