I Guess I'm Getting a Spare Temporary Tire

[ConFusioned]

Well I thought about getting one of those spare temporary tires for my 2013 Ford Fusion and thought against it since Ford offers 24/7 towing to the nearest gas station to fix tires.

 

This morning I woke up to a semi flat rear tire that had a cut on the inner sidewall of my tire. The cut happened the day before when I ran over something on the freeway that I couldn't avoid. It didn't cut all the way through my tire but enough to cause a slow leak. I was able to put air in the tire (didn't know it was a cut yet) and drove to a Goodyear dealer since my tire is Goodyear and my tire may have some type of warranty. No warranty since it was caused by a road hazard and the tire is not repairable anyway because the cut is on the sidewall. To my surprise, the Goodyear franchise didn't have my tire number in the system because the tire is too new and hasn't been sold to the tire dealers (that's what they said). No part number means no tire. So they had some one in their franchise office create and enter that tire number and placed an order for me and will get back to me when it arrives. So on the way home I put more air in my damaged tire and went to America's Tire, a big tire chain in my state. After they punched in my tire into the system, they too found out that particular tire is not in their system, too new they said. So I figured I'll drive to a Ford dealer and low and behold, they didn't have that Goodyear tire "in stock" and have to place an order as well.

 

The bad news is that the dealer wanted $238 for one tire and the Goodyear franchise is not sure what the price will be since its a new tire series / size for them.

 

Good news is that the Goodyear franchise ordered it for me and I'll be adding Road Hazard insurance to my tire for $20 which means if it not repairable they will replace it for free.

 

More great news, I asked the Goodyear franchise can I get Road Hazard for my original 3 tires since it only had 900 miles on it and he made a few calls and said yes for $20 a tire. You may want to ask your local tire shop if they will sell you Road Hazard tire insurance.

 

More great news, at least the low pressure tire warning light in my dash works.

 

As soon as I can I will buy a spare temp tire, jack and tire wrench since it is hard to find that tire any where and I prefer not want to leave my brand new car in an unfamiliar area.

 

Would I buy my 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid again after this experience? Darn tootin' I would!

 

Why did I share this with everybody? Just to give you a heads up what you might go through if you have a flat that's not repairable.

Edited March 28, 2013 by ConFusioned

[tr7driver]

If you haven't seen it, be sure to read the thread on buying a spare tire in the tires and wheels section. Some very good stuff there on getting the proper tire to do the job.

[fusionTX]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Lots of good information.

Does the TPMS system tell you which tire is low or is it just a warning that one of your tires is low?

Edited March 28, 2013 by fusionTX

[erichFla]

Please post which Goodyear tire name & size you have so others can tell if they are going to have the same problem. I'm just glad it didn't cut your tire all the way through, then where would your New car be, undriveable, till your new tire arrives. Thanks FORD for a stupid ideal of Fix-a-flat spare.

 

It also sounds like we should All ( with Goodyear tires ) go down to Goodyear tire store and buy 4 road hazard warranties for our semi brand new tires that they don't have in stock. I wonder if they will sell that by itself without them selling you the tires first.

 

Thanks ConFusioned for the heads up.

Edited March 28, 2013 by erichFla

[GrySql]

TireRack has the 18" Goodyear Eagle LS2's on sale.

[neod192]

TireRack has the 18" Goodyear Eagle LS2's on sale.

Buy a set of 4 now, just in case? LOL!

[neod192]

ConFusioned, I'm not sure how much you plan on paying for the new tire, but it's worth getting the seller to price match TireRack. $102 is a really good price!

[jeff_h]

Good news is that the Goodyear franchise ordered it for me and I'll be adding Road Hazard insurance to my tire for $20 which means if it not repairable they will replace it for free.

 

More great news, I asked the Goodyear franchise can I get Road Hazard for my original 3 tires since it only had 900 miles on it and he made a few calls and said yes for $20 a tire. You may want to ask your local tire shop if they will sell you Road Hazard tire insurance.

 

I hope that the full replacement for Road Hazard is the case for you, if it ever happens again. I just bought a couple replacement tires from tirerack for my wife's car, looked at the fine print on the Road Hazard and I think the coverage was $25 per incident rather than full replacement, so I decided against it. Gotta read the fine print, hope yours really is full replacement.

[acdii]

The Goodyear LS2 tires are very hard to find, been searching around and did find it listed at a few online places, Tirerack, Discount tire, etc. Planning to replace the ones on my 10 with the LS2 now that I have them on the 13 and found they have really good traction in snow while still being LRR.

[erichFla]

I hope that the full replacement for Road Hazard is the case for you, if it ever happens again. I just bought a couple replacement tires from tirerack for my wife's car, looked at the fine print on the Road Hazard and I think the coverage was $25 per incident rather than full replacement, so I decided against it. Gotta read the fine print, hope yours really is full replacement.

Here is the rest of the Fine Print as per Tire Rack. com, also I think I read if 14 days or less has gone by you can go back and get just the Road Hazard Insurance with receipt of said new tires.

Yes I did read that under Special Note: " Also note -- If you did not purchase the Tire Road Hazard Service Program when you originally ordered your tires, you can do so within 14 days from original invoice date by contacting one of our sales specialists at 888-541-1777 ".

 

" During the first 12 months, you will be reimbursed for 100% of the original cost of the tire covered by the Tire Road Hazard Service Program, subject to the limitations set forth in the Program Certificate.

Beyond the first 12 months, the reimbursable amount is calculated by a proration of elapsed time, not to exceed 36 months. "

Edited March 28, 2013 by erichFla

[jeff_h]

Here is the rest of the Fine Print as per Tire Rack. com, also I think I read if 14 days or less has gone by you can go back and get just the Road Hazard Insurance with receipt of said new tires.

Yes I did read that under Special Note: " Also note -- If you did not purchase the Tire Road Hazard Service Program when you originally ordered your tires, you can do so within 14 days from original invoice date by contacting one of our sales specialists at 888-541-1777 ".

 

" During the first 12 months, you will be reimbursed for 100% of the original cost of the tire covered by the Tire Road Hazard Service Program, subject to the limitations set forth in the Program Certificate.

Beyond the first 12 months, the reimbursable amount is calculated by a proration of elapsed time, not to exceed 36 months. "

 

Looks like you are correct, I was looking at the section regarding repairs rather than replacements.

 

https://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/roadHazard/trhp_cert.pdf

[ConFusioned]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Lots of good information.

Does the TPMS system tell you which tire is low or is it just a warning that one of your tires is low?

 

 

TPM does not indicate which tire but it gives you a warning sign that says "Tire Pressure LOW" and you hit "OK" to acknowledge it and it also shows you a yellow icon of a tire cross section with a "!" in it.

[ConFusioned]

TireRack has the 18" Goodyear Eagle LS2's on sale.

 

Thank you for this tip, I never heard of TireRack before.

 

I printed out TireRack's sale advertisement and took it with me to the Goodyear dealer and asked him if he price matched and he said yes. The Ford dealer wanted $238, the Goodyear dealer wanted $228 and TireRack wanted $102. So the Goodyear dealer agreed to match price at $102 but added the cost of shipping which was something like $18.

 

It doesn't end there, it gets even better.

 

The day before, the Goodyear dealer called the local Goodyear rep and told them I had a cut on the inside of my tire and I only had 900 miles on my car. Well the GY rep told the GY dealer that GY will pay for 1/2 of the new tire. I guess for public relations.

 

Since the GY dealer agreed to match price at $102 (TireRack) and the GY rep agreed to pay 1/2 the cost of the new tire, I eventually paid $60 for a new tire ($102 + $18 shipping divided by 50% discount). The GY dealer originally wanted $228 for one tire.

 

It pays to ask if they match price and thank you forum member GrySql for the TireRack tip.

Edited March 29, 2013 by ConFusioned

[tombarker13ffh]

When I bought my car, I purchased a plan that replaces the tire specifically if its damaged by something on the road. Part of a 60-month coverage thing. Dunno what it cost, lol.

[GrySql]

Since the GY dealer agreed to match price at $102 (TireRack) and the GY rep agreed to pay 1/2 the cost of the new tire, I eventually paid $60 for a new tire ($102 + $18 shipping divided by 50% discount). The GY dealer originally wanted $228 for one tire.

I like happy endings... :)