Would a bump/bubble in the sidewall of my front left tire be covered under warranty?

[IronLion]

So I was getting into my car the other day and noticed a bubble/bump the size of a quarter (and protruding about a quarter of an inch from) on the sidewall of my front left tire. I'm guessing I got this from hitting a pothole or something, of which there are no shortage of in Washington DC, where I live. I'm wondering if anybody knows if this can/could be replaced under warranty? I doubt it, as I didn't purchase any extended warranties of any kind, and I called two of my local dealerships and they both said its not covered, but I just wanted to ask around to see if anybody else has any experience with this...my car is under 6000 miles and I've had it since June.

[Derrick_B]

I don't think the standard Mazda warranty covers tires. You may have purchased additional coverage when you bought the car, but most likely you're SOL.

[davesxx01]

Tires are not covered by Mazda. Look in your owners packet for the warranty phamplet frome your tire manufacturer.

If the bulge was indeed caused by a pothole, uour SOL. If the tire is bad a tire shop can replace it under warranty with the same brand/model.
I would say dont drive it far with a bulge on the side. If it pops while at speed it could be bad for you/your passengers.

[IronLion]

Thanks guys. I'm guessing I'll just have to pay to replace the tire- sucks too cause its not cheap. The Yoko S34 we have on our cars are something like $170 a piece! I considered using this as an excuse to upgrade to some good rubber, I was thinking the Pirelli Nero all-weather's, but that would probably be about $1000 investment in and of itself.

I would like to try to argue that a pothole didn't cause the bump in the sidewall, but how would one go about proving that? I mean, in DC, that argument is really not possible to make, you can't drive here without hitting potholes.

[IronLion]

Hey Derrick_B, btw, what did you do with your stock tires? Any chance you still have them...?

[Derrick_B]

Originally Posted by IronLion

Hey Derrick_B, btw, what did you do with your stock tires? Any chance you still have them...?

I'm actually using them right now, lol. Long story, but it's in my build thread if you're curious.

[glennk]

Take it in to your local tire place (Discount Tire, etc). See if Yokohama will cover it and replace the tire under warranty.

[Creatve]

I doubt they'll replace it under warranty...its most likely to fall under a road hazard category cuz usually a bubble in the sidewall would indicate u hit a curb or a pothole or something like that. Meaning you would have to purchase a new tire

Well if it makes u feel any better I had to spend $250 on 1 tire on my speed 3 cuz I had a 3" cut in the tread. It had to be special ordered cuz no one carried the OEM tires and this happened about 2 weeks after purchasing it! I would recommend everyone to purchase road hazard warranties on your factory tires at any local tire shop that offers it. I quickly purchased road hazard on all my tires at Goodyear.

[dlevisky]

Sorry to hear about the tire. But first see whats going on with the tire. Tire damage from driving is not covered. But inherent defects are covered. Only way to verify is to go to the a YOKO tire dealer and remove the tire and look at the inner wall of the tire. Frankly, rarely do companies cover a tires. OE tires like to YOKO S34 are expensive for such a medicore tire. For the DC area limited snow events requiring a tougher tire that fits the output of the car I recommend buying a decent set of rubber. Falken 452s or 912s made in California or Hankook EVO tires You should be able to get in either tire for about 350 400 bucks a set. Pirelli makes good rubber but EXPENSIVE! and frankly not worth it. I ride my Mazda on Falken 452s and it very impressive improvement on ride for summer rubber and Falken Eurowinter tires in the winter.

[ntechnic]

There is a tire warranty, but only an authorized Yokohama dealer can handle that. It's a pro-rated warranty, so it's the life of the tire minus what mileage you have on it.

Don't drive much on that tire! Get to a Yokohama dealer ASAP and get it looked at. Sidewall damage is serious and dangerous.