Hello;

I have been having an issue with my tires (the rubber portion) coming off of their rims on my 2003 Dodge SX. The tires are new as of October, and this has happened twice now. At first I thought this was an isolated event - it happened when I was driving approximately 40 km/h in the city, and I was able to pull over without incident. I did not realize that it wasn't a flat and that the tire had seperated from the rim until the service technician advised me of it. This was the front passenger-side tire.

Then, yesterday the front drivers-side tire came off, while I was driving 120km/h. The car swerved out of control and we finally came to a stop facing the opposite direction we came from. Keep in mind that the rim was firmly attached to the vehicle in both instances, only the actual rubber tire came off. Both times I was able to have the tire re-installed and it had not damage on it.

Obviously this is a very dangerous problem that needs to be rectified. I have spoke to numerous people and have had everything from improper installation, to the lack of support aluminium rims provide suggested. My question is, have any of you had this occur before, and if so, did you find out what caused it? Also, does anyone else have any suggestions to what is wrong/how I could fix it? I was lucky I ended up on an approach rather than in the ditch last time - next time I might not be so lucky.

 

I'm sure you've heard it, but here are a couple of things coming to mind. I can't think of any more at the moment; been a while since I mounted/balanced/played around with tire installation.

Improper installation - they are not getting the bead of the tire set correctly so it is breaking loose.
Improper tire size - a tire that is too small for the wheel. One that is too big, IIRC, just won't be able to be installed period. What size are the tires and wheels?
Improper tire pressure - fairly simple I think. Seems to be one of the highest problem causing factors.

Who is saying "the lack of support aluminum rims provide" by the way? The tire shop?

 

What he said. ^^

 

I have witnessed people mounting 16.5" tires on 16" rims...

 

It happened also to me before...

 

I had the tires set back on the rims by Walmart both times, in their tire shop. These Walmarts are in different cities, so they did not know it had happened before until I told them after they told me what was wrong. (in their opinion). It was one of the senior technicians that told me that the aluminium rims provide less support, because there is not an extra ridge to catch dust/salt/water/rocks, etc. and instead they just get wedged between the tire and the rim.

I am not sure of the size of the tires - and my car is in the shop right now getting an electrical cable that snapped during the incident replaced, so I cannot check. But surely the tires that are on there would be the right size - the dealership that I bought my car from installed the tires shortly before I bought it. I am very careful to maintain proper tire pressure, as I come from a farming background and I know how quickly one tire that isn't at the right pressure can throw you around if you are on a gravel road.

Out of your suggestions, that leaves improper installation. What exactly do you mean by "getting the bead of the tire set correctly"? Is this something that I could prove to them, perhaps by looking at the back two tires (that haven't popped off yet)?

 

I'd check the tire size just to be safe

 

Good news! My dealer just gave me a call and said that it was likely their fault - and they are replacing my ground cables for free to compensate me. It isn't a lot, but at least they are acknowledging that it shouldn't have happened.

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but I wouldn't take anything a Wal-Mart "Tire Technician" tells you as anything worthwhile. I once had them tell me they could not balance the tires on my truck because "they were getting ready to peel apart like bananas" and I needed to immediately buy a new set from them. Mind you, this was both of the shop managers/shop leads, whatever you want to call them. I drove them around unbalanced (never had a problem actually, great tires and wheels I suppose) for about another 2 years before I decided to buy new ones. As for aluminum wheels providing less support, another BS statement. There is no "extra ridge" on non-aluminum wheels to catch dirt and rocks. I would take that as a bull**** cop-out to try and cover their butts from something they f'ed up.

It happens much more often than you think, especially with what OhNo2.0 pointed out. Most "tire technicians" at Wal-Mart and dealership are not the brightest people in the world (usually high school dropouts or students; no offense to any here, just my experiences from around here anyways) and do not always do everything correctly. Human error.

The bead is what sits on the ridge inside the wheel and seals it so to speak to the wheel itself. If it isn't set properly, or something went wrong on installation, the bead will literally pop (sounds like a bang) off the bead and cause an instant flat. Ever seen beadlock wheels? Amazing how those aluminum wheels work fine on a 1,400HP drag car, but not a 130HP Neon, huh. Keeps the bead screwed to the wheel so exactly what I am talking about doesn't happen. Used mainly by serious off-roaders and drag racers. Something you could prove? Not likely, unless you watched them install it improperly and you know how it should be done, etc. It can happen on it's own, but again, unlikely on an everyday car just by driving down the road.

 

They admit it's their fault...so what "really" happened. In for tommorow morning...I find this kinda amusing.