Odd tire defect

[87turbolook911]

As I was following my wife's car, I noticed that there was something strange about one of her rear tires. Here's what I found after I took it off last night :shock:

Not sure what caused this though? I keep the tire pressure at 34 psi cold. Think it's a manufacturer's defect? I'm gonna try to call Kumho today and see what they say. Replacing a 235/35/19 tire aint' cheap. They are Kumho Ecsta MX's. So far they've been great tires though.

[dean]

That is delamination. It happens sometimes.
Dean

[Bill Verburg]

Kumho had a major problem w/ some of their tires this past winter and spring, I believe there was a recall, you should check.

[Rot 911]

If you do a search on here for Kumho tires you will find a couple of threads where others have had defective tires.

[KTL]

The one tire recall I remember from Kumho is the Ecsta V700 (not the Victoracer) competition tire. There may be others.

A sidewall bubble like that is not unheard of. Certainly not safe though! Gotta be replaced.

I've liked my Kumho Ecsta MX tires so far. Feel much different (in a good way) than any other street tires i've had on my 911.

[Zeke]

Glad you found it ! Hopefully you'll get at least an adjustment.

It's not expensive at all to replace that tire when you consider what may have happened.

[Jgordon]

with wheels like that, what's your wife driving?

[stuartj]

I would pound the desk till they gave me a new set. All 4. Pull out what ever consumer laws that exist where you live and beat them around the ears with them. Be a VERY outraged consumer indeed!

stuart 86 carrera

[Dantilla]

They are obligated to replace that one tire.

It's possible they will ask you to pay a cetain amount based on the mileage you got out of it. If you have used 10% of the tires expected life, they may want to pay only 90% of the replacement cost.

[87turbolook911]

with wheels like that, what's your wife driving?

Here's our family ride....we call it Casper. BMW 323 Touring with Dinan Stage 3 Computer Software, Cold Air Intake, and Exhaust. It's a blast to drive. It was our compromise for a family hauler. I wanted a four door sedan and she wanted something bigger(SUV). She loves it....it gets more attention than the p-car.

[RallyJon]

You're running 19s on DC roads. Probably just pinched the sidewall on one of those potholes.

[Rufblackbird]

I used to work at a local Kumho tire distributor...all I can say is that I've seen a LOT of those on the 712s (our main model). Some attribute it to the many potholes we have, some say it's a manufacturer's defect. Our contact in Korea refused to warranty half the tires we tried to warranty that bubbled.

All I can say is, they're great tires for the money, but you get what you pay for.

[juanbenae]

i really like my mx's,,, maybe i will start running my hands around the inner wall more often. more often being more than,, well,,, never..

[73911guy]

Be there when they take the tire off the rim to see what it looks like on the inside. No damage to cords means its a delamination, tire guys pro-rate the tire, and its a good thing you found it. a "star" break in the cords says you hit something, you buy a new tire, and its a good thing you found it. Honest shops will let you see the work being done, bad ones will come out and tell you its your fault.

Jim

[87turbolook911]

Figured I'd post the outcome:

After several emails and phone calls, Kumho agreed to have a local tire dealer evaluate my tire.

Good news is that they agreed to replace two tires for me. All I had to do was pay for labor to install. I also got the road hazard warranty, so that in the future I can just have the local dealer deal with Kumho.

Overall outcome: Thumbs Up

[kqw]

Why would you put the same Kumho tires on the car?

Just a question......

[87turbolook911]

Why would you put the same Kumho tires on the car?

The replacements were free.... Also, my front tires still have lots of tires and didn't want missed matched tires.