Bridgestone Tyres

[michaelmc]

I bought 02 nissan almera h/b back in march.There is 11000 miles on the clock but already i need 4 new tyres.They are bridgestone tyres and have been on the car since i bought it.When the nissan dealer did my 9000 mile service i was told i needed 2 tyres but i went to a tyre centre and was told i needed 4 and that they were in a bad way.Who should take the blame for this.I was told that this can happen with bridgestone tyres.Has anyone had this problem.Also everytime I wash the car the back wheel on the passenger side locks up and I have to force it free by driving the car backwards and forwards which is not doing that tyre anygood.Nissan seem to know about this as when i explained what was happening the first question i was asked was did i just get the car washed.Any advice would be very helpful.

[WhipLash]

Font tyres will usually wear out quicker than the back wheels on front wheel drive cars. This is why its recommended that after about 6,000-10,000 miles the wheels are rotated front to back and visa versa, with the front wheels being also swapped left to right when being moved to the back (I think!).

Having said that, I'd imagine that you should certainly be getting over 20,000 miles at least. I suggest that you talk to a tyre specialist.

I recently got my front Bridgestones replaced on the Accord a few weeks back. They are of a soft compound, but yet I got almost 25,000 from the front pair, and thats with a heavy right foot! I dealt with Robbie in United Tyres and found him to be very helpful and also very competitive on the price too - you can contact him on 626 9446.

Sounds like the wheel locking up could be a common problem on that particular model. Perhaps follow it up with Nissan Ireland if you get no joy from the main dealer?

HTH.

[michaelmc]

Thanks for the help whiplash.I agree that i should be getting 20,000+ with the tyres.As I have'nt got this milage from the tyres do you think Nissan should replace them free of charge.

[WhipLash]

Michael, perhaps you need to involve Bridgestone (or the importer) on this one, thats what I'd do anyhow.

Find out exactly how many miles, on average, these tyres should last. Then explain the story to whomever you are talking to, and ask them for their advice. Either the tyres are faulty, or the cars set-up is incorrect, so you need to find out the problem and who is responsible for it.

If you incur any expenses at any tyre specialists or the like, make sure you keep all receipts so that you can attempt to claim back all expenses incurred. Its also important that you keep a diary of all contact you have with all parties involved, including dates, times, names and all replies/advice given. This would be invaluable if you needed to take this issue further.

Obviously your car is still under warranty, but that doesn't cover wear and tear. However, the tyre wear does sound very excessive to me, so perhaps there must be a fault somewhere thats causing them to wear down prematurely. If its the case that the car is at fault, then you need to get that fixed by Nissan, and they should replace the tyres with new ones too IMHO.

BTW, is this a new 02 Nissan Almera that you bought, or was it ex-lease, demo or second-hand?

[michaelmc]

It was a brand new almera.I have spoken to the nissan dealer already as i have to bring it back over a stearing rack fault.On the bill statement they just put down 2 new tyres required. i now know I need 4 but they did'nt seem to want to explain to me why this is the case.I agree that either the car setup was wrong when i bought it are else i got a bad batch of tyres.Either way I think nissan should take the blame.I don't want to put 4 new tyres on the car either if I am going to have the same problem.My problem is that the nissan dealer can say that there was a number of reasons that this could have happened.Potholes,kerbs ,bad roads tyre pressure so on and therefore I have to put in down to wear and tear and cover the cost.One of the tyre centres have told me he has seen this before with bridgestones but 11000 is the lowest mileage he has seen yet.Going to Nissan dealer tomorrow so I'll know then what they are prepared to do.They are not the best to deal with when it comes to problems like this.

[WhipLash]

Michael, just wondering if you had any joy at your local Nissan dealer?

[michaelmc]

The car is booked in for a new steering rack on wednesday.
I am just wondering if this may hace caused the problem with the tyres but as yet they have not told me why I need a new steering rack.When I was in the garage Last Tuesday I saw a notice from bridgestone about excessive wear on there tyres.
They were basically saying that it was not a manafacturing defect with there tyres and could be caused by hitting pothole,kerbs or conering to fast.Why the felt they needed to issue this statement is abit curious to me.I'll let know the outcome after wed.
Michael

[WhipLash]

That’s very interesting indeed about the sign. Wonder is it simply a sign that the garage put up themselves, or a general one from Bridgestone?

Even after the new steering rack, if the tyres are still only going to last about 10k, then I’d ditch them for something that’ll last longer, but which won’t compromise on handling/fuel economy.

[rivolette]

Back wheel locks up huh?

Do you have rear drums on that thing, or are they rear disc brakes? If they are drums, then I'd assume the rear drums are faulty, and the fact that it frees up when you drive it back and forth, confirms my assumption even further.

And bald tires after 11,000 miles is a joke, doesn't Bridgestone offer some kind of mileage warranty in your area?

I don't have much positive things to say about Bridgestone, specially after the Bridgestone/Firestone scandal with the Ford Explorer.

My advice yould be to check and if faulty, fix your drums. Then go get yourself 4 brand new Michelins and forget about it :d

[WhipLash]

Michael, just wondering if you’ve got to the bottom of this one yet? It’s a very interesting one, so I’m keen in finding out how its going. :)

I saw a new '02 Nissan Almera (saloon) the other day, and made a point to check the condition on the wheels. I have to say that they did indeed look excessively worn for the age of the car, almost to the point of being totally bald. Mind you that could have been due to high mileage, but on such a new car that’s unlikely.

Perhaps you should keep a look out for other newish Almera’s and check out the condition of the tyres. Also, if possible, try to speak to the drivers to see if they too are having similar problems. If so then try to get contact names/numbers so that you have proof and can keep others in the loop. If it looks common enough, then, like rivolette has suggested, I’d try four new tyres of a different brand. Try to get the dealer to pay for them and see how they go (quote the “Sale of Goods & Supply of Services Act” to them – see http://www.ecic.ie/June/Act4.html for more info). Also perhaps approach Nissan Ireland (again?) about it. Give them your findings you got when talking to other owners. If you get no joy from that, then perhaps its time to approach the newspapers.