So Saturday night the weather was pretty bad here (big rain, big wind and even some snow). I was out in the Fit with wipers on high; water was ponding on the road and occasionally shooting up into the wheel wells. I was doing maybe 40 mph on a major two-lane highway tracking along the right side of the road because I couldn't see the left lane marker/center line with all the glare from the wet. A small side road is coming up on the right and there's a seam coming into my lane that connects the two different pieces of pavement. And right in the middle of the seam is a nice pothole. When I realized what was about to happen I jerked the wheel to the left but I was too late and the right front tire got swallowed up and spit out. It all happened so fast (doesn't it always?). There was the wrenching jolt and it was over. I immediately let off on the gas and tested the steering and I knew the tire was gone. So I limped the Fit a few hundred yards ahead into a CVS parking lot. It was so wet and I lived just down the street a bit so I left the car overnight after talking to the CVS manager. I waited until late Sunday morning to give things a chance to dry out and went back to throw on the donut.

The tire (Pirelli Cinturato Strada, a Discount Tire house brand very similar to the P7) was shredded at the sidewall. From the force of the hit I thought fer sure the wheel was taco-ed too but it looked OK, at least from the inside. Discount Tire confirmed the wheel was fine and mounted a new tire this morning, I thought I'd have to pay full price -- $120 plus tax/mounting/installation -- but I got out for $65 total thanks to an 'in-store discount' (yeah, I was mildly surprised). The tire had about 12K on the tread and was installed in late June but I didn't think the warranty covered road damage.

So yeah, a definite win for the Fit. I still have to check the suspension and alignment so I'm not out of the woods yet, but the wheel being OK is a big relief. Best price I could find for a new EX wheel was $245 plus tax and that included a 'core charge,' meaning I had to trade in the damaged wheel or pay another $50. So today I learned that 'core charge' is more than just a battery thing.

 

Lots of parts have “core charges,” including, but not limited to starters, alternators, master cylinders. All these can be rebuilt and resold.

In in the case of a wheel, there’s lots of delicious aluminum in that wheel, making it valuable.

 

Wow, you are right. I forgot about starters and alternators ... I've swapped out many a starter and alternator in the old days but really haven't done any of that since the '80s.

 

Yup I've had similar thing happen, on the same exact wheel with a pothole. I was only going about 30 mph but the hit was enough to have small gash on the sidewall. I had to replace the tire and alignment as the toe was noticeably off. I was just outside my neighborhood, so I just limped it home.

 

I know in Los Angeles you can file for damages to your car due to poorly-maintained roads. Perhaps Chicago has a similar process, if you find out there was some other, serious damage (hopefully none).

Glad to hear the wheel came out unscathed.

 

I tried that before. I had a GTI that hit a pothole and taco-ed the right front; ironically it was on the same road but different direction and a mile or so north. It was a state road and I did in fact file a claim but it was denied and the only other option was court but with the fees it wasn't worth it. At a junkyard I thought I found a deal on an OEM from another GTI but a bit later realized it was a knockoff; the design was very similar but didn't quite match the other OEMs. It bothered me and I always thought about getting another OEM to match but never followed through. I should have spotted it; it was a tough lesson.

 

I am curious as to what grounds they used to deny your claim. When I hit a pothole in my TL, the front wheel dented and tweaked the subframe. I filed a claim with the proper municipality and included all the pertinent information regarding the pothole (forgot to snap pictures though). One week after my submission, the pothole was miraculously filled/fixed. And a week after that I received a letter claiming no such pothole existed.

 

In the first case the pothole was filled a few weeks later, can't say exactly when because I don't go that way every day. The rejection letter was a bit vague, saying only it wasn't a known hazard at the time and my claim didn't meet their standard. There was nothing about an appeal process. The court option I found only by googling, and from what I saw court costs were not recovered and only part of the claims were awarded. That added cost of court and the probability of only partial compensation combined with the time and effort required wasn't worth it.

 

My thoughts exactly. Thank you for sharing.