VW I.D3 tyres 21 plate

[Cosmic182]

Good Evening all.

I'm just after a bit of advice from the motors section. I recieved delivery of my 21 plate I.D3 2 months ago, was first registered in March and was a dealer car for around 4900 miles then purchased by myself.

Roll on a couple of months after purchase and I lost pressure in the passenger front tyre (screw to near the sidewall to repair....fair enough). Now the tyre company brought to my attention that all 4 tyres are borderline of needing to be replaced (roughly all near 3.5mm tread)

This was a huge shock to myself for a 7 month old vehicle that has now up to date only covered 5985 miles!!! Nothing was mentioned about tyre tread depth at purchase nor did I receive a multipoint check list....

I've spoke to the VW dealer in York JCT600 and they're absolutely abrupt along with disgusting customer service. Despite mentioning that the company car employee must have absolutely shredded this car to bits they are adamant that they will not replace any of the tyres due to it being an "approved used" and was sold with more than 3mm of tread.....not to mention all the dribble stating it's an electric car etc with high torque and will go through tyres quicker......
They have a "legal" answer to everything. I offered to pay for the punctured tyre too.

Do I have a leg to stand on to battle against this? Or is it a "suck it and pay" scenario? It just seems unacceptable to be replacing all 4 tyres after only 7 months of being first registered and 2 months of ownership?

Any input would be greatly appreciated guys..
P.S the tyres are Bridgestone Eco Turanza 215/55/18


Many thanks
Rich

 

[sovietspybob]

I've heard the special EV tyres that they come with from factory only have 5.5mm of tread from new so if true sounds about right.

Have a good look into replacements as i've heard a few of the oem EV tyres have lower tread so might be worth switching to a more normal tyre as long as it meets all the other specs.

 

[Scythe]

At 3.5mm, they do not NEED to be replaced legally (the limit is 1.6mm), but the manufacturers recommend you do so around 3mm. Whether you replace them now or when they're closer to the limit is your choice. You bought a used vehicle with legal tyre tread and greater than the manufacturer's recommended depth, so you don't have a leg to stand on.

 

[Cosmic182]

At 3.5mm, they do not NEED to be replaced legally (the limit is 1.6mm), but the manufacturers recommend you do so around 3mm. Whether you replace them now or when they're closer to the limit is your choice. You bought a used vehicle with legal tyre tread and greater than the manufacturer's recommended depth, so you don't have a leg to stand on.

Yes, I was aware the legal tread depth is 1.6mm and most companies reccommend changing at 3mm. However for a 7 month old vehicle that has covered less than 6000 miles and to be soon looking at replacing seems unnaceptable to the "norm" person and surely this should have been mentioned at the point of sale and atleast possible have been justified for in the price? If it was a 2 yo approved used then that would be more of an easy pill to swallow.

 

[Kenai]

I'd suggest firstly measuring yourself to be sure of the measurements. Then consider at 3.5mm there is still nearly 2mm of life before they're not legal, especially so if it's true they only come with 5.5mm as suggested by @sovietspybob, that's near enough 50% still.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

I've heard the special EV tyres that they come with from factory only have 5.5mm of tread from new so if true sounds about right.

Have a good look into replacements as i've heard a few of the oem EV tyres have lower tread so might be worth switching to a more normal tyre as long as it meets all the other specs.

The benefit of having an EV tyre is that it’s designed for the extra torque and weight, I’d stick to EV tyres personally. You don’t need to stick to the same brand though.

But yes as other have said, 3mm will likely have a good few thousand miles left in them assuming you don’t rag it everywhere.

I’d expect the dealer car to have done plenty of launches with it being a demonstrator, pretty much everyone floors it on an EV test drive to get a feel for the torques and the sales person would have been doing it the same.

The mileage on the tyres is irrelevant, it’s how it’s driven. You could get though a set of tyres in a few hundred miles if you really wanted to. How many launches have you don’t since you bought it?

Ultimately you don’t have a leg to stand on with the dealer as others have said and it’s one of the things you should absolutely check when buying any used car. It’s just the reality of the nature of the transaction.

Have you checked the tread depth yourself? Certain tyre places are often not known for their honesty when they want to sell you something.

 

[Cosmic182]

I'd suggest firstly measuring yourself to be sure of the measurements. Then consider at 3.5mm there is still nearly 2mm of life before they're not legal, especially so if it's true they only come with 5.5mm as suggested by @sovietspybob, that's near enough 50% still.

I purchased a digital tread depth gauge over the weekend to confirm this myself as was a bit sceptical as to wether they were just trying to flog myself some tyres, but to disbelief they all were at the stated depths of around 3.4ish.

Would be interesting to find out more information on these eco tyres as to wether the depth is more minimal to standard tyres. Seems strange that they would be considering they played so much on theEV high torque in the showroom. I understand everyone likes to have a play about and launch an EV due to the instant torque and go, but if that was the case and was well demonstrated you would have thought they would have changed the tyres.

If they reccommend replacing in pairs seems daft to not then replace them all seeing as the rear ones are slightly less than the front.

 

[jpaul]

all 4 wheels even though it's rwd - had they rotated them, so knew it had wear ?
I'd probably look on some forum/de sites to see what wear people had seen, the regen obviously contributes.
edit https://www.id3forums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=986&start=20
tyre pressure measures are not out - had you checked manually

 

[tom_nieto]

Unless the wear is uneven I would say the responsibility is with you to replace the tyres. They can sell you a car with 4 different tyres and differing tread levels as long as they’re over 1.6mm. Get them replaced once they’re <3mm and get on with your life.

 

[Armageus]

I've heard the special EV tyres that they come with from factory only have 5.5mm of tread from new so if true sounds about right.

I imagine that will be to help reduce rolling resistance to try and increase EV range. (Less tread depth = less deformation = less rolling resistance)


Personally I'd be running them to at least 2mm before changing them - anything else seems pretty wasteful.
It may even be that EV tyres may be designed specifically to run to lower levels (given the lower initial tread depth).

Regardless, even at 2mm a decent branded tyre these days will likely still perform better than no-name tyres or even decent tyres from years ago.

 

[Rroff]

Personally I'd be running them to at least 2mm before changing them - anything else seems pretty wasteful.

Personally I'd say it depends a bit on your usage, short trips around town are one thing, longer trips on faster roads and/or mixed conditions another.

Spending a lot of time on roads like the A30 and A303, etc. in all weather conditions but far too often torrential rain I tend to replace sooner rather than later once it gets down to around 3mm.

 

[sovietspybob]

Just to add a source to what i quoted

Not the same tyre size as OP but both Turanza tyres:

Eco version listed as new with 5.5mm tread depth
https://www.camskill.co.uk/m62b0s291p165462/Bridgestone_Tyres_Car_Bridgestone_Turanza_T001_Eco_-_205_55_R16_91H_TL_Fuel_Eff_:_A_Wet_Grip:_B_NoiseClass:_2_Noise:_71dB

Non eco version listed with 8.2mm
https://www.camskill.co.uk/m62b0s291p110765/Bridgestone_Tyres_Car_Bridgestone_ER300_Turanza_Bridgestone_ER_300_-_205_55_R16_94V_XL_TL_Fuel_Eff_:_E_Wet_Grip:_C_NoiseClass:_2_Noise:_71dB

You can see by the ratings that the eco one must have lower rolling resistance so having less block movement by starting with less tread is maybe an easy way to achieve this especially withy a heavy BEV.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

The two tyres may have the same name but I expect they are actually very different.

Check the video out I posted earlier in the thread, different tyre mind but it had a different tread pattern, compound etc but still sold under the same name as equivalent.

 

[lordrobs]

"Eco" tyres with 5.5mm of tread...

Because they only need Unicorn farts and good intentions to be manufactured and after they are scrap having worn a whole 3mm they then disappear into the atmosphere in a puff of air.

 

[dlockers]

"Eco" tyres with 5.5mm of tread...

Because they only need Unicorn farts and good intentions to be manufactured and after they are scrap having worn a whole 3mm they then disappear into the atmosphere in a puff of air.

They had to offset the reduced servicing cost somehow didn't they

 

[jpaul]

looks like a different compound in the eco bridgestone, but, interesting if they can dissipate the same amount of water with less tread depth,
to some degree it is holding/ejecting water - I thought.

Advantages:

• Best balance between handling and comfort
• Low rolling resistance with minimal pattern noise
• NanoPro-Tech™ compound

Tyre description:
The Turanza T001 tyre was developed with luxury touring in mind. Offering superior performance on the open road, the T001 features advanced noise reduction grooves to insulate against environmental noise while maintaining ride comfort. Combined with the revolutionary tread compound resulting in reduced rolling resistance, the enhanced design delivers better road contact, braking in wet and dry conditions and longer tyre life.

Do the id3(ev's generally) show you total amount of regen energy recovered since birth, since that corresponds to some tyre wear

 

[lordrobs]

Do the id3(ev's generally) show you total amount of regen energy recovered since birth, since that corresponds to some tyre wear

Regen is only recuperated energy from deceleration though. So in terms of tyre load whether the energy is going back into the battery or being wasted as heat from the brakes makes no difference.

Tyre marketing blurb is second only to the cosmetics industry it would seem!

Anyway, be right back, just going to stick 15000 miles on a new set of Bridgestones so I can sell them as "eco" Bridgestones with 5mm of tread left

 

[jpaul]

Regen is only recuperated energy from deceleration though. So in terms of tyre load whether the energy is going back into the battery or being wasted as heat from the brakes makes no difference.

yes if you are going to decelerate in bev at the same rate as you would have done in an ICE car, but if you are of mindset that regen is not lost kinetic energy
and end up decelerating faster then the tyre has more wear,
also, the 400Kg(25%?) more mass, should mean 25% more braking tyre wear, too, if you drove the same.

 

[Cosmic182]

A little update. VW are aware of this happening to multiple occupants of the I.D3 however still stand by what was said in the showroom, however they have agreed as a good will gesture to replace the front tyres as a matching pair (myself pay for the punctured one and VW to pay for the other as they said they have worn faster than normal) and to run the rear 2 tyres to near 2mm before replacing. They will only fit the same Bridgestone Turanza eco to the I.D3 which is dissapointing if this is how they perform.

Not ideal for a 7 month old car but certainly better then a kick in the teeth. Note to self for future car purchases to always check tread depth rather than presume a new car would have new sufficient boots!

Thanks for all the advice so far.

 

[MagicBoy]

Will be interesting to see what the life is on the new set. Could just have been ragged?

I'm still on the factory non-eco Sport tyres that my Toyota hybrid came with. Done 20000 miles, and still 3.5mm left on the fronts at the service. Main stealer said "They'll last another 3000 miles at least". Didn't even try and sell me a set of tyres.