2 tire changes in less than 3 months of ownership

[yourfavbrownguy]

Hi everyone, I bought a brand new 2021 Civic Sport Hatchback on 12/2/2020 so just about 3 months of ownership.

TL;DR Tire quality or just my crappy luck? I’ve gone through two tire replacements in under 5k miles. Is there anything I can do? Would continental or Honda help out in any way since it’s only been 3months/5k miles? Should I consider a different brand/tire? Would it be okay to get tires with an aspect ratio of 45 instead of 40? Has anyone done that?

A few weeks ago, on 2/6/2021 I park my car at a lot and step out. The first thing that catches my eye somehow is a huge bubble in my tire’s sidewall. Driver side - front tire. 3800 miles on the car at the time. New England roads are pretty crap to begin with and we’ve been getting all this snow so I told myself it is what it is. I didn’t purchase tire hazard or whatever that warranty is called when I bought the car so had to dish out about ~$230 for a replacement.

Tire: $184.12
Labor: $24.95
Sales tax: $17.72
Misc. Tax: $2.50
Misc. charge: $2.50
Surprisingly, the local Honda dealer was the cheapest option around town by $10-$40 so I went there. Also, no one had or seemed that they even would have the tire in stock. Ordered on Monday 2/8replaced on Thursday 2/11.

After that I was extra careful around town, would look out and dodge all the potholes I could. Was doing that anyway.

Last night, 2/28/2021, I was driving slightly downhill at around ~30 mph on a 35mph road (was approaching a yellow light) when I dodged some of a pothole but because it had been raining for most of the day I misjudged the size and still hit a portion of this pothole. Even though I didn’t feel anything major in the suspension, I knew something felt wrong. I lowered my window at the light to hear air continuously hissing out. Luckily there was a gas station right past the intersection so I pulled in and the Passenger side - front tire is losing air at a pretty fast rate. My fingers crossed for damage on the tread or a nail in the tread so I can just have it plugged. But nope. A deep rip right in the sidewall. Now the car has about 4750 miles and is sitting on a donut. No one near me carries the tire in stock so I’m going to have to wait 2-3 days for it to come in.

Basically wanted to ask if anyone else had an issue like this with their continental contipro tires? I think I read somewhere on the forum earlier that someone had 4 flats in 7 months or something. Nuts.

Is there anything you would advise me to do? I don’t have the tire hazard warranty but with two sidewall mishaps in less than 3months/5k miles would Honda or Continental be willing to help the consumer out in any way? Is there a manufacturer’s warranty (couldn’t find anything online that isn’t a paid warranty) that I could use to my benefit?

On the other hand, I’m thinking of getting rid of the continentals despite the fact I have so far really enjoyed grip, low road noise, everything except for my luck with them really lol. Are there any other all season tire options that any of you have tried that have worked out? I’m thinking of getting tires with an increased aspect ratio of 45 instead of 40. Would you think it’s a good idea or has anyone tried it already? Keep in mind I drive a lot lol. Wayyy more than average. Majority of my miles are racked up on the weekends when I go back road cruising with some spirited driving here and there for a few hours. I love driving and I’m on track to 20k miles in the first year. I just don’t want to have to dish out $230 every few months for a new tire lol.

Any and all help is appreciated! I know this could just be my luck and not on the continental tires at all but I needed to take this off my chest and could use any help or ideas you may have. Thank you!

Previous car was a 2008 civic sedan. Drove it to 301,000 miles. Dealt with maybe 2 flats? Lol. Loved that thing.

 

[Nexus713]

You are not alone - I have my 2020 Civic Sport Sedan at 3,600 miles and also i had to change my tires twice.

First time was front left, due to some pothole - yeah it was kinda deep, so i think every 18” would break, although my wife’s 2019 Altima (we did almost 20,000 miles already) has 18” too and we never got flat tire yet...

Second time there was some small metal piece laying on the street - left rear tire needed to be replaced (too deep to patch it)

So i don’t know - maybe it’s bad luck, or maybe tires are weaker than in the other cars ??‍

 

[bushido69]

Been there, done that. TPMS came on and had a leak on my rear driver’s side. I was at home so I added air and monitored psi. Didn’t see any visible sign of a nail or road debris and brought it too a local Firestone to have it inspected. Tech said there were 2 screws/bolts in the tread and he would patch them. Unfortunately, after the patch, it was still leaking.
He special ordered a stock conti that took 3 days. None of the local Honda dealers had a CTR tire In stock. Re-inflated it and drove it home safely since a donut did not come with a CTR.
Luckily, purchased an aftermarket tire/wheel warranty that not only covered for the new tire, but also a rental car for 5 days. 3 days after I had it replaced, happened all over again on the brand new tire. This time, it was closer to the sidewall so I knew it had to be replaced again. Same process with warranty co. including rental. Extremely frustrating but very glad I purchased the warranty since it has already paid for itself under a year. Plan on keeping the stock tires at least until the warranty expires in 2025. I would recommend the warranty if you like the stock set up plus a lot cheaper then aftermarket wheels and tires.

 

[Benster]

I think it's bad luck with the first tire, second big pothole may have something to do with it but I would contact Continental and try to get something from them, Their tires should have some form of a warranty, especially the first one that bubbled out after a few months. If you decide to switch company, Michelin's all season is pretty good and has good wear as well. The AS3(I think they have AS4 now too) is what I'm going for next. I got the contis and they're by no means quiet though, my winters are quieter... I do like the overall package of good dry and wet grip and decent handling in below freezing temps.

 

[bigdogpapa]

I think it's bad luck with the first tire, second big pothole may have something to do with it but I would contact Continental and try to get something from them, Their tires should have some form of a warranty, especially the first one that bubbled out after a few months. If you decide to switch company, Michelin's all season is pretty good and has good wear as well. The AS3(I think they have AS4 now too) is what I'm going for next. I got the contis and they're by no means quiet though, my winters are quieter... I do like the overall package of good dry and wet grip and decent handling in below freezing temps.

I was able to squeeze 40,000 miles out of the stock Contis. with no flats or bubbles. It seems I was lucky. I never thought they were very good in the rain compared to sets of Michelins I have owned on other vehicles. After a lot of research I went with a set of Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate which are considered an Ultra High Performance All Season Radial size 245/40R18 97Y. After 10,000 miles, I can highly recommend this tire, they are quieter than the stock Contis (and slightly less $$), the dry grip is very impressive and better in the rain than any set of Michelins I have owned. The Exhilarate's have built in tread depth wear indicators at different points around the tire tread and from these, at the current wear rate, it appears I should be able to get 50k miles from this set of Goodyears. Apples to Oranges, I know, but the Goodyears were, I believe, OEM on the Corvette for a time.

 

[SDAlexander8]

As flat as the Earth, huh? Nice trigger

 

[Benster]

I was able to squeeze 40,000 miles out of the stock Contis. with no flats or bubbles. It seems I was lucky. I never thought they were very good in the rain compared to sets of Michelins I have owned on other vehicles. After a lot of research I went with a set of Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate which are considered an Ultra High Performance All Season Radial size 245/40R18 97Y. After 10,000 miles, I can highly recommend this tire, they are quieter than the stock Contis (and slightly less $$), the dry grip is very impressive and better in the rain than any set of Michelins I have owned. The Exhilarate's have built in tread depth wear indicators at different points around the tire tread and from these, at the current wear rate, it appears I should be able to get 50k miles from this set of Goodyears. Apples to Oranges, I know, but the Goodyears were, I believe, OEM on the Corvette for a time.

I'll definitely give them a second look, never been a fan of the Eagle sport AS tires but these seem very different. Good to get more tire optins, thanks.

 

[Barticus520]

got 40000 out of the stock tires but they had three sidewall bubbles. Second set was Michelin pilot sport 3 as+. They were great and lasted nearly 50000 miles. Needed new tires when last week I hit the biggest pot hole ever lol. Got a sidewall bubble. Just replaced those with the Michelin pilot sport4 all season. Only been a couple of days but both Michelin tires definitely have thicker sidewall and stand to pot holes better.

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