I took my car in at a Lexus dealer for tire inspection as there is a sidewall tire damage on the front right wheel (Bridgestone Turanza EL440). I have a coverage on tires and rims.
The dealer said it is okay to drive like this as there is no puncture and they won't change the tire unless I pay for it.
I am pretty worried though and would appreciate any suggestions from here.

Thanks!

Picture taken by the service technician

 

Do you have the Lexus Financial Tire and Wheel Protection Platinum or Platinum Plus or did they sell you a third-party tire and wheel insurance policy?

In my opinion, I would not feel good about driving with that gash in the sidewall at highway speeds.

If you do in fact have the Lexus Financial Tire and Wheel Protection, I would suggest either bringing to another dealer or escalating to Lexus Financial at
1-855-999-0519 or https://www.lexusfinancial.com/us/en...e_a_claim.html

 

To me, that'a a blowout waiting to happen. One deep hole where the tire compresses and poof! I would get another tire either under warranty or if I had to buy one...

 

I'm certainly not an expert on tires or tire safety, but it is hard for me to believe that someone at the dealership would actually say that a tire with that kind of damage is safe to drive on.

 

Take it to a tire shop and see what they say. If they say it's not safe, as it appears to be, have them put it in writing.

 

Here's how this works. You.have the protection package so of course they're telling you no need to replace. What do you think they would say if you DIDN'T have the package?

 

This is a typical response with these extended warranties. They almost always find a reason to deny the claim. This damage is so obvious that it is ludicrous. No way that I'd keep this tire...

 

Agreed. That is significant damage and not safe to drive on.

 

Yeah. no way.

 

Yes. And after the accident wave it in their faces.

 

After looking at that sidewall damage it comes to mind that tire repair stores will refuse to repair sidewall tears due to liability concerns. Tread punctures OK, but not sidewall tears...

 

Thank you for all the replies! Really appreciated. I was surprised when I was told that it is safe to keep driving my vehicle.
I purchased the third party insurance through Lexus, not sure if this had any effect on the safety inspection.

I have asked them to give me a detailed report on the inspection and I will bring my vehicle to another dealer (the one I normally go to) as well to see what they say.

 

So if I understand you correctly, you purchased a third-party insurance from the Lexus dealer and not the Lexus Financial Tire and Wheel Protection package? If so, that is why you are getting resistance. I currently have the Lexus Financial Tire and Wheel Protection package and have had it with past Lexus vehicles. Had a nail in a tire at the edge on a couple occasions and the dealer replaced the tires with no issue under that warranty. I hit a deep pothole in the street once and few years back with a GS350 I had and again, both the rim and tire was replaced without question. The dealer won't offer resistance on a valid warranty like the Lexus Tire and Wheel package because like the regular vehicle warranty, they get paid.

Now the third-party insurance for tire and wheel are pure garbage and usually are written by some crap "insurance company" that is sharing profits with the particular dealer. So the dealer may be trying to limit claims, etc. on behalf of their business "partner". If your tire and wheel package is NOT a Lexus Financial Tire and Wheel package, I would march down to the selling dealer and demand (don't ask) that the policy be cancelled and you obtain a refund for the remainder of the policy. Even if it is a fraction of what you paid, the policy is useless.

There are some third-party tire and wheel insurance policies that are not underwritten by vehicle manufacturers that are legit such as this example by Allstate... https://allstatecarcare.com/Products...eel-protection

However, given your experience, I truly doubt you have such a policy such as the one from Allstate. Now, I hope you got that tire replaced because all this insurance talk aside, your safety is paramount.

 

Several years ago an investigation was conducted into third party vehicle repair insurance companies. About 75% of these companies were determined to be in the business of denying owner's claims. With this information in mind, I declined to purchase one of these policies from my dealer which was considerably less money than the Lexus policy, along with an extended vehicle warranty from Lexus. My overall opinion is to reject any extended warranties whether from Lexus or ACME wheel and tire insurance company... Usually the cost of the policy far outweighs the benefits.

 

Worst case? Hammer a nail into the shoulder and take it back.

I don't have the wheel and tire protection, but I know several people who do and they have been GREAT.