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Continental tire sidewall bulge

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emanon2312

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Had my Tiguan since October of last year and no real issues so far.
Yesterday noticed that my drivers side front tire had a bulge in it.I went to Mavis tire here in NYC to get a replacement.They didn't have that tire in stock and ordered me one for Monday.The tech told me that Continental has had issues with sidewall bulges and that since my car had only 6000 miles on it, I should contact the dealer about it and maybe they would cover part of the cost of the tire.I went on various website and found quite a few complaints about this tire.
Has anyone experienced this with their Tiguan?
The tires that came with my tiguan are ContiProContact 235/50 R 18 97H.
Will call the dealer on Monday and see what they say.
 
#4 ·
The steel reinforcement on the side wall broke. I had this happen to me back in 04 on my OEM r32 tires several times. I had purchased the tire and wheel warranty with the car and VWoA warrantied me 4 new tires over the coarse of a year and a half. Good luck at the dealer Op.

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#5 ·
I also had issue with one of my original Pro Contacts. Had a 3'' bolt go though the tread and the tire and was not serviceable . Discount Tire sold me a 4 tire warranty for $75.00 after the fact and then replaced the damaged tire. Dont know hiw they did that, but it was a great deal. After that I had no further issues with the tires.
 
#6 ·
ZLEB said:
The steel reinforcement on the side wall broke. I had this happen to me back in 04 on my OEM r32 tires several times. I had purchased the tire and wheel warranty with the car and VWoA warrantied me 4 new tires over the coarse of a year and a half. Good luck at the dealer Op.

Sent from my XT912 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

^.
Mostly correct

No steel is used in the sidewall, just the bead hoop and tread. Sidewalls are intentionally weak

The sidewall is constructed of rubber layers with nylon cording, sometimes more exotic fibrous materials are used. This allows for sidewall flexibility while maintaining strength. These are subject to road hazard damages. Make sure your bubble does not show signs of abrasion before attempting warranty claims.

It's futile if there's even a scuff on the rubber or scrape in the rim lip near the bubble. Claim denied.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Spoke with Bayside VW of Queens dealer here in New York and they told me that VWoA "built the car and not the tires".My reply was that they sold me a car with a defective tire.The tires were part of the sales pitch as I reminded him.He said "call the manufacturer,we can't help you unless you bought the tire in the parts department,then it would be covered under the manufacturers warranty".I told him that was a total BS reply and hung up.
So I then called Continental Customer Service and they gave me a claim number and told me to go to a Authorized Tire Dealer and have them inspect and sign off that the tire has a defect.Continental would then pro rate and replace the tire as per their 12 month road hazard warranty.I asked if Mavis Tire was an authorized dealer,and he told me yes.I was totally surprised at how professonal the guy was on the phone and he even chuckled at the Dealers response and said that it was typical of car dealer to pass the buck. I then went back to Mavis this afternoon and told them what Continental said and gave them my claim number.Their attitude changed all of a sudden and told me that Continental doesn't cover OEM parts.I showed him my claim number again and told him to call them.He refused and said he was busy...WTF!!!
Then went for gas at my local Mechanic and started chatting and told him what happened.He took one look at the tire,snapped a picture, sent it to some other Mom and Pop tire shop,made a phone call and asked them if they would honor the warranty,gave them my info and claim number and told me to come back tomorrow morning and he would install the tire for free.NOW THAT IS CUSTOMER SERVICE!
I will NEVER go back to Mavis again.Here we have a tire Company that is trying to do the right thing and these other as*h*les don't want to.I am glad that this worked out and I will at least give half of the cost of the tire to my local mechanic for doing the right thing.
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
Got my tire Installed today and couldn't be happier.Just one thing though...
When we removed the damaged tire from the rim,it had only the valve in the wheel.No TPMS sensor.I know that my Tiguan has TPMS installed.So after we put the new tire on and balanced it.We deliberately filled the new tire 5 PSI less than the other 3 tires to see if it would trigger a light on the dash.No light for about 10 miles then sure enough it came on as I drove up to my street.When I parked I filled all,l the tires with the exact same (40) PSI and reset the computer.So how does the TPMS work? Just curious since there is no sensor inside the wheel.Anybody know?
 
#9 ·
emanon2312 said:
When I parked I filled all,l the tires with the exact same (40) PSI and reset the computer.So how does the TPMS work? Just curious since there is no sensor inside the wheel.Anybody know?
Click to expand...
Your TPMS uses the ABS sensors. The tire with less pressure has a smaller diameter and must turn a bit more than the others.

Anyway I think you are overpressuring them with 40 psi. My car has 235/50 18 and the recommended pressures are:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/50147613@N08/8220414077/
 
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