Flat Tire after one week--Car has to be towed
- Thread starter EgermP
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Help Support Chevy Bolt EV Forum:
In response to the previous comments: My wife was driving. The tire went flat extremely fast, and she was surprised. Fortunately, she was in a residential area and wasn't going very fast when it happened. She thinks that she drove over something. The car has about 250 miles on it.
Chevy showed up in about an hour and towed the car to the dealership. The dealership does not have any spare tires! They have to order a tire, and they say that the new tire will arrive tomorrow. The people at the dealership were friendly and gave my wife a ride home.
This is ridiculous. Dealerships should be required to keep spare tires on hand. In fact, I don't understand why the Chevy road service people don't have them. They should be able to install them on the road.
Chevy showed up in about an hour and towed the car to the dealership. The dealership does not have any spare tires! They have to order a tire, and they say that the new tire will arrive tomorrow. The people at the dealership were friendly and gave my wife a ride home.
This is ridiculous. Dealerships should be required to keep spare tires on hand. In fact, I don't understand why the Chevy road service people don't have them. They should be able to install them on the road.
ChevyCustomerCare
Well-known member
EgermP said:
Hi EgermP,
Some GM models do not contain a spare tire as in previous models. Instead, they may contain a Tire Inflator Kit (TIK) that you can use in a flat tire situation. The Tire Inflator Kit was designed as a high-tech solution for a service similar to a temporary spare tire. It will allow the owner to inflate their tire safely and easily before driving to get it serviced.
General Motors decided to use the TIK in place of a spare tire in some models to free up cargo space and to greatly minimize the inconveniences associated with flat tires. In the case of the Bolt EV, the lack of spare tire helps to reduce necessary weight and therefore increase potential range.
I do want to offer my apologies for the inconvenience and frustration I'm sure this has caused. If the tire ordered by your dealer still hasn't arrived as of today, please feel free to follow up with me via private message. I'd like to ensure that this gets taken care of as soon as possible.
Best,
Amber G.
Chevrolet Customer Care
Amber wrote:
"Instead, they may contain a Tire Inflator Kit (TIK) that you can use in a flat tire situation"
The Chevy Bolt is supposed to have special "self-sealing" tires. . There is no spare.
To make mattes worse, the dealership called today to say that they couldn't find the same self-sealing tire to replace this one with. So, they are replacing it with a regular tire. If we want the same type of tire that came with the car, then we have to wait a lot longer, with the car in the shop. They also intend to charge us the full amount.
So, my wife is supposed to drive a car with one tire that is not as good as the tire that the car was sold with. No spare tire.
Not happy campers!
"Instead, they may contain a Tire Inflator Kit (TIK) that you can use in a flat tire situation"
The Chevy Bolt is supposed to have special "self-sealing" tires. . There is no spare.
To make mattes worse, the dealership called today to say that they couldn't find the same self-sealing tire to replace this one with. So, they are replacing it with a regular tire. If we want the same type of tire that came with the car, then we have to wait a lot longer, with the car in the shop. They also intend to charge us the full amount.
So, my wife is supposed to drive a car with one tire that is not as good as the tire that the car was sold with. No spare tire.
Not happy campers!
I would be very interested to know what sort of hole is in the tire? Is it simply a nail hole (that the self sealing goop is supposed to prevent) or was it something larger, or a sidewall tear/puncture?
If it's a simple nail hole, then I need to get a tire sealing kit since the self sealing goop system isn't 100% to work....
If it's a simple nail hole, then I need to get a tire sealing kit since the self sealing goop system isn't 100% to work....
Here's an update on the flat tire situation:
The Chevy Bolt does not have room for a spare tire. Despite what Amber said in her message. It does not come with a tire inflation kit. It does come with tires that are described as "self-sealing".
My wife got a small hole in the tire, and it went completely flat very fast. It was towed on a flatbed truck to the Chevy dealership, who kept it overnight. They replaced the tire with a new tire that is not self-sealing. The dealership says that it will take about three weeks to get a replacement tire that is self-sealing. They charged us $200 for the replacement, which we had no choice except to purchase. The only alternative was to leave the car in the dealership for three weeks waiting for the replacement tire. As I understand the situation, we will probably have to purchase the self-sealing tire when it arrives.
The dealership should stock replacement tires. Plus, if they don't have them in stock, it should not take three weeks to get them. We are not happy campers
The Chevy Bolt does not have room for a spare tire. Despite what Amber said in her message. It does not come with a tire inflation kit. It does come with tires that are described as "self-sealing".
My wife got a small hole in the tire, and it went completely flat very fast. It was towed on a flatbed truck to the Chevy dealership, who kept it overnight. They replaced the tire with a new tire that is not self-sealing. The dealership says that it will take about three weeks to get a replacement tire that is self-sealing. They charged us $200 for the replacement, which we had no choice except to purchase. The only alternative was to leave the car in the dealership for three weeks waiting for the replacement tire. As I understand the situation, we will probably have to purchase the self-sealing tire when it arrives.
The dealership should stock replacement tires. Plus, if they don't have them in stock, it should not take three weeks to get them. We are not happy campers
LeftieBiker
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There are several posts here somewhere, saying that at least the Premiere has room for a small donut spare under the false floor.
oilerlord
Well-known member
EgermP said:
Except that you did have a choice. The mistake you made was convincing yourself that this was "tire failure" hoping that your dealer would replace it for free. You could have towed the car to any one of a dozen tire shops that may have had the O.E Michelin Energy Saver A/S tire for your car in stock, or worst case, get it in a day or two. Tire Rack has them in stock for $139.69:
I mentioned in your other thread that you would be charged for the tire, and service - which is exactly what happened. It doesn't matter that your car is brand new, your wife accidentally drove over something and punctured the tire. Why would this be GM's responsibility and/or covered under warranty?
Your dealership isn't a tire shop. You can't expect them to inventory tires for every model they sell, and frankly, very few people buy tires from a dealership because they cost too much, and selection is very limited.
On the bright side, it's a lesson learned. You'll be prepared should you get another flat.
SeanNelson
Well-known member
Yep. Once of the things I've learned in life is that car dealers are the wrong place to go for tires or for glass repairs.oilerlord said:
Oilerroad wrote: "Why would this be GM's responsibility and/or covered under warranty?"
My answer is simple. The Chevy Bolt salesman said that the car comes with special "self-sealing" tires, which can survive a puncture. As a result, there is no need for a spare or for a tire-inflation-kit. The tire did not survive a puncture as Chevy represented.
My answer is simple. The Chevy Bolt salesman said that the car comes with special "self-sealing" tires, which can survive a puncture. As a result, there is no need for a spare or for a tire-inflation-kit. The tire did not survive a puncture as Chevy represented.
LeftieBiker said:
I don't see how. The round depression that suggests a spare tire well is not a full circle. Any tire that would fit in there wouldn't be big enough to cover the brake rotor.
Given that we're seeing cases where the self-sealing claims about the Michelins seem to be a bit "over inflated" perhaps GM should reconsider the decision to make the inflator kit an optional extra, and instead make it standard.
LeftieBiker
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I don't quite remember the photos, but wasn't it a semi-circular cutout in sound-deadening foam? If so, it might be possible to make the hole in the foam donut-spare-sized, and bolt one to the floor.
devbolt
Well-known member
Did the dealer show you the puncture itself? Depending upon the type of puncture that you experienced, the self sealing tire technology may not have been sufficient to overcome the puncture you had.EgermP said:
oilerlord
Well-known member
EgermP said:
He didn't lie to you.
Read page 271 of your manual:
"Self-Sealing Tires
This vehicle may have self-sealing tires. These tires have a material inside that can seal punctures up to 6 mm (0.25 in) in the tread area.
The tire may lose air pressure if the sidewall is damaged or the tread puncture is too large."
As the manual states, self sealing tires can survive small punctures but it's naive of you to think they can survive all punctures. You said yourself that the tire went completely flat "very fast". This was no small puncture.
Again, this isn't GM's fault. It's time to take some responsibility, learn from it, and move on.
I also got a nail in the center of the tread in my first week and had to flatbed tow it to my dealer who told me that the puncture was not fixable so they needed to get a new tire ($250) which took about 2.5 hours. Want to know if fix-a-flat can might be recourse to getting a tow in the future. Perhaps have a spare wheel and tire in my garage? $250 / flat tire is going to get expensive (especially after roadside service expires.)
