Ok, this is a long read but there are some important issues that people should know about and that you may want to consider. Also any input/comments would be greatly appreciated.

Ok Here goes...

I went to Minnesota this weekend with a friend. 400 mile trip one way. No problems on the way up. We left at midnight, with a 6 hour trip ahead of us. Now I was sleeping at the time and my friend was driving my car as we were switching off driving. And at about 3:00 am after about 246 miles my friend wakes me up. And the first thing I hear is this real loud rumbling sound and the car is shaking, like the engine is bogged down, except like 100 times worst. So immediately he pulls over and opens the driver door. There is terrible smell of burned rubber. We checked the instrument panel first and there was nothing, no engine lights and most importantly no LOW TIRE PRESSURE light. We get out and see that the rear left tire is completely deflated and as soon as we look under the car, the entire sidewall (inside of tire) is blown out. Now we are in the middle of the state of wisconsin on a 1-94 east for those of you familiar with the area. There are no gas or rest stations for miles. Because the sidewall is completely gone almost the whole circumference of the tire the repair kit is useless.

Now here is the part that all crossfire owners need to consider:

1) No spare
2) I'm in the middle of nowhere with the next big city (madison) about an hour away
3) Sunday- All dealerships are closed in wisconsin by law.
4) 3 AM in the morning

Alright here is the part that is making me consider getting rid of this right now. I have the road side hazard that I purchased with the car, and I have the 24 hr roadside assistance. So I call the 24 hr assistance. They tell me that the car is not covered from a blown out, even with road side hazard coverage that I purchased additionally with the car. And also because I didn't buy the car (its a lease) that they will not cover the towing or repair cost. Basically all they would do is call a tow truck for me. Then finally after an hour they say that they would investigate to see if my car is possibly covered. So in the mean time while I wait for an answer I call my dad. Who is 3 - 4 hours away. When the lady calls back she says the nearest dealership is about 8 miles away and that it would cost $85. Well its about 4 am now. Even if I have the car towed to the dealership they are closed, and there are no hotels, not to mention it would be a waste to get any sort of room for a few hours. So my dad says for me to just wait until he gets there.

Now me and my friend got about 4 hours of sleep the night before and have already been up for about 20 hours. So we might as well sleep a few hours while we wait right? This car is not made to relax let alone sleep in. I'm only 5'5" and my friend is around 6' and has anyone ever tried sleeping in the crossfire? You can't it's nearly impossible, and with cars and semis flying by at 70+ mph 5 feet away from you doesn't help at all. So around 8 - 8:30 my dad shows up and I call chrysler road side assistance and notify them that I am ready to have the vehicle towed. So now my car is over 150 miles away at a lil mom and pops chrylser dealership sitting on a destroyed blown out flat tire. From what I could see though there was no damage to the rim.

So here's what I have learned at a very expensive cost.

1) road side assistance is garbage, just a waste.
2) Road side hazard coverage, big waste of money.
3) Travel during the day or don't drive highway roads in the middle of nowhere.
4) Car is not meant to nap let alone sleep in.


But here is my biggest concern in regards to this incident.
The tire blew out and the Tire Pressure system failed. There was no light or warning at the time of the incident or after. I consider this a safety issue that should not have failed. Granted the repair to the light/system would be under warranty but is there anything that I can do legally? Luckily no one was hurt or anything and we never lost control of the car, but lets say tire pressure was low, there was no light, or warning. And even after the tire lost all pressure there ws nothing. To me it would be like airbags failing to go off in an accident. And the day before I left for the trip the car was serviced at the dealership where oil, and filters were changed and the tire pressure was checked (have a receipt stating it was). So I doubt it was low pressure.

Has anyone experienced anything similar or any comments or input?

I have to wait till tomorrow to talk to the dealership and see how long it will take and the cost of a tire. Plus figure out how I can get my car back. Am I going to have to get a ride all the way back? The important thing is that the pressure system failed/malfunctioned and the road side assistance with road side hazard coverage does nothing. Its worthless imo.

 

Well, here's what I learned from my experiences: I got a nice 2 inch slice in the sidewall of my tire from the lovely steel plates that they put down in Baltimore to cover potholes, but luckily it was 2 blocks from my garage. The warning light came on within seconds of hitting the plate, so I knew I had lost the tire. I have towing covered by my insurance, but I wanted to try out the Chrysler 24-hr towing anyway. Needless to say, they ARE a bunch of incompetent people. I was told that towing was not covered at all for my car, LOL. Well, I had my insurance tow it to the dealership I got it from, and first thing I did was tell them my experiences with their towing service. They were pissed, and they called them up while I was there to yell at them. Turns out they had the VIN of my car as some used 1999 Honda!! Also, if you bought the optional road hazard for the tires, then as long as the tire has tread on it, IT IS covered. Don't listen to the people you called for towing, the hazard protection is a different service not related to them (unless you called the towing on the road hazard paper). Finally, my car is also leased, and don't let anyone tell you that things aren't covered. If they have to keep the car to fix it, you have the right to a free loaner, which is covered under the regular Chrysler warranty for the car. As for the TPMS, I'm not sure what to tell you there...if the tire blew out instantly, I guess it's possible that the sensor might have been damaged or failed, but I was under the impression that the lack of a signal from the sensor causes the light to come on.

Long story short, your tire should be covered, make sure they give you a car to drive while it's being repaired, talk to your dealer and have them find out why the towing people are morons, and tell them that the TPMS warning light doesn't seem to be functioning (since it should be on now).

 

Was this the Michelin's or Continental tires? Reason I ask is the Michelins have had a side bubble issues I've read on the forum...

 

I have a base 2005 crossfire and I don't think it has a pressure warning light check to see if you have one.

 

The Base model doesn't have the TPS.

 

Don't think any of the UK models (except perhaps SRT) have TPS.

 

Incompetent is right. For chrysler employees i talked to 5 different reps, and they didn't even know what the crossfire was. One person asked if I was near a city where there was possibly a wal-mart. wal-mart? I said I highly doubt a wal-mart carries the tire that the crossfire uses considering its not an every day tire. I have the michelin sport tires.

 

http://www-5.chrysler.com/vehsuite/VehicleCompare.jsp Only the limited and srt models have it? WTF. The base coupe and roadster don't. This should be a standard feature on the model across the boards. Considering no spare and the type of tires this car is equipped with. Right now I am not happy at all with chrysler considering my given situation and their poor effort in helping resolve this issue as soon as possible. Roadside assistance is garbage. You call them, and they call a tow truck. That's it, besides someone to talk to and waste your time. I'd rather sit on the side of the road and talk to myself instead of these incompetent people, as they waste my time.

 

I have the sports.

 

Yeah, I was unaware that the base models in 2005 did not have TPMS...but then again the whole idea of the base model was to strip all of the amenities out in order to offer a "new low price". Anyway, no matter what your outcome is, don't let them leave you without a car for any period of time. You have the right to a free mid-sized loaner. Even when I get my oil changed, I roll out in something like a Sebring convertible or a new Honda Accord for the afternoon.

 

Sorry to hear about your experience, that has to be an awful feeling. Im surprised Chrysler didn't use run flat tires on the Crossfire. Maybe because of the added expense, but it would be well worth it. I don't know if any of the tire companies make them in the Crossfire tire sizes, but may look into it after reading your post. I have Goodyear runflats on our Vette, and you can run them 55 MPH for 250 miles with "0" air pressure. The sidewalls are so thick the tire doesn't go flat. They ride a little rough, but so do our Crossfire tires. Hope your dealer resolves some of your problems.
PS- I had a flat in the Vette, and the (driver info. center warning) TPS indicator stays on. The Crossfire should do the same.

 

I believe they are, as are most low profile tires with such a stiff sidewall. However, if you have such a severe malfunction as the entire sidewall blowing out, that's different than being able to ride on 0 psi.

 

The tires on the Crossfire, Conti's or PS2's, are not run flat.

 

The entire sidewall did not blow out. It disintegrated when it was driven on for some distance while being uninflated. This often happens on low profile tires because their side wall is so short and stiff, it's sometimes hard to tell when they are drastically low on air, or flat. If you're unfamiliar with the car that you are driving, you may not notice the slight "sway" that an under inflated tire usually causes. It can feel like the car is simply following the ruts in the highway caused by semis.
It's a shame the base model XF doesn't come with the low pressure warning light, that one feature may have saved you alot of grief, and $.
The whole episode was a series of unfortunate events that could have been avoided if the car simply came with a spare tire. But since it doesn't, it's bound to cause some inconvenience sometime.

 

We have the Continentals on our Crossfire. They are 4 ply on the tread but only 1 ply on the sidewall. The Goodyear runflats are 5 ply on the tread and 2 ply on the sidewall. Runflats are technically called "extended mobility tires" and have "EMT" stamped on the sidewall. The Conti's do not have the "EMT" stamp. I don't have any info. on the Michelin's so cant say what they are. I have never heard or read about a "Run Flat Tire" sidewall blowing out at any speed to date. Although anything is possible.

 

no offense, but you should always read your warranty info, don't just assume things, and you should know if your car has tps or not, cant expect the car to tell you it doesn't. always ready warranty info, always read your manual. sorry to hear about what happened though, definitely sux.

 

Yes, I was wrong how I stated that...what I mean is that a tire with such a stiff sidewall won't go to complete mush when it goes flat, but I guess that's in no way a "run flat" tire because it's not safe to drive on such an under inflated pressure.

 

Well there was no sound, just an instant rumbling feel and sound. We pulled over immediately, so it really wasn't driven on for any extensive distance.

 

It mentions nothing in the manual as being on only certain models though. Where as it would state only on such and such model as most manuals for cars do and for anything that is available only on certain vehicles. I don't have access to the manual at the time (because it's 150+ miles away in my car) but im sure there are some examples in there.

 

I'm speaking from my own actual experience with a similar type tire on a new 1986 Vette that I was taking to Florida. I was unfamiliar with the car, on an unfamiliar road, in the rain. The car was feeling a little "squirrelly" to me as I was going down the road at around 65 mph. I thought it was simply following the ruts in the road like wide tires tend to do. I don't know exactly how far I traveled like that, maybe 5 miles but every once in awhile I would hear something kick up inside of the inner fender sounding like road debris, but it sounded muffled like pieces of rubber. That's when it hit me, that I may just have a flat rear tire. After I pulled over under a bridge to change the tire, I noticed that the inside side wall was completely gone. It didn't blow out, the friction from the road surface and the rim chewed it up. It's not uncommon. There was no unusual sound. It's just what happens to a tire that's driven on when it goes flat, that's all. When there was no longer a side wall left to support the weight of your car, that's when you finally heard the sound that made you pull over. If the side wall instantly "BLEW" out the circumference of your tire, believe me, that would be one for the record books. And you would most assuredly hear it. As a matter of fact, you would probably still be hearing it.