Malibu Flyer

Well I learned my lesson about passing on buying the spare tire kit.

Yesterday while driving on the San Diego freeway, 100 miles from home I hit a pothole and blew out the sidewall of my front right tire. Good news was I didn't lose control and was able to limp off the next exit which was only about a mile down the freeway. The car immediately notified me of the problem so I was alerted to the issue and was able to slow down and get off the freeway. I was going around 73 mph. The car has only 11,500 miles and the tires were In great shape.

Called Acura link and they ordered a tow truck to take me to the nearest dealer (only 4 miles away). It took an hour and a half to arrive. The driver said he didn't receive the order until a hour after I talked with Acura. He was only 20 minutes away. I will need to follow up with Acura since somebody dropped the ball.

The good news was I called the local dealer who was exceeding helpful. Of course since the Sport Hybrid tires are very unique (something about the OEM Michelines being low resistance ). No matching tires anywhere near and the earliest they could get one was the next day. They ordered the tire and the spare tire kit before I showed up at the dealer with the tow truck. They gave me a loaner which I was able to drive back to LA for the night.

That was yesterday and now I am sitting in the dealers lounge waiting for the new tire to be mounted and the spare tire kit installed, having driven back home last night (3 hour drive and the another 3 hours back down to San Diego this PM.). I now have another 3 hour ride home in horrendous rush hour traffic.

At the end of the day I am $850 out of pocket for a new tire and the tire kit. Being a glass half full kind of guy I am happy I was lucky enough to have Acura link and have the problem occur only a few miles from an Acura dealer. The special tires and high cost ( and rarity) are just a downside of having the Sport Hybrid but Acura service has been very good (except for the extra unnecessary hour waiting for tow truck). I was particularly impressed by the dealer who really took care of me......even though I ended up paying over $400 for a tire I could probably get for much less through Costco or discount tire place. The dealer had never seen me before but I was treated like a long time customer. Not having a spare and being far from home just gave me no other choice but to pay for a full dealer markup but at least they did take good care of me.

I have learned my lesson about making sure to have a spare tire if you have low profile tires.

I do have a question for the Board. Did the fact that the air pressure was about 30-31 lbs contribute to the blowout?? The pothole I hit wasn't very large and I am surprised it popped the sidewall. I had noticed the tire pressure was a little low but didn't think it was an emergency to put the extra 5 or 6 pounds of pressure in. Would the correct inflation have prevented the blowout??

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

They treated you kindly because you have the most expensive Acura.

But seriously though, good think you're ok. I've have had some trips down to SD/LA a couple of times and it's notorious for pot holes.

So the spare tire kit, what does that include? What size tire does it come with?

pgeorg

IMHO i would say that the fact of your tires being 5-6 pounds under inflated (SH tire pressure should be 36 all around), most likely did contribute to the blowout of the sidewall. The tire would have compressed a lot more against the edge of the rim (when you hit the pothole) being under inflated, and 5-6 pounds is a considerable amount less. Add to that the sidewall is so short (40s)........it makes having a spare tire a necessity.

fsmith

I feel your pain, Malibu. I did the same thing in a pothole last winter, although I was in reasonable vicinity of my home dealer. I did have the spare tire so I didn't need the tow, though I waited for the service guy to change the tire as I was not wearing tire-changing clothes. Likewise I had to wait a day to get a new tire and have my rim straightened. You didn't mention that you bent a rim. In any case, you didn't get hurt (except financially) and your SH-AWD is now a better ride with the spare. We in New England, as you know, consider potholes the normal course obstacles of winter driving. Glad you and your prized car are okay!

RLX-Sport Hybrid

First of all I'm glad you are ok and no worse for wear. The $850 is aggravating, but just part of life. Oh well.

Second, I did not know pot holes existed in warm climates. I don't think I have ever saw one in all of my times in Florida, Arizona and California.

Third, as far as your experience with the dealer, that sounds like a positive by any measure.

Happy motoring!

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

What parts of California where you in? Come to Northern California. San Francisco especially if you want to see potholes and crappy freeways.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

San Diego, Malibu and Carlsbad

I have not been to San Francisco for 30 years.

neuronbob

Potholes in Paradise? Say it isn't so?

Try dodging potholes in Cleveland for 60% of the year! I've been super-lucky so far.

Glad to hear you had a satisfactory experience other than the long wait for a tow. .

Time to pony up for a spare tire kit, my friend! I carry a small box of latex gloves in the car juuuuust in case I have to change to the spare tire, so my hands don't get too dirty.

CostcoFanAUS

I believe that potholes are not strictly limited to cold climates. In Houston, which is relatively warm, potholes are prevalent. Being a civil engineer, I believe that potholes have more to do with the subgrade materials and amount of rainfall. The expansive clays down here go through significant volume changes when wetted and dried, which is the main cause of potholes.

Malibu Flyer

The tire is 17 inches. I will take a picture of the installed tire kit in the next few days and post it. I just got back and haven't even seen it yet myself.

Malibu Flyer

What you point out is accurate but Southern California's mild and dry climate usually doesn't generate potholes like those most of you experience. I grew up in Connecticut so I know the potholes winter weather (and snow plows) cause. Potholes are much less prevalent around here.

I think what I hit was probably caused by the constant heavy traffic the San Diego freeway experiences. It was in the seam between two lanes. I am guessing that a piece of concrete cracked off and widened by heavy traffic. I hit it when changing lanes and never saw it.

For the record Southern California is having an extreme drought. Total rain in LA for the last THREE YEARS is only 29 inches. Last year's rain fall was less the 6 inches.

Malibu Flyer

Paradise isn't perfect, just better than Cleveland (although that's not a high bar)

The latex gloves are a great idea. I will be sure to ask the wife to grab some for me from the local ER where she volunteers. Thanks for the tip.

neuronbob

You preach to the converted. I just wish I could convince the wife to move.

George Knighton

Maybe.

If you'd inflated to the recommended 36 all the way around, you'd probably have been at 40 on a front tyre after driving it for a while.

Hard to be sure, but...maybe.

And I swear to gods, I don't understand all these pothole and blow out problems.

I believe I would move somewhere with a tax base enough to fix potholes.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I posted a while ago that I hit a pothole that seems similar to Malibu. Last winter that hit one so hard I was shocked that both front tires did not blow. I was really pissed off about it at the time. Since then, that section of roadway has been smoothed over by the road crews. The point for mentioning this is I regularly check my TPS reading to confirm all is set for 35psi at a cold start. I too see it climb to near 40 psi when running for a while. I think the consensus makes sense here that if the tire pressures are set correctly, the damaged tire experiences might be less. I'm not saying driver error is the issue, but I would imagine it has to help mitigate some of the experiences.

miner

My last road debris incident was 90 miles from nearest dealer at 8pm on a Friday night. Took tow truck 3 hrs to arrive. Got to dealer at 1:30am. Tire + wheel (second time around for me). Acura Roadside assistance was helpful but not efficient with my time.

Malibu Flyer

Paradise without the wife = hell

Maybe someday paradise ( and a happy wife will be yours) ........perhaps when you can purchase a 20 year old 2017 NSX.

RDX-Rick

Keep in mind that if you had only noticed the pressure was down to 30 PSI while driving, that it would have been even lower when the tires were cold (i.e. parked overnight). It may have been down to 27 PSI or lower.

Since the suggested pressure is 36 PSI cold, you may have been 9 PSI or more below that. Depending on how many miles you had been driving on that under-inflated tire, the sidewalls may have become weakened from the constant flexing, and that contributed to the failed sidewall.

CostcoFanAUS

All these are possible factors contributing to potholes (e.g., subgrades, rain or lack thereof, cold climates - snow, salts, traffic volume, poor construction quality, poor maintenance program, etc.). Without seeing the hole in person, I couldn't be sure of the exact causes. Even with drought, the expansive clays can shrink in volume and lose contact with the pavement, especially near the edges or joints and the repetitive traffic loading can take out a piece of the pavement.

That being said, I felt like a dirt nerd more than a car nerd now. But you've got to have passions about something in life. Cheers now...

LoneStar 16 RLX SprtHybrd

I found a screw in my right front tire yesterday and because of the proximity to the edge of the tire I had to replace the tire. I went to Discount Tire and fortunately they had 8 of the correct tires in their warehouse in Houston so I was able to get it replaced yesterday. The tire cost was $310 and with tax, etc. it ended up around $350. They offered me "insurance" for $52 per tire (even for the other 3 tires that I did not buy from them) which I chose to get so now if it happens again I've already paid for the tire. If it doesn't happen again (which it probably won't now that I have the insurance!!) I paid $208 to avoid future aggrevation.

When I picked up my car at David McDavid Acura in Dallas the car came with nitrogen in the tires. Discount Tire didn't have nitrogen so I found a nitrogen fill station (Highway 6 and Westheimer for your Houston guys) and the proprietor charge me $10 to put nitrogen in the new tire. He volunteered that with these high priced tires he would not run them without the nitrogen because of the more stable pressures than regular air. I haven't decided if this is "snake oil" yet but thought I would pass along to the Board.

CostcoFanAUS

My neighbor, sorry to hear about your tire problem. You know the price of tires from Costco includes road hazard insurance already and they always fill them with nitrogen. I compared their price with other tire dealers and it seems very competitive.

R. White

There is something fishy about these low profile tires. I have had to replace three of them on my PAWS in two years. All side-wall damage. This has never happened previously with ' normal ' side-walls.

Malibu Flyer

Thanks for your input. The 30- 31 PSI was when the tire was cold as I left home. I don't really know how much the soft tire contributed to the blowout but given the cost of these tires I am certainty going to be more viligent about watching the PSI.

Malibu Flyer

I usually buy my tires at Costco because of the above. I checked the Costco web site and the tire is $315.00 plus $15. The base cost at the dealer was $342 plus a lot more for balancing, mounting etc. (and of course no nitrogen). The biggest advantage is their warranty. A blown sidewall is covered (at no extra cost). Given the tire had only 11,000 miles on them my prorated cost would probably have been well less than $100. I have found Costco very good about honoring their warranty. The only downside for me with Costco is the tire store at my local Costco is always crazy busy. It usually ties up the car for at least half a day and requires the wife to drop me off and take me back to get the car. The other downside is the expense of the shopping trip I enviably do which adds an additional $300 to $400 to the experience.

Malibu Flyer

It is the price we pay for having "performance" tires and 19 inch rims. As others have said the Costco warranty covers sidewall damage and it seems like a big plus with these tires.

George Knighton

It might very well be the price you pay for having 31 cold psi on a 19" low profile high performance tyre.

: runs away :

:-)

I like the car a lot better following the recommendation for 36 all the way around.

Anytime the car's at the dealer, I remind them to remember it's a Sport Hybrid, so they don't lower the pressures.

George Knighton

Or it could be the price you pay for living in Malibu CA.

Do you have to conduct a referendum for particular pothole repairs?

: runs farther away :

God save the Commonwealth and Old Dominion.

George Knighton

Malibu Flyer

the best thing about paradise is that my local Acura dealer had the Sport Hybrid in my preferred color [silver with black seats] and due to the unpopularity of the RLX, I was able to negotiate a great price for my Sport Hybrid.

CostcoFanAUS

LOL. It's growing from a $100 club to a $300 club these days. At the same time, I have some Costco stocks; so I don't really mind spending a little over there.

flagship

This seems like another example of going backwards, rough ride, less reliable to make it to point b safely, and the trade off is a look. Not mentioning cost. I don't find the look appealing, reasonable rubber is comfort.

Malibu Flyer

I know little about the difference in tire sizes, normal or low profile but I assumed that there was more to low profile (narrow sidewalls?) than appearance. I thought that they also added to the handling characteristics. Am I wrong?

Could someone provide a brief primer on tires......why were the tires on the Sport Hybrid picked by Acura (Michelin, 245, 19 inch, 98w)? It can't be only the way they look, can it?

wstr75

Malibu, this article is a primer on tires:
Low profile tyres: how low can you go?

flagship

Excellent article and seems to be written by experts,
the one difference I read elsewhere was getting low profile tires while increasing rim size to same diameter.... I read multiple places typically adds more unsprung weight, that actually decreases acceleration and increases braking distance....consistent is increases stiffness, decreases ride quality and increases cost and likelihood of blowouts/damage/rim damage and if tread is changed those impacts . But cornering increase and looks for those who like the big rim look.

Regardless, from a practical standpoint it would be nice if the high end cars came with an option for more rubber for those who want smoother rides and a better chance of getting to point B while also getting the top of the line model.