Major tire blow out

[fredcdobbs]

Last night while inside my van, I heard and felt a huge explosion and when I went outside I saw that my rear tire was just all blown apart. At first I thought someone shot a bullet in or jabbed a knife or something in it, but most of the blow out was in the tread area with some near the outer edge. When I took it off this morning to put the spare on, I looked all around it and it looked like a huge bubble on the tread just burst. Has anyone ever heard of a blow out like this on a stationary vehicle BTW, it was pretty hot here in L.A. all day before it blew. Also, a month ago I put 2 new tires in the front because they were so uneven that it made the van shake all over and at that time the dealer inspected the rear tires and said the were ok, no bumps or bubbles. So I don't know

 

[Starlight]

I've had the entire tread come off a tire while driving - store bought tire, too. I thought I got a bad retread tire. Some tires are guaranteed even against road hazards.

The way I understand it is -- the bond between the tread and the steel belt will start to deteriorate after 5-6 years -- even if the tire has never been used in that time. A bubble could happen if you scrape the tire against the curb repeatedly and wear off the thinner rubber on the sides of the tire. When the rubber gets thin, it can't hold its shape.

Most of the time I know when I've picked up a nail in a tire is... when I've parked in such a way that the weight of the car puts pressure on that area -- usually just above the pavement where the tire bends at the pavement line.

 

[GotSmart]

Tires can get bubbles in several ways. Hitting a rock or chuck hole in the road, hitting a curb or another solid object.

Someone plugging the tire instead of patching it.

Bad manufacturing process.

Age and excess heat.

I would replace the other tire, as with that happening it is not to be trusted. (3 out of 4 with problems in the past month.) Be glad it happened while stopped, instead of while driving. It happens, just not often.

 

[fredcdobbs]

Yeah, I'm replacing both rear tires with the same ones I replaced the front ones with a month ago. I do feel very fortunate that it happened while parked. It could have been a disaster. I just have never heard of a tire bursting while parked. And it's been parked for two weeks. I only take it out every 2-3 weeks for propane and water tank fill up. I rent a parking space in an empty lot.

 

[user 423]

Add overloading to the list...

 

[highdesertranger]

gotsmart and slow2day are right. but I find cheap tires the major culprit. this happened right in front of me once. someone pulled into my shop and complained about a vibration that just showed up I walked around the car and saw a huge bubble on the side wall. I called the owner over and the bubble was growing before our eyes, then baboom. sounded like a 44mag going off right next to us. put his spare on and sent him to a tire shop. highdesertranger

 

[Starlight]

It's also possible someone used your tire for "target practice."