2007 Honda Civic Defective tire?

MATTJD6

MEMBER
2007 HONDA CIVIC
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
60,000 MILES

I recently purchased new Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires for my wife's Honda Civic. My wife drove it a bit ad thought it was noisy. Took it for a spin myself and didn't notice anything. I turns out there was a problem to be seen once on a freshly paved road. Every rotation, there was a slight bump. Brought them back to Goodyear who showed me a chunk missing from tread (outside tread on the inside edge toward engine) and the my tire was actually out of round there. They insisted the damage was caused by hitting something. I am of the opinion the damage is a defect in manufacturing. Attached is a picture, wondering if anyone has an informed opinion. You can see how the tires is round to the left of the missing chunk, but each tread going to the right is concave (indented). Could this possibly have been caused by hitting something? I can see the missing chunk happening, but not the tire becoming dented along a six inch section.

1 Reply

WRENCHTECH

MECHANIC
20,761 POSTS

What you actually have is called a belt separation. The internal steel belting is has either become unattached or torn. Most of the time this is caused by either impact or puncture. That mark they are showing appears to be a small cut. That is usually caused by a small sharp object. Impact breaks are usually caused by hard, blunt impacts which this does not look like. The dealer is somewhat caught in the middle though. If he gives you credit and then the manufacturer denies him credit, he is out. What you can do in this situation is request the dealer to send it in as a pending adjustment. That way the manufacturer will make the final decision. You get nothing at this time but if the manufacturer approves the claim, then you get a refund. Just make sure you get a copy of the claim certificate when it's sent.