Well, well....the inevitable occured. Got the first issue on the car after driving it for a solid year.

The front driver's side tire (Stock Contis mounted on Aguilles (sp.)) has developed a bulge on the sidewall. I have no clue how this occured as I have been keeping a close eye on the tire pressure. We have been getting some really high temperatures around these parts, but still I maintained the correct pressure.

Fortunately, the car is still under warranty and I'm hoping it's a defective tire, so Jag/Conti can sort things out w/o me getting entangled. Driver says she does not recall hitting any large potholes and the wheel/rim looks intact, so I'm thinking it's not a bent rim.

I recall reading these tires aren't the greatest, but was wondering if this is a known issue. Any feedback/thoughts are appreciated.

I'll try to snap a few pictures tonight and load 'em up.

Thanks folks!

 

it's not a defect. it is a broken belt in the tire. you need to replace the tire. It happens from over inflating and pot holes.

 

welcome to the club. Priced them...$270each and have to have all 4 b/c the damn awd. St. louis potholes are a m*therf****r.

 

why not just replace the one tire that is bad???

 

U don't have to go with Conti's for replacements either. Lots of good alternatives out there that are much more cost effective and perform just as well. Look at the Yokohoma s-drives and the Falken FH452s. I just got new Falken's and they feel really good next to the Pirelli p-zeros (OEM) that they replaced.

 

Because they won't replace it. For liability reasons no tire company will generally replace just 2 tires let alone just one.

Yeah somebody hit an imperfection in the road! I just got back this morning and I must say I don't miss Michigan roads! I do however miss 50-60 degree nights instead of 80-90 degree nights! Wicked storms rolled through that is for sure!

My dad put a bulge in my mom's brand new toyo tires on her car the same week of my wife's incident...[:@]

Play the game with belle tire and discount tire! If you think you've found a good price call some more places!

 

With an AWD system if you have uneven tires on one side or the front or rear it will strain the transfer case and wear your AWD system out. Much cheaper in the long run to just replace all the tires when you get a bad one. Its a pain but that is the joy of an AWD vehicle.

As far as the bulge i had the same problem with my conti's from a pot hole. I had the car for a day. I used them for about another week or so and then bought Goodyear Eagle F1 All Seasons which are much more responsive.

 

You could replace the one tire if you are able to find a used tire with a similar tread depth. The more tread on the tire the less times it goes around so when you have one tire that has full tread to the other 3 needing replacement soon the one rim isn't going around as much as the other 3 causing the differential/transfer case to wear differently. Most places wont just replace one tire or even 3 they will most likely tell you all 4 unless of course you don't tell the shop that the car is awd. It is the same way on 4wd vehicles too.

 

wow, good to know... i never thought about all that.

 

Really the bulge does not effect the driving of the vehichle. Just sucks that it is there and i have to look at it. Not if it was a belt on the radius then i would b/c it would thump like hell i am sure.

 

I'd be scared driving on that bulge though! You see what that one pot hole did what happens when you hit another one on that rim!

 

do you have to rotate the tires on an AWD car?? if so how often?

 

Thanks for the responses thus far guys.

Went to the dealership and they were interested in replacing just the driver's side tire. I am aware of the woes of replacing tires on AWD vehicles, but for some reason the manager said it would be okay just to replace the one w/the bulge... Did some crunching on his calculator, $236.15!

Asked if it may be defective. Apparently, Continental is a pita to deal with (later confirmed this w/Belle Tire and Discount Tire), and arguing for a defective tire is fruitless w/o a warranty.

I also did some talking about maintenance costs. I again pushed to determine what the heck is required by the J-gate in terms of transmission fluid. The mechanic, the service manager and the secretary all gave me blank looks. They pull up this mystery "transmission fluid" on their computer, but have no clue what kind of fluid it is nor where one can obtain it other than a Jaguar dealership. To top it off, the mechanic then goes off on rant that they cannot service the transmission fluid change unless there is catastrophic failure of the transmission. [&:] I saw this was basically going no where! The best I could do was pull up a Jag#: C2S12120. Perhaps, this may help us figure out what exactly this mysterious fluid really is! Anyways, they were charging $35.50/qt, but again the mechanic and the service manager were firm in not servicing the transmission whatsoever, unless failure.

So I kindly thanked them and left. Went out to Discount Tire, and we immediately notice that the rear driver's side tire also has a very small bulge. So it appears as if a pothole is the culprit. Funny thing is the Jag guys didn't even think about looking at the rear tire.

So got some quotes for some Kumho Ecsta's, Toyo Proxes, General Acclaims and some other tires from different stores. Came home and hopped onto Tirerack, and started doing some homework. While we were getting a good deal (~$480) for the Ecsta ASTs, the tire is absolute crap in the winter (not much better than the Conti's). Then found the Fuzion HRis. I'm already well aware of this tire as I had already recommended to my father on his Taurus a few years ago. The price has gone up from the last few years, but still for a low-profile tire, the price wasn't too shabby.

To make a very long story short, we're getting Fuzion HRis all around w/certificates and installed for $370, after pro-rating the other two good contis.

Ahh what a fun day!!! [:@] At least, we won't have to worry about this mess next time she hits a pothole and develops a bulge, and in Detroit there are one too many potholes!


Side note: I've been having a hell of a time posting on this forum. I keep getting "lost connection" pages when I submit my reply. What gives?

 

Bo-

I agree with you, however I am now a somewhat believer that AWD does make a significant difference. Hell, I have Blizzaks for my FWD Contour and swear by them every winter. However, after driving the Jaguar in the winter, I must admit, it's a different beast all together. I know I made fun of Aquill at the beginning of last winter in that my Contour w/Blizzaks would out perform his Jag on his all-seasons. However, I have to admit the Jaguar was a beast even with the Contis and in some situations (deep snow) I can see it pulling itself out where my car may be a lame duck.

Without a doubt you are correct, however I can see why some people may skimp out on the winter tires w/an AWD system, granted their all-seasons are somewhat decent.

Plus, IIRC aren't you somewhere up in Ontario? You guys get unparallel amounts of snow compared to us down in Detroit.

 

haha!LOL

Actually though I had toyo proxes fz4's I thought they sucked but it didn't help they were bald! I got a pic of the last snow adventure I had in the jag with my cell phone camera. Can't really see the depth of it but the only car that went up the hill was my brother with his brand new tires on his explorer sport trac but he stopped near the top and went back down. I surely shocked my dad that was totally like "stop stop you won't make it, your going to get stuck and mess up your car" so naturally I went up it! Walked right up it no problems! My dad was truly shocked at the ability of the car! The car was buried in the snow!