Going round in circles over a defective car tyre

SReeves

I live in Fife, Scotland, and took delivery of a new Hyundai from a garage in Stoke-on-Trent on a PCH deal on 9/12/24.   When it came off the back of the transporter it had 11 miles on the clock.  I signed for the car as being free of damage, as the brand-new tyres (Michelin Premacy 4 235/50 R19) looked absolutely fine – to the naked eye.

4 weeks later and with the mileage at only 670, one of the rear tyres blew out - not a puncture, the tyre wall split.   None of the usual factors that cause a blow-out were relevant, ie the tyres were not underinflated, the vehicle was not overloaded (it was only the driver in the car), the tyres were not old or worn, the car was not being driven too fast (23mph), no pothole or other object was hit, and there were no rapid changes in pressure. 

The AA man who attended said he had never before seen such a split in the wall of what was basically a brand-new tyre and that it must have been defective.  It cost me £154 to replace the premium Michelin tyre like-for-like.

I took this up with the garage that had supplied the car, who suggested I take the tyre to my local dealer (in Dunfermline, Fife) for review and if they agreed it was defective they would be able to submit a warranty claim for me for the cost of the tyre.  I phoned the local garage first, but their Customer Service Advisor indicated that tyres were not covered by any warranty, being subject to “normal wear and tear”.  She suggested taking the matter up with Hyundai or the tyre manufacturer.  

I emailed Hyundai in the first instance, who said they do not cover tyre warranty as it is handled by the tyre manufacturer and that I should take the tyre to a tyre dealer who would be able to submit it for warranty inspection by the tyre manufacturer.  I tried that - they were sympathetic but, as the tyre had not been purchased from them, there was little they could do.

I then took the matter up with Michelin, who also said I should go to a Michelin dealer who could fill in an online complaint for me.  Rather than go to my local tyre place again, I emailed the Stoke-on-Trent garage that had supplied the car - which had come up on the Michelin website as being one of their tyre dealerships - attaching the Michelin email detailing the steps they could take to fill in a customer complaint form for me, but they replied saying they were not a Michelin dealership!  

So, back to square one (even though I was talking about circles!)  My contention is that a premium Michelin tyre should last far in excess of 4 weeks/670 miles – surely the least amount of “normal wear and tear” - and that the tyre must have been defective.  I repeat that the side wall split and that it was a blow-out rather than a puncture.  I have photographs and have kept the tyre itself.  The distance between where I live and the garage that supplied the car is obviously not ideal - I can't just "pop round" with the tyre - but surely there's some compensation I should receive for the £154 cost of a replacement tyre???  I'll be interested in your comments.

Tucosalamanca

How much is your time worth?

You are correct, it's almost certainly a tyre defect and you should be entitled to the cost of a tyre.

But... based on what you've said, how much more time are you willing to allocate to the problem and attempt to recover your £154?

I'm guessing that you made a decent saving by buying a vehicle from a dealer some distance away from you?

Sometimes, it's easier to forget about it and move on...

Hoenir

Unless you can substantiate how the tyre came to split. Then no one else is just going to accept liability. 

daveyjp

Millions of tyres are made, some will be defective.  However that car has also been moved a number of times, driven on an off road and sea transport and at any point the tyre could have been sliced from a sharp piece of ramp or whilst being lashed down for transporting.

sheramber

Have you contacted a Michelin Dealer in Fife? 

 There are several to choose from.

flaneurs_lobster

"Going round in circles over a defective car tyre"

That's very good, btw.

born_again

SReeves said:

I live in Fife, Scotland, and took delivery of a new Hyundai from a garage in Stoke-on-Trent on a PCH deal on 9/12/24.   When it came off the back of the transporter it had 11 miles on the clock.  I signed for the car as being free of damage, as the brand-new tyres (Michelin Premacy 4 235/50 R19) looked absolutely fine – to the naked eye.

4 weeks later and with the mileage at only 670, one of the rear tyres blew out - not a puncture, the tyre wall split.   None of the usual factors that cause a blow-out were relevant, ie the tyres were not underinflated, the vehicle was not overloaded (it was only the driver in the car), the tyres were not old or worn, the car was not being driven too fast (23mph), no pothole or other object was hit, and there were no rapid changes in pressure. 

The AA man who attended said he had never before seen such a split in the wall of what was basically a brand-new tyre and that it must have been defective.  It cost me £154 to replace the premium Michelin tyre like-for-like.

I took this up with the garage that had supplied the car, who suggested I take the tyre to my local dealer (in Dunfermline, Fife) for review and if they agreed it was defective they would be able to submit a warranty claim for me for the cost of the tyre.  I phoned the local garage first, but their Customer Service Advisor indicated that tyres were not covered by any warranty, being subject to “normal wear and tear”.  She suggested taking the matter up with Hyundai or the tyre manufacturer.  

I emailed Hyundai in the first instance, who said they do not cover tyre warranty as it is handled by the tyre manufacturer and that I should take the tyre to a tyre dealer who would be able to submit it for warranty inspection by the tyre manufacturer.  I tried that - they were sympathetic but, as the tyre had not been purchased from them, there was little they could do.

I then took the matter up with Michelin, who also said I should go to a Michelin dealer who could fill in an online complaint for me.  Rather than go to my local tyre place again, I emailed the Stoke-on-Trent garage that had supplied the car - which had come up on the Michelin website as being one of their tyre dealerships - attaching the Michelin email detailing the steps they could take to fill in a customer complaint form for me, but they replied saying they were not a Michelin dealership!  

So, back to square one (even though I was talking about circles!)  My contention is that a premium Michelin tyre should last far in excess of 4 weeks/670 miles – surely the least amount of “normal wear and tear” - and that the tyre must have been defective.  I repeat that the side wall split and that it was a blow-out rather than a puncture.  I have photographs and have kept the tyre itself.  The distance between where I live and the garage that supplied the car is obviously not ideal - I can't just "pop round" with the tyre - but surely there's some compensation I should receive for the £154 cost of a replacement tyre???  I'll be interested in your comments.

https://dmassets.hyundai.com/is/content/hyundaiautoever/Hyundai_UK_Warranty_Terms_and_Conditions_July_2024pdf

Tyre is covered by Tyre Manufacture. Not Hyundai.

Clear in warranty T/C.

So you need to follow Michelin instructions for your claim.

SReeves

Tucosalamanca said:

How much is your time worth?

You are correct, it's almost certainly a tyre defect and you should be entitled to the cost of a tyre.

But... based on what you've said, how much more time are you willing to allocate to the problem and attempt to recover your £154?

I'm guessing that you made a decent saving by buying a vehicle from a dealer some distance away from you?

Sometimes, it's easier to forget about it and move on...

Yeah, my partner says I should just let it go.   And I agree to a certain extent, but am going to have one last go with my local Michelin stockist now that I'm armed with the information from Michelin on how they can go about it on my behalf.  The car is on a PCH deal through an online leasing company - I had no say in where it was supplied from.

Thank you for taking the time to comment,

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

Dealer is responsible and it's down to them to prove (on balance of probability) that the tyre was not defective. 

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/19

 (14)For the purposes of subsections (3)(b) and (c) and (4), goods which do not conform to the contract at any time within the period of six months beginning with the day on which the goods were delivered to the consumer must be taken not to have conformed to it on that day.

Technically they should replace the tire (obviously repair is not an option) and if they refused you'd be entitled to reject the car. (I understand you've already paid to replace the tyre). 

If this dealership is a large company (or the manufacturer) I'd look to go to head office.  

You'd argue the tyre was not of satisfactory quality wit regards to durability and safety

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/9

For the cost of an email and if no joy cost of a stamp to send a letter before action it's probably worth 5 minutes of your time. 

The mistake a lot of people make is getting bogged down with customer service fobbing them off, if the first response doesn't comply with their obligations under consumer rights best bet is to not waste time dealing with CS any longer and taking the matter higher within the company.  

You'd think given the cost of a brand new car 150 quid for a customer who has had a serious tyre defect would be nothing... As an alternative, do you have any photos of the blown tyre to share on the company's social media pages? 

Okell

Hoenir said:

Unless you can substantiate how the tyre came to split. Then no one else is just going to accept liability. 

But under the law an item that fails within 6 months is legally presumed to have been faulty at purchase, unless the seller can prove otherwise.  So the OP doen't need to substantiate anything...

Okell

SReeves said:

... The AA man who attended said he had never before seen such a split in the wall of what was basically a brand-new tyre and that it must have been defective...

I've only called out the RAC twice but on each occasion they've given me a written report detailing the fault and what they've done.  Haven't you anything similar from the AA saying that the tyre "must have been defective"?

SReeves said:

... who suggested I take the tyre to my local dealer (in Dunfermline, Fife) for review and if they agreed it was defective they would be able to submit a warranty claim for me for the cost of the tyre.  I phoned the local garage first, but their Customer Service Advisor indicated that tyres were not covered by any warranty, being subject to “normal wear and tear”...

You should have told the service advisor that you weren't wanting it looked at for a warranty claim, but that you wanted a report as to whether it was likely to have been defective or not.