Hi all...

I've got a 2010 Certified Pre-Owned Fit Sport that I purchased in late December. So far, so good. Am enjoying the car very much. I bought the car with only 15K miles on it and have put 5k more on it myself

Tonight, when I parked, I noticed a big bubble on the sidewall of the tire (they're Dunlops). it's about the size of an egg. Looks like an air pocket. I checked the pressure (tires still warm) and it was about 33.1.

Any ideas on what might have happened here?

Hopefully, I'll be able to get it home safely tomorrow (about 60 miles).

If these are the original tires that came with the car, is there any kind of coverage? Only 20K miles on 'em.

Thanks...Jim.

 

I know why it happened. Because they're shitty OEM Dunlops that are 4 years old. Don't worry, that even happens to new ones occasionally.

Honestly man, just ditch those tires and get a new set. I wouldn't drive on that either, put your spare on. That could burst rather dramatically. Like get a whole new set of four tires and throw those in the trash where they belong.

 

I don't think these bubbles are Dunlop specific. I've had Goodyear and now Kumho blister on me. Maybe these Fit specific tire sizes are just not too pothole tolerant. Never had the experience with other cars I've had over the years.

OP, these blisters/bubbles happen when you run through potholes (from my experience anyway). Mine were due for replacement when it happened so tire warranty wasn't even considered. Only way to know is check the websites or ask around tire stores.

 

I cut this from a post I replied to awhile back. Hope it helps explain whyou have a bubble.

A bubble on the side of a tire is almost always found to be caused by an impact while driving. Im not saying you slammed a curb but even a walnut sized sharp rock that the edge of the tire rolls over at low speed could do it and you wouldn't even know it until you spot the bubble. Potholes are another culprit here. Once the tire is removed you can easily see the impact break inside the tire.

On extremely rare occasions a bubble is caused by air migration through the inner butyl lining. The tiny pin holes in the inner butyl lining are near impossible to find but the tire will bubble and no break is found inside the tire directly behind the bubble. These bubbles don't usually look the same as an impact break bubble. They are typically long and flatter since the air is travelling from the pinhole and sideways through the sidewall untill it cant go any further. These bubles are usually fairly flat and I have seen them 4-6" or longer.

So, why does it bubble? Well, tubes were removed from the inside of tires many years ago. The tubes purpose was to hold the air. The tubes would move around a little and make the tires get hot. Tire talc, which is much like baby powder, was put into the tire before the tube to help reduce friction but they still got too hot. Overall, they were problematic.

Then the tubeless tires hit the market. But what holds the air if there is no tube? Its the inner butyl line of the tire and the tire bead that fits tightly on the rim that holds in the air. If the inner butyl lining is not intact then air leaks through the split and the higher pressure in the tire vs the air pressure outisde the tire causes that spot to push outward and form a bubble. Not a defect its just the laws of physics at work.

After the tire is removed you can push your finger into the center of where the bubble was and look inside the tire at that spot. You will most likely see a split open up and find that the tire is very soft at that spot since its damaged. Find several other random spots on the sidewall and try and push in the tire. It wont do the same thing and will be much firmer.

 

Bravo 2010FitSport!!! Almost Savant-like. Couldn't see anymore questions coming after your explanation. So true, no repairing those beads once there's a bubble.

 

how much tread is left on your tire.
Would agree, your option at this point is to replace the 1 tire, or replace all 4 tires.


The original tires aren't great; so the tire is actually doing yourself a favor that it attempted suicide.

You need to check your purchase agreement to see if you have any recourse regarding the tires, don't count on it; especially since it's been 3 months since your purchase, so something happened to the tire, it wan't something that was covered up or missed in the certification.

Even if you do have a tire warranty, it'd usually be a pro-rated amount for the 1 damaged tire; and that would likely lock you into getting this same tire or full set again at a price you may not want to pay.

That being said, as long as it's holding air, it'll probably get you around until you have a chance to replace them, as long as you're not racing or going nuts

 

I can almost guarantee you won't get any tire warranty coverage on the tire (at least from the usual warranties). The stock tires are not all that long-lasting tires to begin with, so it's probably nearing the end of coverage, and tire warranties don't cover problems due to damage such as sidewall blisters pretty much always result from.

Since the tires are probably well on their way to being worn out, you ideally should replace at least two of them so you don't have one new and one worn tire on opposite ends of an axle. If they're generally getting pretty close to worn out, you might want to replace all four; there are plenty of tires that are better than the stock ones that aren't super expensive. (Better in terms of longevity, quietness, handling, etc.)

You definitely want to get this taken care of as soon as practical. If you haven't checked it recently, make sure your spare tire is properly inflated and the jack and stuff are all there, too, preferably before you drive anywhere. One thing worse than getting a flat tire is getting a flat tire and discovering you have a flat spare tire!

 

^^^Exactly.




Sidewall bubbles were notorious also on my OEM Bridgestones, as well as other owners too.


You might be on to something about the Fit specific size and the correlation to sidewall bubbles.




I had a sidewall bubble within several thousand miles, I know I didn't hit a pothole within that time, but might have bumped it while parallel parking. I took it to the Firestone tire shop, they inspected it and replaced it under zero treadwear defect. The tires were still new so there was no significant wear. So depending on the dealership & treadwear there might be some warranty still left.


A few months later I get another bubble, and I know for sure I didn't hit any pot holes, nor curb. I didn't replace it. A few weeks later I get another bubble on a different tire, and again I know I didn't hit any bumps, curbs or potholes.


The OEM tires are crap. I would just replace all four with much better tires. The more common upgrades are Conti DWS, Kumho & Yokohama's (also a few Goodyear & Michelin).

 

I had a Toyo that had a huge bulge on the inside of the tire. They had very little tread left. It happens sometimes, I guess.

 

Yeah, you know, i've had some pretty generic, crappy tires in the past, like no-name brands on my beater cars, and i've taken them offroad, over jumps (I am not exaggerating), through dips, gravel roads, off-track excursions, etc, and I never once got a bubble in a tire.

Never in my life.

It seems i'm incredibly lucky maybe, or something's up. The amount of threads I see on here complaining about bubbled tires just leads me to believe the OEM Bridgestones are either poorly suited to the car or poorly constructed.

 

Let me make you feel good.
Two months ago, replaced my worn tires with a set of Michelin MX4 P175/65R14 (now discontinued). They were on clearance sale at a local shop for $95@installed w/ tax OTD.
Two weeks later, passed through a construction site and ran over a large nail. Thought I saved it by stopping immediately. Once dismounted, the nail went through the sidewall as well.
Big bummer. Luckily, the shop still had some stock and I forked the coin for the 5th tire.
Safety is first. Get that tire replaced. At least you put a couple of '000 miles on it. I barely had 200.

 

I had a set of Continental DWS that got a bubble on the sidewall of one of the rear tires as well, so it's not just limited to the Dunlops. I would highly recommend going to the 205/50/R16 tire size for whatever you go with. They look much better on the car and there's a much wider selection of tires in that size all of which will be much better in almost every area than the stock Dunlops. I'm currently running Kumho PA31 in the 205/50/R16 size and really like them. The Kumho Ecsta 4X, Continental DW or DWS, or Yokohama Avid Envigor seem to be nice choices as well. Good luck!

-Dustin

 

I agree it sucks to replace a tire with a bubble. I had to explain to many customers over the years that their AWD vehicles needed 4 new tires because the one tire with a bubble was more than 2/32" worn and the RPMs of the tire would be different and cause problems with the driveline or TCS system.

Many pissed off Subaru WRchecksX, BMtroubleyouW and Mercedes Spends customers!

 

Or you could've done the customer friendly thing and directed them to Tirerack, they offer a tire shaving service (if you don't offer that service yourself or don't have a partnership with a tireshop that does).

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=259

way to milk the customer,, especially those rich BMtroubleyouW and Mercedes Spends owners!

 

Interesting that you took that as I was milking them. Not all shops milk customers and I would not employ anyone who ever did. I have fired guys for doing that.

As far as the shaving, thats a great idea and as resourceful as I am I never thought to even do that. Thanks for the idea.

As far as tire rack shaving them, I didn't know they did that either!

The joke I made was not about how to rip them off but about what they spent on the cars to buy them and maintain them because of the higher costs and not about jamming them.

I could see how you misunderstood me.

No harm done and thanks for the info on shaving and tire rack!

 

I kinda figured. No worries mate.
I was mainly going off of your snark that you took the time to disparage other car owners and give them silly nicknames. So I assumed an exaggeration of your own point by to show how ridiculous that position would be.

Then again, they say if you have to explain a joke, it probably wasn't funny. I guess I'll keep my day job.