Small tire crack, replacement with Honda or Firestone?

[mikebai1990]

My parents recently took delivery of a new Honda Civic. The car has been driven about 1500 miles, 2 months. I was detailing the car today and noticed a hairline crack on one of the tires, and maybe you guys can help with diagnosis, but it doesn't look like any impact/curb damage. Two questions:

1) Is this something that is covered under warranty, and should I go ahead and get it replaced?

2) Will I need to go through Firestone, or can I take it to my Honda dealer since it's so recent? I feel like Honda would be easier to deal with, but I also don't imagine they have these tires lying around..

Picture here: http://i.imgur.com/cCTT7.jpg

Thanks!

[AHTOXA]

Looks like a cut more so than a crack. If you have road hazard, it'd be covered. Otherwise I doubt that tire warranty would cover this, as it's likely to be considered as damage.

I'd not worry about it unless there is a bubble or it gets larger. Tires sidewalls can take lots of abuse. When wheeling my past offroad rigs, my tires' sidewalls would constantly get cuts, be missing chunks and what not. Granted, an offroad tire is made more durable but I wouldn't worry too much about it unless it gets worse. How deep is it? I can't really tell.

[Squint]

If they bought the Civic brand new, usually cars come with a basic tire warranty of some variety. I would try to read through that and see if there is anything in there. Is the tire losing pressure at all?

[mikebai1990]

The jaggedness nature of the crack makes me think it's not a slash type damage. A cut should be more linear, but I could be wrong. It's not deep (I can't really give an estimate), and the tire isn't losing pressure.

[Squint]

The jaggedness nature of the crack makes me think it's not a slash type damage. A cut should be more linear, but I could be wrong. It's not deep (I can't really give an estimate), and the tire isn't losing pressure.

If it doesn't look like a slash, and it hasn't hit any curbs, you might check your tire warranty that came with the car. It's different for each manufacturer (possibly even for different types of tires too) because I know my car came with a brand specific warranty.

It probably should have instructions in there to make a claim as well. If nothing else, they might have a 1-800 number you could call and talk to a person about it.

[mikebai1990]

I think I'll do that and save a trip to the Honda dealership for now. I also feel like there won't be any real issues with the tire, but considering the tire is still extremely new, I wonder what 3 years of weathering and 12 seasons may do to exacerbate the issue.

[IMBoring25]

Can you find the full 10-to-12 digit DOT code? Its last 4 digits will be the week and year in which the tire was manufactured. That might turn up Honda putting old tires on the car or a dealership doing some swapping.

What pressure is in the tire now?

Radial cracks (ones running in that direction) are usually due to ozone exposure over time and can be exacerbated by underinflation.

Keep an eye on it but unless it's a really old tire, it gets worse, or it bulges, neither Honda nor Firestone is likely to do anything about it.

[Shadow]

I think I'll do that and save a trip to the Honda dealership for now. I also feel like there won't be any real issues with the tire, but considering the tire is still extremely new, I wonder what 3 years of weathering and 12 seasons may do to exacerbate the issue.

I had the same exact thing happen to a car that I owned. They replaced the tire under warranty at no cost to me. Personally, I'd get that tire replaced as soon as possible, as it might compromise the safety of the tire depending upon how deep the crack goes into the sidewall. Better safe than sorry, right?

[tankinbeans]

Either they use tire black to disguise old tires or there's a defect. Those are the tires I recently put on my car and they've met a few curbs; kinda scuffed but tausendmal besser als meine ehemalige Reifen.

[mikebai1990]

Can you find the full 10-to-12 digit DOT code? Its last 4 digits will be the week and year in which the tire was manufactured. That might turn up Honda putting old tires on the car or a dealership doing some swapping.

What pressure is in the tire now?

Radial cracks (ones running in that direction) are usually due to ozone exposure over time and can be exacerbated by underinflation.

Keep an eye on it but unless it's a really old tire, it gets worse, or it bulges, neither Honda nor Firestone is likely to do anything about it.

I looked at the code and it was manufactured 7th week of 2012, so that's very reasonable. Not sure what the tire pressure is, but I will see if my parents feel like taking it to the dealership.

[Squint]

Make sure to give us an update. I'm interested in what happens here. See who still has customer service.

[bk7794]

I'd go back to see what they'd say. Worst they can say is no, its not coverd. Also keep an eye on pressure like everyone else said.