Topic: Sidewall bubbles Pirelli Scorpion Zero

[ktm525]

Background: When I bought my LR4 used a couple years ago it came with a set of Pirelli Scorpion Zeros (255/50-20) not mounted on wheels and were barely used (9-9.5/32 vs 10-32 new). I spent the last two summers "burning off" the Pirelli Ice and Snow s that were mounted. They are a great tire but that is for a different thread. Anyhow I start getting ready for Spring and haul these  Pirellis out of the rafters and take them to my trusted tire shop. They call back and say all 4 tires have multiple sidewall bubbles. Upon inspection there is no visible damage on the inside or outside of the carcass. Every bubble does seen to coincide where there is a "seam" on the inside of the tire(?)

Details:

Tires manufactured Feb 2012.
Tread depth 9/32 (new 10/32)
Tires stored on their sides, stacked two deep in individual plastic bags in my garage. Open rafters.
Wheels themselves are arrow straight and have no damage.


I took them to the Land Rover dealer where the previous owner had purchased them and told them to "deal with Pirelli". I really do not expect a positive resolution on this and I really don't care too much. I half expect to never hear back from the local Land Rover dealer.

 The Pirelli Warranty process is both good and bad:
Good: No receipt required. Replacement based on tread depth only.
Bad: Dealer in Calgary  has to suck up cost and ship all 4 used tires to Vancouver so Pirelli Rep can inspect them. No digital pictures  from a trusted seller? Weird.

Any bright minds have any insights or similar experiences?


 

[capriracer]

If I am reading this correctly, you have indentations.  The key was that you identified this as occurring at seams.  In the tire industry, we use the term "splices" - places where long, flat pieces overlap to form a hoop.  It is common for the ply splices to be visible - and they are always there even when you can't see them.

I think the question now is how bad are they, and since you bought the tires used, is Pirelli going to do anything?

So, first, if you've described this correctly, the tires are merely .... oh, let's call it "appearance challenged" - and not structurally unsound.  So you can use the tires without fear of failure, they just won't look as good as they could.

Second, the fact that they shipped the tires to inspect them, likely means there will be some sort of monetary compensation to you, the consumer.  I suspect Pirelli is going to look for impact damage in the form of broken cords - and, again, if you have described this accurately, they will not find such and will replace the tires - I'm guessing free of charge, although, I'll bet the dealer may want to charge you for mounting and balancing.

[ktm525]

Thanks for the info. I did not see the "bubbles" , merely the circled area where they occurred. My indy tire shop described them as bubbles, not indents and insisted the tires could not be mounted or used. The tires were junk. They made this recommendation even though they knew I would not be buying another set from them . They just do mounting and balancing. They described one as a golf ball size and shape. The bubbles did occur where the layers were spliced.

I bet Pirelli comes back with a 50% rebate coupon or something. I really am not a fan of the Zero anyhow so I am mostly curious how this plays out.

[tooscoops]

only thing i'll add is that whenever i have had tire warranty issues, i go through a tire shop, not a dealership. they have better luck dealing with the rep and can get things done quicker and easier for everyone involved. even if they weren't involved int he sale of the tires, guys like beverly tire by me have been great to deal with.

only issue i have ever had is that the companies pro-rate the tire wear.. so even if it is a fault of the tire, they may say it is 15% worn so only cover 85% of the new tire cost.

[ktm525]

I agree but the dealer is where the PO purchased the tires. In addition the dealer (or tire dealer) has to ship the tires from Calgary to Vancouver  and eat the cost as Pirelli doesn't pay for that. Few shops would eat that cost if they didn't sell them. At 9/32 Pirelli says replacement is 100%.

[ktm525]

Well it turned out as expected, Pirelli is dodging responsibility... I wrote them a nice response and since then they still want to have their experts do research...I told them I am moving on as  life is too short to deal with subpar products and Companies that don't stand behind their products. Fortunately the dealer stepped up and got me into some Michelins at cost.

From now on the only Pirelli's I will use will be on my dirtbike.

[mrthompson]