Tyre Blow Out on 7 mth old Model 3 …. Not happy

[Laurdan]

If you really want to learn something from this experience, it's that ultra-low profile tyres are not the best for protection against this kind of failure (rare as they are) when driving on potholed UK roads. The stretched look is also quite trendy at the moment and probably not doing the tyre any favours. For these reasons and my automotive engineering background I keep well away from the bling wheel options (applies to all manufacturers, not just Tesla).

Practical solution now you've been bitten:-

1. Swap your wheels for standard Tesla 18" with correctly sized brand new premium tyres. Michelin would be my personal choice, but any premium tyre will be fine. Don't trust used tyres if you buy a used set of wheels/tyres as you don't know their history.
2. Check your tyre sidewalls regularly for damage (kerbs, potholes, debris etc can inflict sidewall cuts that can potentially lead to catastrophic failure)
3. Be very careful not to kerb your tyres when parking.

Follow the above advice and you are very unlikely to have any future issues. If you decide to stick with the ultra-low profile wheels/tyres you are still unlikely to experience another blowout, but damaged rims and flats are far more common with that combination. Whenever I look at other Teslas kerb damage is often quite obvious. People tend to think of rim damage in this case, but the tyre sidewalls can also be critically damaged. This would be in my top 3 guesses as to what led to your failure.

Thank you for your reply it is much appreciated. I have noted all your points and I shall follow your advice
Thank you once again as I do appreciate it

 

[drtimhill]

I am exploring why this happened and I have since learnt that Tesla formally used Mitchelin tyres. Now they use Pirelli, why?
Have they compromised quality over profit margins

Also, surely I need to highlight to the fellow Tesla owners as an indication of what has happened to me could happen again to anyone ??

First off, there may be any number of reasons why Tesla switched type makers, including just a better price. Also, you seem to be saying that Tesla should alert every owner to every possible failure after a one-off incident of that type? Really?

I'm sorry you had the blow-out (and glad no-one was hurt), but types do blow-out, even when quite new. And how do you know there was nothing on the road? I'm not sure how you could possibly be certain .. all it takes is a sharp nail or spike of glass at just the wrong angle. Modern types are tough, but not indestructible.

 

[Laurdan]

First off, there may be any number of reasons why Tesla switched type makers, including just a better price. Also, you seem to be saying that Tesla should alert every owner to every possible failure after a one-off incident of that type? Really?

I'm sorry you had the blow-out (and glad no-one was hurt), but types do blow-out, even when quite new. And how do you know there was nothing on the road? I'm not sure how you could possibly be certain .. all it takes is a sharp nail or spike of glass at just the wrong angle. Modern types are tough, but not indestructible.

Thank you for your reply

 

[STS-134]

If you really want to learn something from this experience, it's that ultra-low profile tyres are not the best for protection against this kind of failure (rare as they are) when driving on potholed UK roads. The stretched look is also quite trendy at the moment and probably not doing the tyre any favours. For these reasons and my automotive engineering background I keep well away from the bling wheel options (applies to all manufacturers, not just Tesla).

Practical solution now you've been bitten:-

1. Swap your wheels for standard Tesla 18" with correctly sized brand new premium tyres. Michelin would be my personal choice, but any premium tyre will be fine. Don't trust used tyres if you buy a used set of wheels/tyres as you don't know their history.
2. Check your tyre sidewalls regularly for damage (kerbs, potholes, debris etc can inflict sidewall cuts that can potentially lead to catastrophic failure)
3. Be very careful not to kerb your tyres when parking.

Follow the above advice and you are very unlikely to have any future issues. If you decide to stick with the ultra-low profile wheels/tyres you are still unlikely to experience another blowout, but damaged rims and flats are far more common with that combination. Whenever I look at other Teslas kerb damage is often quite obvious. People tend to think of rim damage in this case, but the tyre sidewalls can also be critically damaged. This would be in my top 3 guesses as to what led to your failure.

That's kind of what I was getting at. But I was just going to put the evidence out there and let the OP come to that conclusion herself.

 

[Laurdan]

That's kind of what I was getting at. But I was just going to put the evidence out there and let the OP come to that conclusion herself.

Well you was only “kind of” nothing like a definite reply

 

[Laurdan]

But you agreed my post was factually accurate, and therefore a necessary correction.

That leaves us with you being easily triggered.

GORT you’re silly.

 

[Laurdan]

How the fcuck car had to alert you?! With notification:

"According my crystal ball tyre will blow out when it will reach precisely 70 mph. Sincerely yours, Tesla"??

Ar you really that special ir just trolling?

Oh please…. Now listen carefully
The car does alert you when you are losing pressure from your tyres. I did not receive any notification that the front tyre was losing pressure. And! Tesla have confirmed this. What Tesla read when they diagnosed the issue is that the tyre blew in one blast, the tyre rapidly lost air instantly, this Tesla told me. And when it happened the screen alerted a flat tyre, only because it’s not able to alert a blow out. Tesla also confirmed I did not have a flat tyre it was a complete blow out and did cause a great deal of interest for them when my car arrived in their garage

Got it now?
As for Trolling, really! how old are you??

 

[EVMeister]

Laurdan, with respect the reason people are "jumping on you" about this is because you replied to "It was the tire that failed, not the car" with "The car did not alert us there was a problem and Tesla have confirmed that the blow out was instant and that the car did not alert us before the blow out". That implies that you were expecting that the car would alert you and therefore the car somehow failed by not doing so. That's how I read your response and it seems others here did as well.

 

[Laurdan]

Laurdan, with respect the reason people are "jumping on you" about this is because you replied to "It was the tire that failed, not the car" with "The car did not alert us there was a problem and Tesla have confirmed that the blow out was instant and that the car did not alert us before the blow out". That implies that you were expecting that the car would alert you and therefore the car somehow failed by not doing so. That's how I read your response and it seems others here did as well.

Jumping on me??
Not too sure about that?
We are all imputing and discussing, with a few that think they’re funny
•The tyre did fail, for whatever reason
•If the tyre had a slow puncture the car would have alerted me to low pressure, which it did not. The car went straight into Flat tyre notification because it blew out
All of this Tesla have confirmed ….

 

[EVMeister]

Jumping on me??
Not too sure about that?
We are all imputing and discussing, with a few that think they’re funny
•The tyre did fail, for whatever reason
•If the tyre had a slow puncture the car would have alerted me to low pressure, which it did not. The car went straight into Flat tyre notification because it blew out
All of this Tesla have confirmed ….

The tyre did indeed fail but a lot of what you were posting was directing blame at Tesla or the tire manufacturer. Why did you reply to the post I quoted in the way you did if you did understand and did accept that this was a simple tyre failure? The post you quoted did not imply that this was a slow puncture, it simply stated that the tire failed and not the car - which is correct. So which part of that did you really take issue with? If you understood this to be a sudden tire failure which the car would not have been able to alert you about in advance (unlike a slow puncture), why would you have quoted that post and replied to it? The very act of doing that and the form of your reply implied that you disagreed with what was said by the poster you replied to.

 

[HenryT]

This was bound to happen ever since Tesla stopped fitting Psychic Sensors.
Penny pinching gone mad.

 

[Peteski]

Thank you for your reply it is much appreciated. I have noted all your points and I shall follow your advice
Thank you once again as I do appreciate it

No worries, you are welcome. I don't believe you are trolling, just reacting to a traumatic experience. The forum is a bit sensitive as Tesla trolls are unfortunately commonplace on here.

Car manufacturers over the last decade have been increasingly putting aesthetics ahead of practicality (and even performance) when it comes to wheel diameter and tyre profiles. Large diameter alloys on ultra-low profile tyres sell cars and offer a very lucrative upgrade. It's the first thing many people look at when speccing their car! Pair that with poor road surfaces, heavier vehicles, more torque etc. and tyre safety starts to become a little more marginal. Engineers work hard to mitigate these things, but it's pretty fundamental physics. Smaller rims with higher profile tyres may not appear as sexy, but they are certainly more tolerant of our flaky roads.

I've got an old Porsche 911 (80s vintage) on 16" rims (which was the low-profile option at the time, 15" being standard) and the ride quality is markedly better than any new car I've owned in the last 10 years, including contemporary 911s with fancy adaptive dampers etc. They just make it harder for themselves these days, lol.

Anyway I digress, a Model 3 on stock 18" wheels/tyres is quite a decent ride and very unlikely to end in tears. I don't mind the look of the aero wheels either to be honest, although I admit the Uberturbines do look the business!

 

[drtimhill]

Oh please…. Now listen carefully
The car does alert you when you are losing pressure from your tyres. I did not receive any notification that the front tyre was losing pressure. And! Tesla have confirmed this. What Tesla read when they diagnosed the issue is that the tyre blew in one blast, the tyre rapidly lost air instantly, this Tesla told me. And when it happened the screen alerted a flat tyre, only because it’s not able to alert a blow out. Tesla also confirmed I did not have a flat tyre it was a complete blow out and did cause a great deal of interest for them when my car arrived in their garage

Got it now?
As for Trolling, really! how old are you??

To be fair your OP did seem to imply that the car had somehow failed by not warning you of the blowout.

 

[Laurdan]

The tyre did indeed fail but a lot of what you were posting was directing blame at Tesla or the tire manufacturer. Why did you reply to the post I quoted in the way you did if you did understand and did accept that this was a simple tyre failure? The post you quoted did not imply that this was a slow puncture, it simply stated that the tire failed and not the car - which is correct. So which part of that did you really take issue with? If you understood this to be a sudden tire failure which the car would not have been able to alert you about in advance (unlike a slow puncture), why would you have quoted that post and replied to it? The very act of doing that and the form of your reply implied that you disagreed with what was said by the poster you replied to.

I am a newbie to Tesla and as such a newbie on here. I started this yesterday morning with:

“My Tesla model 3, age 7 months, had a front passenger-side tyre blow out on M25 last night. We were travelling in the fast lane, it was very busy and very rainy, dark November night. We were travelling at approx 65-70 mph when it happened… it’s fair to say we are lucky to be alive
The car gave no indication that there was a problem until it blew”

Not too sure where I am blaming, I’m just posting what happened to me in my Tesla. And since posting that original post I have learnt from you guys & girls and received informed information about my Tesla from Tesla which I have shared

From that original post I have received many messages, yours included and have been grateful of all replies, obviously apart from the silly ones.

 

[Laurdan]

To be fair your OP did seem to imply that the car had somehow failed by not warning you of the blowout.

A Tesla is not able to advise of a blow out only a flat tyre. So you will receive “flat tyre” notification if you have a flat, low pressure or a blow out.

 

[Laurdan]

No worries, you are welcome. I don't believe you are trolling, just reacting to a traumatic experience. The forum is a bit sensitive as Tesla trolls are unfortunately commonplace on here.

Car manufacturers over the last decade have been increasingly putting aesthetics ahead of practicality (and even performance) when it comes to wheel diameter and tyre profiles. Large diameter alloys on ultra-low profile tyres sell cars and offer a very lucrative upgrade. It's the first thing many people look at when speccing their car! Pair that with poor road surfaces, heavier vehicles, more torque etc. and tyre safety starts to become a little more marginal. Engineers work hard to mitigate these things, but it's pretty fundamental physics. Smaller rims with higher profile tyres may not appear as sexy, but they are certainly more tolerant of our flaky roads.

I've got an old Porsche 911 (80s vintage) on 16" rims (which was the low-profile option at the time, 15" being standard) and the ride quality is markedly better than any new car I've owned in the last 10 years, including contemporary 911s with fancy adaptive dampers etc. They just make it harder for themselves these days, lol.

Anyway I digress, a Model 3 on stock 18" wheels/tyres is quite a decent ride and very unlikely to end in tears. I don't mind the look of the aero wheels either to be honest, although I admit the Uberturbines do look the business!

Many thanks for your reply … gratefully received

 

[Laurdan]

I’m out tonight… going to take the Tesla, I won’t be driving and we are taking the motorway …

 

[Doudeau]

It feels to me like people have been misinterpreting each other and particularly the OP too much in this thread. At least it has made it more entertaining than it could have been .

For reassurance that a significant event in one corner doesn’t have to result in a big crash this was caught on camera from a Tesla (and coincidentally just popped up on my YouTube notifications):

 

[Laurdan]

It feels to me like people have been misinterpreting each other and particularly the OP too much in this thread. At least it has made it more entertaining than it could have been .

For reassurance that a significant event in one corner doesn’t have to result in a big crash this was caught on camera from a Tesla (and coincidentally just popped up on my YouTube notifications):

Quote
“At least it has made it more entertaining than it could have been .”

Glad to have been entertained

Thanks for the YouTube

 

[thesmokingman]

OP should get a Toyota EV and then this claim would have substance.

Toyota recalls its first electric cars amid fears the wheels could fall off

Global recall of 2,700 bZ4X SUVs a major blow to world’s largest carmaker’s first attempts at battery-only vehicle

www.theguardian.com