Tyre bulge caused by fitter!!

B

bakes100

Member
 Essex
Hi guys, I am after you opinions...

Last Saturday I took the rear wheels off my Z4M to clean up the arches / brakes / inside of wheels and on inspection I noticed a tiny nail in the tyre. I took it to the tyre garage to have it removed and the guy told me the tyre was fine....so I had to locate the nail for him (!).

Once he had removed the tyre and repaired it he reinflated the tyre and as he did so a bulge appeared, as he put the wheel back on he attempted to hide the bulge. After a stern discussion with the owner he told me it was impossible for the fitter to damage the tyre in that way and that I had hit a curb or pot hole to cause it, which is utter rubbish as I am the only person who has driven the car since the tyres were fitted two months ago.

I am 100% sure there was no damage to the tyre upon arrival, and I am positive the tyre fitter caused the damage , do you guys feel I am fair in saying they will pay for it? Is that fitter trying to pull a fast one as I feel he knew he had messed up and was hoping I wouldnt see.

What made it worse was the owner told me a Nexen would be an adequate replacement for an as new goodyear eagle f1 assy 2 on the rear of a z4m!!

Let me know you opinions please guys.

Thanks
Stuart
 
You can't use that tyre now so I hope your not on it as the bulge will blowout at some point.
The fitter sounds like an idiot b and I guess you have to be grateful if the wheel isn't damaged too.
Unless you have some before and after shots as evidence I think you are stuffed.
Try telling them that if they don't rectify you will post a bad review but if they help you will big them up.
Small claims court? Iffy with no proof.
Watchdog. Rogue traders?
Still think you're gonna pay for a new one though ;(
Who are they so we can all avoid?

Sent from some bloody gadget using Tapatalk
 
Yeh tell us all who they are if you get no results

Unfortunately too many of these places think 10 mins training for a 16 year old kid then a lesson in how to bullshit somehow is acceptable customer service

Find a good fitting shop and stick with it - it's not all about saving a few quid its a safety thing

They have proven their lack of knowledge with the Nexen thing - probably the only tyre they had in stock in your size
 
It would be really hard for a tyre fitter to cause a bulge in the sidewall..

What has actually happened is the inner steel carcass has ruptured and failed..This kind of failure would be hard to replicate on a tyre machine,usually a pothole or kerb causes this kind of damage.

I have probably fitted in excess of 1000 tyres in my time and never had that happen,or heard of it happen to anyone else for that matter..
 
I am also a little unsure how they would have caused the bulge by simply plugging up a he.

Unless he used some serious brute force to bend the tyre when he removed it.

As above though i'm not sure how you would prove it, are the tyres directional? Would the bulge have been there on the inside before?

Def replace them, shame the place is so standoff ish about it all though.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk
 
Yeah I didnt think it was possible but I was watching him closely, he was being very heavy handed when removing the tyre and when using the machine to detach the tyre from the rim the tyre folded in on itself and that was the exact part of the tyre where the bulge appeared. Could bending the sidewall in on itself pull the carcass apart internally? He had to bounce it on the floor to get the tyre to return to it proper shape.

The tyres were fitted when the wheels were refurbished around two months ago and do not have a mark on them. Its on the outside edge of the osr tyre.

They are going to send the tyre off to be analysed after it is removed.

Z4M-2006 do you think over inflation could cause it? I can't see how the tyre could have failed without a bulge but then the bulge appearing after removal/refitting. Also there is no impact mark on the tyre at all. Just a bulge.

Peed off as there is no doubt at all in my mind the bulge was not there when I took it in.
 
If the tyre definatly wasnt damaged then i guess that the guy must have caused it..The steel inside the tyre could not be physically snapped by hand,the machine may have caused it,i just cant see how..


What may have happened was the tyre was damaged and the manipulation of getting the tyre on and off the rim has finished it off..Of course its all speculation,so hard to say and prove i guess....

The way i see it is if you wanted to create a bulge in a tyre for demonstrations sake,how could it be achieved?
 
I don't believe for one minute the tyre fitter could have caused this. Sadly it was a preexisting condition that either 1) was noticed only when refitting or 2) fitting and removing the tyre, inflating to seat, etc. just caused it to further fail.

Rough fitting and poorly set up tools seem to only damage rims and can tear sealing beads or sidewalls, but never break sidewall cords.

It will have been either a manufacturing fault or a pothole, even if you didn't feel it.

While some tyre fitters leave much to be desired I can't see any mileage in pursuing him.

Just don't drive on that tyre...



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
The only time I've heard about tyre bulges was when a mate had two with these defects after getting a full new set, it was due to manufacturing defect so had them replaced by dealer, however arguing the case and getting them to inspect was the difficult part... Iirc the tyre had to be sent to manufacturer to investigate

Hope you get something sorted - stay safe
 
Im sorry but I've fitted a few tyres in my time too and a fair bit of force is needed to remove some tyres. The only way I can think of damage being caused is if there was a pre-existing weakness. So it would have happened no matter whos you used. You might think they're trying to pull a fast one but I believe they're telling the truth.
 
Im sorry but I've fitted a few tyres in my time too and a fair bit of force is needed to remove some tyres. The only way I can think of damage being caused is if there was a pre-existing weakness. So it would have happened no matter whos you used. You might think they're trying to pull a fast one but I believe they're telling the truth.
 
i have had many tyres changed over the years on my cars and vans because the have found to have bulges at service or mot time, a lot of them when nearly new. I have never yet had one replaced under warranty as they all say they have been kerbed or potholed. not saying they couldnt have caused it just i would be surprised if you have much joy persuing it.
 
srhutch said:
What I find hard to believe was the fitter was just going to ignore it and put it back on. :o
Click to expand...

Exactly! Surely if he wasn't at fault he would have highlighted it straight away.

Ive just been out to my garage to look at the wheel again, there is in fact another much smaller bulge around 8 inches further round the tyre. Also there are 14 weights around the wheel when it previously had 4, one of which is still present.

The bead breaker tool is around 8 inches long and after speaking to another experienced tire fitter he said you could easily damage the sidewall if the bead breaker is positioned too far away from the wheel rim and ideally on high performance low profile tyres you should really use roller style bead breakers not the pincer-type ones.

I agree with the above that the tyre changing can not damage the wheel if done correctly. But I believe in this case it was not done correctly.
 
Well you have seem to have made you mind up..So good luck with you claim.

I used to work for Ralliart and we never used a roller type breaker,like you say the bead breaker is usually 6"-8" long.This is to disperse the force over the sidewall when breaking the bead.

A bulge is caused by a small break in the steel carcass inside the tyre,less than 1/8" i would estimate.. Hard to see how the bead breaker would cause that...
 
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