scottrnelson

I just experienced a flat rear tire while driving on the freeway. At first it felt like cross winds or something, then I noticed the car pulled left and right as I accelerated or decelerated. With everything held steady it tracked steady.

I figured it was just a bit low on pressure and I would pull off at the first exit, but then I could smell rubber smoke and when I could see it in my mirrors, I pulled over at the first place that was wide enough to be safe. Unfortunately I had driven nearly a mile before I found a safe stopping place (San Leandro, where 880 southbound turns to 238 eastbound and the shoulder is less than three feet wide, with a wall).

My tire, of course, is shredded on the inside and is a total loss. This wouldn't have bothered me much a month ago before I put the new tires on. This tire had 320 miles on it. It went flat so quickly because I ran over a bolt, but the bolt didn't stay in the tire, so there was a 1/4" hole to let the air out.

I then had the fun of changing both the front and the rear tire at the side of the freeway. I must have been kind of slow, because two different CHP motorcycle cops plus a pair in a cruiser all stopped to see if I needed any help. Other than having someone to complain to about the injustice of it all, I couldn't think of anything they could do to help me. The cruiser stayed around until I could merge back into traffic.

Since I couldn't tell for sure why the tire failed, I stopped in at my local Bridgestone tire dealer. It took the guy there about 3 seconds to identify the bolt hole. They had difficulty ordering the right tire (it would have to be shipped from some main warehouse of Bridgestone), so I ordered another one from Tire Rack. I'm thinking I should just order 3 rear tires at the beginning with my luck (first set got a pinched sidewall at 2500 miles).

Anyway, for the benefit of those of you who have never experienced rear tire problems: The symptom of rear tire problems, like different air pressure or other differences between the two tires, is that as you transition between throttle on and throttle off, the car will pull to one side or the other. Pushing on and letting off of the gas alternately will swing the car a bit from side to side. When you notice this, stop as soon as possible and find out why.

It may save you from having to buy a $200.11 tire (plus installation).

yf69

amen to that. a few weeks ago i noticed that the car was pulling like crazy when accelerating & braking... popped my head out at an intersection to find out my rear driver's side tire was flatter than donald duck's feet. lucky that i was only driving for about 10 mins

Takashi KazuMori

Damn, that's a good reason to carry a portable hydraulic jack around for quick changes, since most of the time is taken on the lifting with the slow OEM jack ... Although it weighs quite a tonne in the boot though.

yu888

OUCH! Sorry to hear baout the flat Scott, but thanks for sharing the experience! I am sure it will help us recognize a flat earlier and save us a few $.

Mapman

Sorry about losing your new tire! I had something similar happen to me in April. I had to change the tire on the shoulder of US 129 near The Gap - totally sucked 'cause the jack kept sinking into the ground. Even worse was trying to find a new S-02 in the middle of the Smokies, on a weekend!

MarkS2K

I actually found out about the car pulling in one direction already. One of my rear tires was really low on pressure and the car would always pull to the left.

Sorry to hear about the flat. With a hole that big, I doubt the tire would've been salvageable anyway. Those CHP guys probably wanted to check out your car. Besides, their job is to make sure you're safe on the road.

F20C

I had a flat a couple weeks ago and couldn't keep the thing straight to save my life. I was going about 80 on the highway and she kept going back and forth, I was like wtf? Then I noticed the flat, doh!