Defective Bridgestones?

[Shetzel]

So, I've had my Stinger GT2 AWD since January of 2018, with the Bridgestone Potenza 18" OE tires.

Around December, I developed a slow leak in the rear left tire. Took it in, the dealer said it was a puncture in the side wall, can't repair it. Got it replaced with an identical tire, my cost

This February, it happened again in the front right. Slow leak, puncture in the side wall. Replaced by the dealer, my cost.

Now, I've got my third tire leaking (rear right), and I'm not sure what the hell is going on. Might be the same wheel as the first tire, may have been rotated in December. I'm certainly not taking it back to that dealer, and I'm certainly not going to get another Potenza to replace it. I'm thinking about biting the bullet and slapping 4 new Pilots or Nittos or Continentals on there.

I've been looking on the forums all morning for a similar story, but can't find one. Has this happened to anyone else? Defective batch? Could I have bent wheels from the Milwaukee potholes I sometimes fail to avoid? I would have thought the dealer would have caught that. Could this be a jealous husband getting revenge in the parking lot? I've been driving for 30 years and have only had one nail in all that time. Three side-wall punctures in 4 months seems very suspicious.

 

[nhcowboy28]

Sidewall punctures are not defective tires.

3 isn’t coincidence. And potholes typically don’t puncture sidewalls. Someone is stabbing your tires. Get cameras.

 

[DaBears4Lyfe]

Sidewall punctures are not defective tires.

I agree with this.

 

[Shetzel]

Sidewall punctures are not defective tires.

3 isn’t coincidence. And potholes typically don’t puncture sidewalls. Someone is stabbing your tires. Get cameras.

I admit that the biggest mistake I've made here is that I haven't insisted on seeing the tires. I'm taking them at their word that they are un-fixable "punctures" on the "sidewall". Either of those statements could be false. I don't know how much I trust the dealer, but they are well-regarded in my area, with several locations and brands.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Too late to track any of your theories. But I'd get new tires elsewhere, as you said, and let them know what has happened, and check the rims, all of them, for any flaws. Doubtful that a damaged rim would be invisible from the outside; there must be some deformation.

Even if your original dealer is innocent, they are surely incompetent to rotate twice and not notice an issue if the rim is somehow damaging the new tires within a few weeks of install.

If this happens to be the case, I'd consider returning to the dealer armed with this information and ask for compensation, since they made you pay twice for replacement (unwarranted) tires; and they should have caught the bad spot on the rim that is killing the tires.

(And welcome to the forum, even though your "introduction" was on a negative issue. Hopefully everything will work out.)

 

[Shetzel]

No, no. I am happy to be here. I tend to lurk in shadows until I have an expert opinion to share or something that requires one. I've been passively reading these forums, off and on, for months. Just not the one concerning tires

Thank you everyone for your feedback, and for anyone yet to come. Sometimes a sanity check is required. I will probably get new tires, and ask my wife to stop driving it to volleyball once a week. It's a bar with a dark parking lot, anything could happen there. Where I work, it's a good environment, and I can't believe anyone would risk their job for something this petty.

AND I will ask the Discount Tires guys to show me the damage when they replace the set. They've always been good to me with previous cars.

 

[Ozstung]

Someone is stabbing your tyres. Potenzas are a good quality tyre in my opinion. I had them on my Wrx for a number of years, soft tyre- yes.

I had three nails in three months all at work. If someones jealous this could happen?

 

[eflyguy]

Agree with everyone else. Never heard of a "slow leak" not caused by a nail or similar in the tread, definitely not defective tires.

 

[Shetzel]

Thanks to everyone for their input.

To define "slow leak" better, I'd say that the first tire lost about 10 psi in 24 hours. I had to re-inflate that one every day to around 40. The second and third were/are about 1-2 psi per day. Inflated to 38 on Monday morning, and I'm still sitting at 34 or so, right now (Wed afternoon).

In getting a quote from a local tire shop manager, I asked him what my price would be for replacement, and he said they don't recommend the Potenza anymore. They were replacing too many of them, he said. Apparently (and I know this is hearsay), the soft sidewall of the Potenza is vulnerable to lateral forces when cornering/changing lanes "vigorously" (my word, not his), causing small tears/punctures in the sidewall. Some Continentals have a similar reputation at that shop. The low profile doesn't help. They do sell higher-end Bridgestone tires, just not Potenzas.

I'm trying to keep an open mind, and this is starting to make more sense than vandalism. Please bear in mind I live in Wisconsin, where morning temperatures over the winter are frequently single digits, and I would speculate that the cold could be making it worse (if the problem is real). We also get tons of potholes in some areas when it thaws. But I still have not been able to find any corroboration here, or elsewhere on the internet, though.

I've decided to go to a different shop (for other reasons), and I'll ask them about it, as well. I will likely get Michelin Pilot Sports slapped on the rears, which I've been very happy with before on a different car. I'll post an update when I get it done, if this dealer has any additional comments. I will also ask to see the tire myself, if they can find the leak. If it looks like a blade made it, I'll take some precautions in the future.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Thanks to everyone for their input.

And thank you for the update. That is very interesting, especially about no longer wanting to put Potenzas on.

I learned a long time ago the value of having all four tires match and that includes c. tread wear. I would replace all four at once when the time comes.

 

[GRStinger]

Thanks to everyone for their input.

To define "slow leak" better, I'd say that the first tire lost about 10 psi in 24 hours. I had to re-inflate that one every day to around 40. The second and third were/are about 1-2 psi per day. Inflated to 38 on Monday morning, and I'm still sitting at 34 or so, right now (Wed afternoon).

In getting a quote from a local tire shop manager, I asked him what my price would be for replacement, and he said they don't recommend the Potenza anymore. They were replacing too many of them, he said. Apparently (and I know this is hearsay), the soft sidewall of the Potenza is vulnerable to lateral forces when cornering/changing lanes "vigorously" (my word, not his), causing small tears/punctures in the sidewall. Some Continentals have a similar reputation at that shop. The low profile doesn't help. They do sell higher-end Bridgestone tires, just not Potenzas.

I'm trying to keep an open mind, and this is starting to make more sense than vandalism. Please bear in mind I live in Wisconsin, where morning temperatures over the winter are frequently single digits, and I would speculate that the cold could be making it worse (if the problem is real). We also get tons of potholes in some areas when it thaws. But I still have not been able to find any corroboration here, or elsewhere on the internet, though.

I've decided to go to a different shop (for other reasons), and I'll ask them about it, as well. I will likely get Michelin Pilot Sports slapped on the rears, which I've been very happy with before on a different car. I'll post an update when I get it done, if this dealer has any additional comments. I will also ask to see the tire myself, if they can find the leak. If it looks like a blade made it, I'll take some precautions in the future.

I haven't had the leak problem (but have had the pothole problem - see below), however, IMHO, and in my experience Bridgestones are lousy tires. More specifically, they're fine for about 5k miles then disappointing after that. I had a set of Turanzas A/S as OEM on my 2009 Altima SE coupe. They wore much faster than the mileage rating and were awful in just their 1st winter after about 8K miles. After about 12K on the Potenzas, early last fall, they already felt 'sloppy' on wet roads. I didn't even bother with them for winter; put a set of winter wheels with Michelin X-Ice on in November. BTW, Put my OEM/Potenza's on a week-ago-Sunday. Then, Monday morning on the drive to work hit a pothole and shredded the front passenger tire. Just my luck . Put on a new Pirelli at Discount. Will see how that works. But will have to make a new choice when it's time for a new set - probably by mid-summer.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Put on a new Pirelli at Discount.

"A" Pirelli? You too? Is mixing different tread patterns and brands a good thing? I got away from that years ago and was impressed forever at the difference in handling, comfort/quietness and tread life it made, to run all four tires as a set.

 

[Shetzel]

And thank you for the update. That is very interesting, especially about no longer wanting to put Potenzas on.

I learned a long time ago the value of having all four tires match and that includes c. tread wear. I would replace all four at once when the time comes.

I will update again after I get another opinion, and hopefully see the damage for myself.

Yes, if I believe that this problem will keep occurring, I'll get all replaced. Then I'll have 3 used Potenzas sitting on a shelf, with a mix of 2000, 6000, and 14000 miles on them, respectively.

 

[GRStinger]

"A" Pirelli? You too? Is mixing different tread patterns and brands a good thing? I got away from that years ago and was impressed forever at the difference in handling, comfort/quietness and tread life it made, to run all four tires as a set.

I didn't really have a choice... well, I guess I did but the local shop didn't have a Potenza in stock - would have to wait 2-3 days, and I needed to get the car back on the road. They do have a similar tread pattern and so far no noticeable difference in handling. At any rate, I won't have a matched set for awhile. Although, the way the Potenzas are wearing I'll most-likely be looking at replacements mid-summer. I'll probably just bite the bullet and put 4 new/matching tires on and see if Discount will give me something for the Pirelli (they do sell used tires) or put it on Craig's List or something.

 

[Allmanb]

I have had 4 tires with leaks as well but it isn't from a tire defect. I bought extra wheel and tire coverage so it doesn't cost me to repair. 2 replaced (less than 2k miles on car) and 2 patched. I put 37k miles on the car since march 2018 when i bought the car. I replaced all 4 due to normal wear yesterday. Either you are picking something up and it is coming out of the tire or someone doesn't like you and poking a hole in them.