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anyone with burst tires on 06 brand new prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by rekhapai, Jan 12, 2006.

  1. rekhapai

    rekhapai New Member

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    hi folks

    got delivery of brand new 06 prius in black with option package #8 on tuesday
    (jan 10th) - yesterday jan 11th, took it out for my first trip out.. on the freeway was cruising at 62- 65 miles on highway 101 (sanfrancisco bay area) and suddenly heard vibration and loud drumming from passenger side rear.. exit the highway asap and I find smoke coming from the rear passenger side. The tire had burst completely like someone has run a machetti in a complete circle thru the side !
    My car now has all of 55miles on it! This practically happened as I drove out of the dealership (especially because the sales guy himself drove it to my house )

    I don't recall going over anything on the freeway, ride was very smooth until the vibration. I took it back to the dealership and they say I went over something on the freeway.

    anyone heard of anything like this to a brand new car?
    My question is what I can do at this point. Can this be a bigger problem than just tires?

    also if I had hit or run over something that big - enough to rip open the tire completely, how come I didn't feel it or other cars on the road didn't also hit it.

    Also I didn't drive the car for more than 10 seconds after the vibration, so it cannot be an ordinary flat becoming a huge rip .. right?

    any comments, suggestions, advice please help!
    thanks in advance
    rekha
     
  2. Bill Merchant

    Bill Merchant absit invidia

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    From what you say, it sounds like a defective tire that didn't manifest its defect until brought up to highway speed. I'd push the dealer hard to replace the tire under warranty.

    On the other hand, if it was a Goodyear Integrity OEM tire, you could use this as an opportunity to put good tires on your new black beauty.
     
  3. Tom_06

    Tom_06 Active Member

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    Did you notice the tire warning indicator? I suspect I'd be too busy trying to make a safe stop.

    - Tom
     
  4. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    I hate to side with a car dealer but they may be right. I've never had that happen with a new car but I have had it happen with new or almost new tires. I have had a sharp rock go right through the tread of a steel belted radial and it didn't take long for the air to go out. The rock wasn't actually still stuck in the tire or anything but there was a triangular hole about a half inch on each side and I had just gone over a place where there were indeed sharp rocks on the road. The tire store agreed it was a rock, they said it happens from time to time. They replaced the tire for free. That was with a load range E tire on an SUV not an integrity.
     
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Take it to a GoodYear store and have them look at the tyre. I'm guessing there's no better source than the company itself. They may be able to tell if it's damaged from the outside (e.g. nail, stone, etc) or whether it was from an interal crack.