Car driving rough after summers installed-Tire blew on highway. Related?
I take my car to a good garage (they even service police cars) that I have used for years. They store my off season tires, so I had it in Friday to have the tires swapped back to my summer tires.
They’re not new tires- but they still have good tread. We don’t do high mileage- so they may be 2 season old at most.
The car- ‘18 Hyundai Elantra*Sport -was driving “wrong” as soon as the tires were on. I didn’t pick it up from the shop- Hubby did. Drove it the next morning and it:
Had a stiff steering wheel.
Made a clunking sound in the right tire front side- near the tire well.
Engine was louder than normal.
When we got onto the highway it got worse- particularly at 120km/Hr (78mph). So we decided to “bail” and started pulling over immediately.
We *just made it to the lane next to the shoulder when the left tire blew. It sounded like all the bolts attaching the tire flew off, then we saw the circular tread of the tire roll by us.
We stopped safely- the RIM was still attached and doesn’t look damaged (there were still bits of rubber protecting it I guess).
I had a flatbed tow us back to the garage that put our tires on. Based on the sounds from the engine- I didn’t want to risk a dolly tow.
In hindsight- I should have returned it to the garage immediately upon realizing it was driving poorly. I just didn’t trust my judgement and my husband hadn’t said anything. But damnit- I know better.
The car is in good repair and was driving fine before the tire swap. I know the rotors will need replacing (coming up this month- I have an appointment) and she is due for an oil change (that’s Wednesday) but Isn’t far from it.
The tires were not flat, no tpms warnings, prior to the drive.
Could the running rough be what caused the tire to blow?
Could they have put the wrong tires on? They looked like mine, rims looked right, but honestly I am not sure I would notice…. But maybe they were the wrong size, for a different car?
Any insight on if this is related would be appreciated. Also- how can you ensure that “your” tires are put on the vehicle. Do you mark them?
I’m not looking to blame the garage- they have always done excellent work. Just trying to understand how this could be. They’re always good at giving us a heads up when it’s time for a new tire.
*Note: Don’t come for me. I didn’t know about the Theta engine issues when I bought- this vehicle has a different engine. But I watch it anyway. Big issue is the transmission/clutch fail…. Which I also did not research! Bad me! I come from a roadside assistance background, and based the purchase on the data there… I