Warranty Coverage of Incidental Tire Damage?

[pnosko]

I took my 2011 LightShine in for service recently due to a rotational noise issue coming from the front-end. It had < 8 months ownership and < 9K miles at the time. They said the problem was caused by a severe out-of-alignment condition. I noticed no pulling in the steering. While the alignment fix was covered by the warranty, they said the noise was from uneven tire wear and would continue for some time until the wear evens out, mentioning that tire replacement is not covered by the warranty. I have my doubts that this is even the cause for the noise (think of the sound an oval metal bar would make rolling across a surface).

Assuming they were correct in diagnosing the problem, shouldn't the tires be covered under an incidental damage clause? It's not like they were even close to being near the end of their usable life.

The noise is very irritating, most noticeable when I let off the gas and coast and the engine noise is minimal.

Thanks.

[deepblueQ]

Wheel bearing?

Whatever it is, it sure isn't oddly worn tires, and the dealer really ought to know that...

[noodle9]

I would agree with a wheel bearing. Too bad you can't find someone in your area willing to swap front tires for a test drive, to rule out the tire wear theory.

[kheran]

I'd check the tires again. They may have cupped or scalloped on the inner edge. I had this same issue happen with my work truck this week and the tire damage was due to mis-alignment. The noise was the same as you describe .

[Brabus007]

They should have flipped the tires on each rim, and swapped them side to side after the wheel alignment, and then looked for a improvement in your situation... Some times if tire cupping wear is bad enough the tire should be replaced... You should have them show you the wear that's causing the noise on the tire, If its as bad as you say, it would be visible to the naked eye. Also a bad tire could sound just like a bad wheel bearing...
1) Do you feel vibration?

[pnosko]

Thanks for the replies. I don't think it's a bad bearing noise, although I've only had a bearing go on a rear wheel drive many years ago so I could not rule it out.

I do not feel any vibration (nor did I before). I did easily see visible wear on the inside edges of both the front tires when I looked, although not as bad as in Brabus007's picture and closer to the edge.

I don't baby this car, and routinely drive it at pretty high speeds. So I had some concern that my driving habits contributed to this. My wife also has a 2011 Passion and she says she doesn't hear this noise at all in hers. I guess my next step is to swap the front wheels and see of the noise follows to her car.

But I was really wondering about the incidental damage issue. Maybe this is something that varies from state to state. If I can determine for sure that the noise is from the tire wear, it's annoying enough to me that I don't want to wait for the noise to wear itself out. I'll replace them myself if I have to.

[deepblueQ]

Originally Posted by pnosko

(think of the sound an oval metal bar would make rolling across a surface).

... and some people say this can actually be tires?

Maybe clarification would be good - how fast is this metal bar rolling?

[pnosko]

I just thought I'd post an update. I replaced the front tires, and the noise reduced, but did not go away. So I took it back to the dealer. This time, they said the noise was coming from the front wheel bearings. They replaced both hubs/steering knuckles. It has never been this quiet. I'm glad I pushed the issue.

But I didn't get a warm fuzzy from having a car develop this kind of problem in just a few thousand miles of driving.

[a2jack]

They also owe you for that set of tires. Press them.

Do the MB dealers treat the owners of big MB cars this way ? Or is this just for us Smart owners.

MB is really running us through the mill on service and repair. A2Jack.

[pnosko]

Originally Posted by deepblueQ

... and some people say this can actually be tires?

Maybe clarification would be good - how fast is this metal bar rolling?

Hey deepblueQ, I gave you a belated thanks. All you have to do is listen to a few episodes of Car Talk to see how difficult it is to describe car noises. It was a hum/rumble with a vibrato that changed in frequency when the car speed changed. That's the best I can do.

The majority of the noise did in fact come from the worn tires. When I first replaced the tires, I thought the problem was solved. I had to find a smooth road, turn off the music and let the car coast to still hear the noise (and my hearing is still pretty decent). I'm guessing the original alignment issue and this problem was from a related event that happened prior to me getting the vehicle. It was new, but had 112 miles on it. The service advisor told me he thought a flat spot developed in the bearings from the car sitting too long from its manufacture date (Nov 2010) until I bought it (Aug 2011). Sounds absurd to me. Personally, I think it got a rough test drive that just left no visible damage.