Types of Tire Faults
- This is considered one of the more common tire faults and involves the part of the tire that offers the driver road traction. Treads are designed to grip the road, so when they separate, it could cause an accident. The tread is essentially a rubber coated wire that helps serve as the tire's casing. Tread separation can be due to inferior manufacturing materials, moisture seepage during the curing process and faulty repair work.
- Faulty tires that suffer debeading separate from their rims where the rims and the tire beads meet. A tire that suffers from debeading will have a sudden drop of pressure and could lead to the car rolling or flipping over. Tire bead failure is caused by overinflation of the tire, which leads to cracking of the tire beads. Instead of the tire losing pressure, it explodes, damaging other parts of the tire.
- These multi-piece rims are considered so dangerous that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires that anyone who installs these rims must do so behind a safety cage due to a risk of explosion. They're dangerous because they're easily damaged by corrosion and can be bent during installation or inspection. A faulty multi-piece rim can explode when snapped, damaging the tire, or worse, the people around them.
- This doesn't necessarily manifest itself in tire damage. By using oversized tires, car owners raise the center of gravity of their vehicles. That's important because raising the center of gravity reduces the amount of grip the side of the tires can force on the road, which can lead to a rollover. The use of oversized tires is especially dangerous in trucks and SUVs.
- Some faults cannot be spotted until they happen. But there are steps you can take to ensure that your tires are as safe as possible. First, inspect your tires for tread ware and for proper inflation once a month. In addition, check the tires' inflation if the temperature drops at least 10 degrees. Rotate and balance your tires and have your alignment checked, at regular intervals. Always check your owner's manual for information on how much weight your car can carry and with which tires you should replace your original tires. All can be factors that could exacerbate a tire fault.