cunningjim

Hello,
I am a little frustrated that my very nice Q3 had a tire blowout on Hwy 5. It was a pretty scary few seconds at 80 mph. I was lucky that a tire/tow shop had a replacement 255/40 R19. I took the bad tire back to the dealership and got no help, "it's not an Audi problem". At that point I was tired and dirty and just wanted to be rid of the tire so I asked the service rep if he could discard it for me. He took the tire and the shreded parts.

In hindsight I should have searched for a local Conti dealer.

Questions:
Does Audi or the dealership have a record of tire serial numbers installed on their cars?

Should the tire pressure sensor have given us a warning?

Has anyone had a similar experience with these wide Continentals?

I've sent emails to the San Jose Audi salesperson and the dealership contact but have not heard back.

Thanks,

plat27265

Your Audi dealer does not seem to have any idea of the definition of customer service. All Audi dealers are also Continental Tire dealers so they should have offered to help you claim for compensation from Continental. It is disappointing to learn that they just left you holding the bag which in this case is the heavily damaged tire.

Your next recourse, I suggest, is to contact Continental Tire USA's Customer Service hotline for assistance on this matter. Here is the link to the Continental Tire USA Customer Support. Tell them your story and find out what kind of compensation they can offer you.

Before you call them, it would be best to read over the Continental Tire Limited Warranty and Adjustment Policy for OE Passenger Car and Light Truck Tires. Your dealership should have included a copy of this document when they gave you your vehicle's manuals.

cunningjim

Thanks for the helpful reply and links.

Stevens Creek Audi in San Jose did not offer to help with making a claim when I went there with the tire. I also did not have the Continental Warranty pamphlet in my vehicle docs when we bought the car.

I emailed the service manager at the dealership: his response was that they do not record tire serial numbers at the dealership. I find this strange since someone should have registered the tires with Continental before I picked up the car. I would even bet that there's some government regulation to have this data on all new cars sold.

I will contact Continental Tire's hotline and tell them my story.

Thanks,

Doc@tirerack

Continental offers Road Hazard coverage for the first year or first 2/32" of wear that may be able to help offset the cost of a new tire if you fall within the qualifications.