My tire has a hernia

I have Michelin Pilot Sport AS on my 08 550i sport. I bought them in October 2011 and they have road hazard warranty according to my tire guy, although I'm a little suspicious because the booklet he handed me is a mileage warranty.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I was washing the car and noticed a bubble on the sidewall (the almost non-existant sidewall, as you know). It's about 1 1/2 inches round. Took it immediately to the tire guy who said "that happens sometimes, watch it and bring it in if it gets bigger".

It has not gotten bigger, but my husband says I'm insane to drive on it. Thoughts?

You are insane to drive with a sidewall bubble.

A sidewall bubble is caused by a tear in the (formerly) air tight inner liner of the tire from impact damage. Since air in tires is under pressure, the air migrates into the sidewall of the tire, causing the bubble/bulge. The sidewall was not designed to keep air inside of the tire so the air will find its way out and cause a tire failure that can be fairly dramatic. How long this takes is completely unpredictable and cannot be accurately judged by the size or depth of the bubble. Hot conditions generally speed up the process.

thanks guys. Just got off the phone with the tire store and they said they'd have a replacement in for me by 3:30 today. That was easy. (at least...so far....they said "thank goodness for the road hazard warranty" so I guess that means I'm covered).

Why would the dude I've been buying tires from for 15 years try to kill me?

Originally Posted by danna

thanks guys. Just got off the phone with the tire store and they said they'd have a replacement in for me by 3:30 today. That was easy. (at least...so far....they said "thank goodness for the road hazard warranty" so I guess that means I'm covered).

Why would the dude I've been buying tires from for 15 years try to kill me?

Glad to hear that you are getting the matter resolved.

(note: "fairly dramatic" is a euphamism for 'it can blow out on you and knock your car for a loop')

Originally Posted by Kamdog

Glad to hear that you are getting the matter resolved.

(note: "fairly dramatic" is a euphamism for 'it can blow out on you and knock your car for a loop')

Look at the bright side, though -- if this happens, you and your car could be on the 11 o'clock news...

No problem. Just reinforce it with a mesh. It will look just like new.
Several issues that need explanations
1. Mileage vs hazard warranty. Was it a hazard warranty that looked like a mileage warranty?
2. Tire tech claims "that happens sometimes, watch it and bring it in if it gets bigger" vs getting a new tire immediately. When did the dealer finally realize that it was a problem? Did the bubble get bigger? It looks like it was the same day when they changed their minds.

Originally Posted by Dave 330i

No problem. Just reinforce it with a mesh. It will look just like new.
Several issues that need explanations
1. Mileage vs hazard warranty. Was it a hazard warranty that looked like a mileage warranty?
2. Tire tech claims "that happens sometimes, watch it and bring it in if it gets bigger" vs getting a new tire immediately. When did the dealer finally realize that it was a problem? Did the bubble get bigger? It looks like it was the same day when they changed their minds.

1. Apparently it was both.

2. It did not actually get bigger. Timeline was: I show it to the tire guy and he states "that happens....", about a month later husband makes an issue of telling me to go get a new tire, next morning I post here, you guys back up husband's opinion, I call tire store that day and they immediately agree to take care of it. That was thursday, it's actually being mounted right now. It is still a mystery why they didn't just do this when I first showed it to them.