Pothole : Tire Damage

[LEXUS IS250 AWD]

Well, it happened again. Went over a huge pothole on my way to work, now I have two bulges on the side of the front passenger side tire. Non-repairable, dealer advised it will cost $33 labour + $247.11 tire + tax to replace. I wrote a letter to the city & took pictures of the massive pothole and damage to my tire, apparently they are providing compensation once the investigation is complete. Let's see what happens.. Attached are some pictures

[clay1]

Same thing happened to me in the States. I-90 in Boston. Wrote letter and attached receipt. Got a letter back that they were not liable for damage to my tire from potholes. I was just glad I didn't bend the rim...

[LEXUS IS250 AWD]

Well, according to this story I heard on the news it's a possibility that they may cover the cost of damage.

http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/new...n-as-temps-rise

Let's see what happens...

But man is this frustrating, it's just the start of the winter and it already happened again. Feels like this is going to be a yearly occurance given the quality of our roads and how the salt damages them. Wish I was in a snow-free part of North America :P Then i'd've bought a RWD IS350 <_< My true love..

[clay1]

I hear you... I would have the 350 as well...

[bartkat]

I think if I was to live in snow country again I'd be running 16" steelies with higher profile tires.

[Sidney07]

Probably the most sensible thing to do...

Sorry about the damage, that must be frustrating at the least...and time consuming.

Oddly, our 07 IS with Dunlops had various tire issues...seemed like quite often the tires had a slow leak.

The 09 with Bridgestones...not a problem after almost a year. I know it's not the tires fault, but just seems odd...

[LEXUS IS250 AWD]

Actually the mechanic at the Lex dealership recommended I replace the damage tire with a Bridgestone Potenza . A little more expensive but would save me the cost of having to replace a tire in case I go over anymore huge potholes. He also mentioned that since my vehicle is AWD all 4 tires would have to be of the same brand. Any truth to this? I thought as long as the size of all 4 tires were the same that's all that would matter, why would the brand of the tires be a factor?

[clay1]

They replaced one of my tires with Bridgestone, and I asked if it was a problem, they said no...then the next time I had a tire problem they said I couldn't mix tire brands. So I was like.. hey you guys mixed the tire brands the last time. A that point, I had one tire with 58K which needed to be replaced (original tire!) and one with 38K, one with 30K and the new Bridgestone with 8K.

I knew you shouldn't mix mileage left and right, and brands left and right...

I was like guy...s this is a mess, and you had replaced each tire as I needed.

So the Lexus dealer replaced all tires with new Dunlops for $149 (incl. mount, balance and alignment), I considered that a deal.

[tex2670]

They replaced one of my tires with Bridgestone, and I asked if it was a problem, they said no...then the next time I had a tire problem they said I couldn't mix tire brands. So I was like.. hey you guys mixed the tire brands the last time. A that point, I had one tire with 58K which needed to be replaced (original tire!) and one with 38K, one with 30K and the new Bridgestone with 8K.

I knew you shouldn't mix mileage left and right, and brands left and right...

I was like guy...s this is a mess, and you had replaced each tire as I needed.

So the Lexus dealer replaced all tires with new Dunlops for $149 (incl. mount, balance and alignment), I considered that a deal.

The original guy probably didn't check to see that you had the Dunlops, and assumed you had the Bridgestones OEM.

[LEXUS IS250 AWD]

Wow, wish I could get replacement Dunlops for $149, labour included. Not sure how I am going to proceed thus far. Going to take the car to my personal mechanic on Sunday to see if the tire is safe enough to travel on in the meantime. Hopefully I hear back from the city within 2 weeks as stated on that website

[clay1]

Careful driving on that tire. You can get the tire for US$149 from Tirerack.com. And they will ship to a shop for you to get it mounted.

[LEXUS IS250 AWD]

It's listed for $105 + about $35 for shipping, not bad at all! Thanks for the tip, I may just end up ordering this later today

[LexRexBlue]

I feel your pain. NJ is just full of potholes in certain areas. After already replacing 2 tires with less than 5000 miles on the car I opted for the insurance which yes is expensive but covers for 5 years tires and wheels due to road hazards. Already replaced one more. I wish I had purchased it with the car but having had no experience with these low profile tires I didn't.

[tex2670]

Wow, wish I could get replacement Dunlops for $149, labour included. Not sure how I am going to proceed thus far. Going to take the car to my personal mechanic on Sunday to see if the tire is safe enough to travel on in the meantime. Hopefully I hear back from the city within 2 weeks as stated on that website

How many miles on the tires? Does it make sense now to replace all 4? You can get a great upgrade from the OEMs for much cheaper.

[LEXUS IS250 AWD]

The mechanic at the Lex dealer told me the tires I have would probably last me until the next summer. Maybe it'll be time to upgrade to the Potenza's, having this happen to me every winter would be a royal pain :) When you say OEM tires, you're referring to the tires provided by the dealer right? Those are even more expensive than what's listed on Tire Rack

[tex2670]

The mechanic at the Lex dealer told me the tires I have would probably last me until the next summer. Maybe it'll be time to upgrade to the Potenza's, having this happen to me every winter would be a royal pain :) When you say OEM tires, you're referring to the tires provided by the dealer right? Those are even more expensive than what's listed on Tire Rack

OEMs were Dunlop or Potenza RE92's. I wouldn't get either. Look at the best sellers on Tire Rack--some for much cheaper with much better survey ratings.

[LEXUS IS250 AWD]

Bad news. Driving to work this morning with my wife & kid, went over another pothole except this time the tire went flat immediately (ugh!) Pulled over onto a side street & put on the donut. I can't believe Lexus doesn't provide a full size spare, even my Celica GTS had a full size. Anyway dealing with these potholes is getting really annoying. Not only did the front driver side tire go flat, but now the rear driver's side tire also has a bulge in the side wall of the tire. Is anyone else having reoccurring issues like this? We're so fed up we're thinking about selling the car now..

I'm driving on the stock Dunlop's. I was thinking maybe if I changed to Bridgestone or any other company i'd have better luck, but i'm being told by the dealer it's the fact the IS250 runs on low profile tires that is causing the problem. Any suggestions? Frustrated.

[tex2670]

Bad news. Driving to work this morning with my wife & kid, went over another pothole except this time the tire went flat immediately (ugh!) Pulled over onto a side street & put on the donut. I can't believe Lexus doesn't provide a full size spare, even my Celica GTS had a full size. Anyway dealing with these potholes is getting really annoying. Not only did the front driver side tire go flat, but now the rear driver's side tire also has a bulge in the side wall of the tire. Is anyone else having reoccurring issues like this? We're so fed up we're thinking about selling the car now..

I'm driving on the stock Dunlop's. I was thinking maybe if I changed to Bridgestone or any other company i'd have better luck, but i'm being told by the dealer it's the fact the IS250 runs on low profile tires that is causing the problem. Any suggestions? Frustrated.

Get the Road Hazard warranty on the replacement tires. Costco includes Road Hazard in their installation costs, if you buy tires there.

[eatingupblacktop]

I'm driving on the stock Dunlop's. I was thinking maybe if I changed to Bridgestone or any other company i'd have better luck, but i'm being told by the dealer it's the fact the IS250 runs on low profile tires that is causing the problem. Any suggestions? Frustrated.

Low profile tires running high pressure instead of big fat mudders (best defence against the urban jungle pothole), alloy rims instead of steel wheels, driving into one of those road canyons at a good clip and yea, poof, there goes another! Ever watch the heavy modded 'vip's' with their front air dams just inches off the roadway take a ramp from a parking lot or driveway? Always sideways, so they don't damage the front end. They're very protective of all they've invested into their cars, so, they only drive them on roads they know. When you set out in a sporty car with nice rims, watch the road, and if you don't know the road, be prepared to dodge those craters. Otherwise, get a set of fatter sidewalls. Don't like to agree w a Stealer, but this time he's right!

[LEXUS IS250 AWD]

That's what my mechanic suggested, to ditch the low profile tires and go with something with a higher sidewall. Any idea what size I am suppose to be looking for? Right now i'm riding on Dunlop SP Sport 5000's 225 45 R17's.

[DRJAMZ]

That's what my mechanic suggested, to ditch the low profile tires and go with something with a higher sidewall. Any idea what size I am suppose to be looking for? Right now i'm riding on Dunlop SP Sport 5000's 225 45 R17's.

Look into increasing the ratio number from 45 to 55 or 60. That will give you a higher sidewall. However, be careful not to get a tire that is too high or it will rub the inside of the wheel wells when you turn the wheels to the max.

[eatingupblacktop]

Personally I would just watch out for those craters. If you're planning to get fatter sidewalls, to do it properly, you should keep the overall tire/wheel circumference the same - meaning for a substantial change, unfortunately you'd have to change the rims to match the tires.

[LEXUS IS250 AWD]

I have been watching out for potholes all along, the city's just getting more stingy with maintaining the roads. + With some snow on the ground it gets real hard to obviously spot those potholes. Not to mention having a wife in the passenger seat and my one and a half year old son in the back constantly taking my attention away from the road :D

Went to Mega Wheelz this morning. They said that my old Dunlop that went flat a few days back was so not repairable, that pothole just killed it. Besides that all the tires were near bald. So I had 4 new tires installed -Toyo Versado LX 215 50 R17. I hope these Toyo's do alot better, and I hope the higher sidewall makes somewhat of a diff. Other than this irritating problem I do love everything else about this car. Wish me luck

[Melnod]

I have been watching out for potholes all along, the city's just getting more stingy with maintaining the roads. + With some snow on the ground it gets real hard to obviously spot those potholes. Not to mention having a wife in the passenger seat and my one and a half year old son in the back constantly taking my attention away from the road :D

Went to Mega Wheelz this morning. They said that my old Dunlop that went flat a few days back was so not repairable, that pothole just killed it. Besides that all the tires were near bald. So I had 4 new tires installed -Toyo Versado LX 215 50 R17. I hope these Toyo's do alot better, and I hope the higher sidewall makes somewhat of a diff. Other than this irritating problem I do love everything else about this car. Wish me luck

I need new summer tires this year too, sounds like a good idea using a higher side wall.

I put snow tires with steel rims on my car this year for winter safety. I kept on sliding or get stuck in my old car. I was worried about my kids in the back seat although they enjoyed the ride. As you know there was no snow in Toronto this year so I really didn't get a chance to test them out.

But I did hit some big pot holes and my wife did hit several curbs!!! No issues. My winters are on 16" rims, to the side wall is quite large. It saved my nice refirbished summer rims too. This is another option.

[CarLighTrends]

Thats never happened to me but I rolled the inside lip of my rear wheel over a manhole cover, got an instant flat. Once I was back home had no other choice but to slowly bang and push it back into round, after that never had any problems with that wheel.