NHTSA Complaint #11102015 — 2005 PORSCHE CAYENNE S

IN 2016, AT AROUND 85,000 MILES THE BIG O TIRES, LOCATED AT 3415 S MARYLAND PKWY, LAS VEGAS, NV 89169, INSTALLED FOUR NEW TIRE ON MY CAYENNE S, 2005. THE TIRE MANUFACTURER IS CONTINENTAL AND ALL TIRES ARE OF 275/45/19 SIZE. ANTICIPATING A 470 MILES TRIP ON JUNE 8, 2018 FROM LAS VEGAS TO MOAB, UT, ON THE PREVIOUS DAY I CHECK ALL TIRES FOR PRESSURE AND APPEARANCE. THE PRESSURE OF THE REAR TIRES WAS SET AT 40 PSI. NO VISIBLE DAMAGES WERE DETECTED. ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP, AT 80 MPH THE REAR LEFT TIRE SUDDENLY LOST PRESSURE REQUIRING SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. AS SOON AS I MANAGED TO STOP AND LOOK AT THE PROBLEM TIRE, I NOTICED THAT ABOUT 70% OF THE TREAD LAYER WAS SEPARATED FROM THE BODY OF THE TIRE. AT THAT TIME, THE ODOMETER INDICATED THAT THE TIRES WERE USED ONLY FOR ABOUT 3,500 MILES. WHEN I CONTACTED BIG O TIRE IN LAS VEGAS ON MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2018, THE FIRST COMMENT THE MANAGER WAS THAT THE ACCIDENT WAS CAUSED BY A DEFECTIVE TIRE. HOWEVER, TWO DAYS AFTER RECEIVING THE CAR AND THE DAMAGED TIRE, HE INFORMED ME THAT CONTINENTAL REFUSED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY IN THIS CASE. THEY HAVE DETERMINED THAT A LOW AIR PRESSURE CAUSED THE DAMAGE. KNOWING THE FACTS, I BELIEVE THAT CONTINENTALS CONCLUSION IS MOST PROBABLY INCORRECT. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT FOR THE SAFETY OF MILLIONS OF USERS OF TIRES MANUFACTURED BY CONTINENTAL, THIS CASE IS INVESTIGATED.