6 Weeks & Tire Failed--Is It Covered?

[Anonymous]

Today one of the tires on my 6 week old Bolt Premiere blew out.

I got an email from On Star to inform me that the passenger side rear tire was completely out of air.

I had just finished washing the car, my son took it after the wash and there was NO sign of any leak when I was washing the car and he wasn't gone longer than 1 minute when I got the notification from On Star.

Since its a holiday weekend there's no way I can get this fixed before Tuesday, but upon inspection there appears to be some type of damage on the sidewall. Frankly, it looks like a knife stabbed the tire but there's no way the tire had any damage when it left me. There's no evidence on the wheel of hitting a curb etc.

Could it simply be that the tire just popped on the sidewall and if so wouldn't this be covered? Shouldn't this be covered under the terms of the 36 month bumper to bumper warranty that Chevy has for the Bolt? Their warranty says tires are included.

Anyone out there have any experience with this type of thing and can give me an idea of what I might expect?

 

[LeftieBiker]

If it blew out from the inside (and this could cause damage like what you describe) then it should be covered under either the car or tire warranty. If it was damaged externally, you'd have to rely on the good will of the dealership.

 

[PackardV8]

upon inspection there appears to be some type of damage on the sidewall. Frankly, it looks like a knife stabbed the tire

It's highly unlikely a Michelin just failed internally with a clean cut such as you describe. I was in the tire business and such are nearly always "road hazard". Your son probably ran over debris.

jack vines

 

[Anonymous]

Although it is possible that in the 5 minutes between leaving the driveway and the notification from OnStar about the tire that he drove over some debris......I kind of ruled that out because we live in an area where the roads are very good and a stretch of them were just blacktopped. Here's a picture. After getting a good look at it in the daylight, it does appear (at least to me) that this blew out from the inside.

Do I have to take this to a GM dealer to get an opinion as to whether this is a covered situation or can I take this to Costco, or any tire store to determine if it's a warranty replacement?

Last but not least......until you're in a situation like the one I am in, you don't realize how important it is to either have pure run flats or a donut spare. I can't even take this tire off because I have no jack or tire iron so I have ONE shot to tow this to wherever its going to be repaired.

So much for the "self sealing" tire........

 

[LeftieBiker]

The lack of damage to the rubber ridges suggests to me that this was a blowout. There may have been a "bubble" in the sidewall. I'm not a tire expert, however.

 

[PackardV8]

I have no jack or tire iron so I have ONE shot to tow this to wherever its going to be repaired.

Symphony musicians probably would feel the same way upon learning I don't have a violin in the house, but no jack or tire tools?

Having it towed severely limits your options. Call in a favor from a friend with a jack, a stand and a lug wrench. That's because most Michelin dealers don't yet carry the correct tire in stock. It may take days or weeks to get the correct tire in hand, mounted and balanced. Better to have your Bolt at home safe than in their way in a commercial shop.

jack vines

 

[LeftieBiker]

It has also been suggested that a new full sized tire of the correct brand and model will fit under the floor, so the replacement can be done immediately.

 

[SeanNelson]

It has also been suggested that a new full sized tire of the correct brand and model will fit under the floor, so the replacement can be done immediately.

Yes, I can confirm that this is true. Not only that, but the tire fits in the lower storage compartment fully inflated on an OEM wheel, so you can go the extra step and carry a real, bona fide spare along with you to eliminate your dependency on tow trucks and tire dealers.

 

[SparkE]

It has also been suggested that a new full sized tire of the correct brand and model will fit under the floor, so the replacement can be done immediately.

Yes, I can confirm that this is true. Not only that, but the tire fits in the lower storage compartment fully inflated on an OEM wheel, so you can go the extra step and carry a real, bona fide spare along with you to eliminate your dependency on tow trucks and tire dealers.

The tire is the rubber thing - just the rubber part - the thing that has sidewalls and treads.

The rim is the metal part - just the metal part - that the tire goes around.

The wheel is the name for the entity that consists of a tire that has been mounted onto the rim.

Sean - are you saying that not only the tire, but an entire assembled wheel (rim + tire) will fit in the 'floor' of the luggage area?

 

[LeftieBiker]

Yes, he is saying that.

 

[SmokingRubber]

The Bolt came with FREE roadside assistance. Have them come out and remove the wheel for you. Have something ready to use as a jack-stand if you don't have a real jack-stand. Hopefully you have a spare car you can drive the wheel to Costco in. I'd start at the dealer, but don't hold your breath because I don't think they carry these tires. I'd still start there though just to see if they can validate whether it's covered under warranty.

 

[SeanNelson]

The rim is the metal part - just the metal part - that the tire goes around. The wheel is the name for the entity that consists of a tire that has been mounted onto the rim.
Sean - are you saying that not only the tire, but an entire assembled wheel (rim + tire) will fit in the 'floor' of the luggage area?

This may be a regional thing, but around here all the tire shops call them "tires" and "wheels". "Rim" is the part of the "wheel" that is in contact with the "tire".

Yes, that's I what I'm saying. Tire (rubber) and wheel (metal), assembled and inflated to normal pressure fit fine underneath the false floor that lies more-or-less flush with the folded rear seats.

It was so hard for me to get a straight answer on this, so when I finally got my Bolt I tried it. At first I couldn't get it to fit but later I discovered that the secret is to fold the seats and then lower the back part of the wheel (the part closest to the hatchback door) in first - that lets you move the wheel back to the rear wall of the cargo compartment so that the front part can drop down into it. At that point it looks like you might have a problem putting the back seats up again, but in fact they go up fine and don't bind against anything.

So yeah, I'm now driving around with a real spare, jack, and wrench so that if I have a flat I won't have to rely on (a) getting a tow truck, or (b) trying to get some tire shop to find one of the seemingly rare OEM tires. I might have to get a new tire if the flat is ruined, but at least I'll be able to drive my car around without having to wait for it to be delivered.

 

[boltage]

Yes, that's I what I'm saying. Tire (rubber) and wheel (metal), assembled and inflated to normal pressure fit fine underneath the false floor that lies more-or-less flush with the folded rear seats.

If a full size spare tire is in there, will the cargo area carpet be flat below the false floor (or if there is no false floor installed)?

 

[SeanNelson]

Yes, that's I what I'm saying. Tire (rubber) and wheel (metal), assembled and inflated to normal pressure fit fine underneath the false floor that lies more-or-less flush with the folded rear seats.

If a full size spare tire is in there, will the cargo area carpet be flat below the false floor (or if there is no false floor installed)?

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. My spare tire sits on the carpet that lies on top of the styrofoam insert inside the "spare tire well" (that's too small for a spare tire) in the lowermost recesses of the cargo area. If you don't install the "false floor" above the spare, then of course the accessible cargo area space is broken up by the presence of the tire, with some space available to the left and right of it as well as all the space above it.

 

[SparkE]

Yes, that's I what I'm saying. Tire (rubber) and wheel (metal), assembled and inflated to normal pressure fit fine underneath the false floor that lies more-or-less flush with the folded rear seats.

If a full size spare tire is in there, will the cargo area carpet be flat below the false floor (or if there is no false floor installed)?

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. My spare tire sits on the carpet that lies on top of the styrofoam insert inside the "spare tire well" (that's too small for a spare tire) in the lowermost recesses of the cargo area. If you don't install the "false floor" above the spare, then of course the accessible cargo area space is broken up by the presence of the tire, with some space available to the left and right of it as well as all the space above it.

So the tire isn't covered? (Sorry, couldn't resist the joke. If you don't immediately get it - look at the title of this thread...)

 

[oilerlord]

Do I have to take this to a GM dealer to get an opinion as to whether this is a covered situation or can I take this to Costco, or any tire store to determine if it's a warranty replacement?

First off, you need to accept this isn't "tire failure". It's a puncture.

If you had bought the tire at Costco, it's very likely they would have replaced the tire under Costco's road hazard warranty. I've had a couple of sidewall punctures, and both times they replaced the tire free of charge.

https://tires.costco.com/Common-Documents/Road-hazard-tires_us.aspx

Unfortunately, you didn't get the tire from Costco. Your only recourse is going back to the dealer and/or GM.

 

[SeanNelson]

It was so hard for me to get a straight answer on this, so when I finally got my Bolt I tried it. At first I couldn't get it to fit but later I discovered that the secret is to fold the seats and then lower the back part of the wheel (the part closest to the hatchback door) in first - that lets you move the wheel back to the rear wall of the cargo compartment so that the front part can drop down into it. At that point it looks like you might have a problem putting the back seats up again, but in fact they go up fine and don't bind against anything.

OK - my apologies because I actually got this the wrong way around. I went out and shot some photos of my spare and how it goes into the lower cargo compartment, if you're looking for more info you can find it here:

Using an OEM Wheel and Tire as a Spare