Tyres damaged whilst car in the care of garage
Discussion
Good evening all,
My wife's car has been at a garage having some work done (gearbox fault diagnosis and service). I had a call today to advise that everything had been completed; however, during the final test drive, the driver apparently had to make an evasive manoeuvre to avoid an oncoming car, which has resulted in 2 damaged tyres. They have admitted liability for this and have agreed to replace the 2 tyres like for like, no problem.
My concern is that the car is a BMW xDrive model (F25 X3) and I understand that the tread depth difference must be less than 2mm across all the tyres or there is a risk of damaging the transfer box. The existing tyres on the car are around 13k miles old and have worn evenly (bought new and fitted at the same time), so I suspect they're close to around 5mm by now.
Is it reasonable to push to have all 4 tyres replaced if the difference is >2mm, or not?!
Any advice would be much appreciated! Many thanks.
My wife's car has been at a garage having some work done (gearbox fault diagnosis and service). I had a call today to advise that everything had been completed; however, during the final test drive, the driver apparently had to make an evasive manoeuvre to avoid an oncoming car, which has resulted in 2 damaged tyres. They have admitted liability for this and have agreed to replace the 2 tyres like for like, no problem.
My concern is that the car is a BMW xDrive model (F25 X3) and I understand that the tread depth difference must be less than 2mm across all the tyres or there is a risk of damaging the transfer box. The existing tyres on the car are around 13k miles old and have worn evenly (bought new and fitted at the same time), so I suspect they're close to around 5mm by now.
Is it reasonable to push to have all 4 tyres replaced if the difference is >2mm, or not?!
Any advice would be much appreciated! Many thanks.
Honestly, I'd buy the other two tyres myself, it may not hurt the transmission or it might and if it does you'd struggle to prove it was the difference in tyres that did it and you'd me a while away from the tyre damage at the garage event.
You get 4 new tyres for the price of two, you'd be way better off.
The two that are part worn could be sold if they are in good condition further benefiting you.
You get 4 new tyres for the price of two, you'd be way better off.
The two that are part worn could be sold if they are in good condition further benefiting you.
essayer said:
Are the tyres the same size? If so - not unreasonable to ask them to rotate the wheels so that the new tyres are on the back and the worn two on the front
And how does that assist with the OP's question: "I understand that the tread depth difference must be less than 2mm across all the tyres or there is a risk of damaging the transfer box."?Dog Biscuit said:
I'd be more concerned about possible damage to the chassis components if they've kit a kerb or similar ( what else could damage two tyres?)
I'd be insisting on a KDS alignment too
This was my first thought. How do you damage a tyre without smashing the wheel into a kerb? It's not easy to do. I'd be insisting on a KDS alignment too
I'd be more concerned about cracked or dented wheels, bent wishbones etc... than the amount of tread on the tyres.
Torquey said:
Dog Biscuit said:
I'd be more concerned about possible damage to the chassis components if they've kit a kerb or similar ( what else could damage two tyres?)
I'd be insisting on a KDS alignment too
This was my first thought. How do you damage a tyre without smashing the wheel into a kerb? It's not easy to do. I'd be insisting on a KDS alignment too
I'd be more concerned about cracked or dented wheels, bent wishbones etc... than the amount of tread on the tyres.
I certainly wouldn't be palmed off with a couple of tyres without a comprehensive check over.
Imagine trying to resolve it once you've accepted the car back!?
MitchT said:
So, by BMW's reckoning you'd have to replace all four tyres if one was damaged and the remaining three had more than 2mm less than the original depth? Are they getting commission from tyre companies?
No, because if one was damaged and replaced, in theory the front / rear diff would take up the difference across the axle - though it's still not ideal. The issue, as with a few 4x4 / AWD cars is that running different rolling radius front to rear can cause wind up in the drivetrain and can cause issues. This isn't a new thing. Nobody caring isn't a new thing either and I suspect there's plenty defective / damaged AWD systems out there and the owners are non the wiser... or simply do not care. As for the situation, winters coming... I'd also go for putting four on and yes, ensuring there's no other damage. pits said:
There are thousands of old Audi Quattros, Volvo Cross Countries, SUV's out there that are 4wd or awd and being run on a shoestring with missmatched tyres and they are probably all just fine on the transfer case and diffs, I honestly wouldn't worry.
This is true, but we're not talking about any of those cars, we're talking about X Drive which is known to "wind up" if tyres are mismatched. From another thread, this is BMW's advise, hope it helps OP.
pits said:
There are thousands of old Audi Quattros, Volvo Cross Countries, SUV's out there that are 4wd or awd and being run on a shoestring with missmatched tyres and they are probably all just fine on the transfer case and diffs, I honestly wouldn't worry.
Quite a few of them from what I have seen end up needing drivetrain work (my son has a thing for buying old SUV and 4wd road cars, they frequently need work to the drivetrain) - who knows the cause. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff