DUNLOP MAXX GT Tyres - splitting

[Steve Q]

Welcome to the forum Walter, you'll find the members on here are a friendly and helpful bunch. 

Please see Las posts above as to what to do. However I'd keep.one Tyre as evidence. Also I'd contact watchdog. I've advise the other owners to do the same. 

I get the impression Dunlop are trying to brush this issue under the carpet.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Guest]

Just had exactly the same experience with these Dunlop tyres on my Black Edition Quattro. All four had to be replaced yesterday (23 April 2018) when the car went in for its first service. All four tyres were condemned with splits on the inner wall, one where the tread had almost completely separated from the body of the tyre. It leaves me feeling cold when I think we were travelling at speed for 200 miles on the motorway only days ago with three generations of my family on board. The company must be aware of the problem. The Audi dealership (Listers Birmingham Audi) are being very supportive and are going to take up with Dunlop on my behalf. It seems that the Jaguar XF has the same problem with its Dunlop tyres as well.

[mylifesablast]

Hi Mike,

As mentioned previously, these need to be returned directly to Goodyear/Dunlop. They can be returned by the tyre fitter or garage that removed them, this can be done for free so shouldn't cost to do this.
I wish you all the best and hope it gets sorted, this has gone on way to long, but neither Audi or Dunlop are making any noises.

AT THE MOMENT!

[Magnet]

Hello Michael,

I really feel for you and your family's concerns regarding travelling in this car with dangerous tyres. It would seem that this is now of a 'national' scale and importance. This is simply unacceptable and life threatening.

I have suggested ways to complain about this in the past, but there doesn't seem to be any feedback on reactions to my proposals either from the original posters or from Dunlop if my suggestions were followed. It might be worth reading what I suggested rather than me repeating it again.

If it were me, I would not let these tyres out of my sight, or entrust the complaint to be left solely in the hands of your dealer. If you consider your current postion, it is one where you don't have any evidence to support your concern/claim - the dealer has it all! Not a good place to be. I would be retrieving two of the faulty four, leaving two with the dealer, and following my earlier advice about writing to the CEO of Dunlop. Do not (should be capitals) leave yourself in a situation where you hand over the full evidence to anyone - always retain at least one example, and photograph the defects on all four as soon as possible. 

It would be great if you could keep us posted on the outcome.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[mylifesablast]

Hi all,

Link to Watchdog website, there is a quick form and a place to input your information it takes about 10 mins to do.
May be worth linking to this thread (copy and paste link)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/contact

[Steve Q]

1 hour ago, mylifesablast said:

Hi all,

Link to Watchdog website, there is a quick form and a place to input your information it takes about 10 mins to do.
May be worth linking to this thread (copy and paste link)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/contact

Nice work Las, I'm sure members will definitely find this useful! :)

Cheers

Steve

[mylifesablast]

I don't think it is limited to Audis, im guessing  they are not only vehicles suffering from this, Im seeing Jaguar Xf's etc on a Google searches.

[Steve Q]

1 hour ago, mylifesablast said:

I don't think it is limited to Audis, im guessing  they are not only vehicles suffering from this, Im seeing Jaguar Xf's etc on a Google searches.

You're probably right and I didn't think about it like that before (I know that sounds stupid!). 

Let's hope there's a good result from it :) 

[Magnet]

It's strange how most if not all of the posts associated with this very serious issue (in my opinion) seem to end up open ended. 

[Guest]

Quick update: The four tyres have been returned to the supplier and from there to Dunlop along with the necessary 'Complaint' form. Audi Birmingham have been very supportive and done all the leg-work so far. Have been told up to twelve weeks for a response!

 

[Steve Q]

14 hours ago, Magnet said:

It's strange how most if not all of the posts associated with this very serious issue (in my opinion) seem to end up open ended. 

I have to agree Gareth, it's certainly an issue that needs resolving! 

 

1 hour ago, Mike H said:

Quick update: The four tyres have been returned to the supplier and from there to Dunlop along with the necessary 'Complaint' form. Audi Birmingham have been very supportive and done all the leg-work so far. Have been told up to twelve weeks for a response!

 

Mike, we'll look forward to hearing how you get on. I do hope you get good news and I'm glad Audi have been helpful :) 

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

I promised an update. Goodyear Dunlop: I have received a letter from them saying "We are sorry to hear of the problem with your tyre (sic) and can appreciate the inconvenience this must have caused." They have advised what they call a 'Dealer Allowance' towards the cost of replacing the tyre!! The details are 60% for one, 50% for another and 45% for the other two, which works out as half the cost of replacement. Its more than I expected but 'inconvenience' does not seem to take into account the danger presented to my family and other A7 owners. Of course the issue that remains are Dunlop tyres are still fitted to A7s and Audi supply them - Any thoughts?

[Steve Q]

Glad you've had a response Mike and glad they have offered you a decent discount on new tyres. My question is the discount on Dunlop tyres or any brand? Would you really want to put dunlops on the a7 again?! 

Also they have acknowledged that there is a problem in light of giving you the discount, however it is still concerning they haven't acknowledged the risk they put you, your family and other a7 owners has you rightly pointed out. 

Is it worth writing back, thanking bthem for the discount but also mentioning the safety risk to see what kind of response you get? 

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

My understanding is that the 'Dealer Allowance' will be given to BMTR who supply tyres to Audi Birmingham. They (BMTR) replaced all four tyres with Continentals (I flatly refused Dunlops) at a cost of £1048 - this was all stated in the complaint form. I have to allow 28 days for the necessary paperwork to be processed and hope that the 'Allowance' will come to me in the form of a cheque as I have already paid them to replace the tyres as the car was undriveable.

I think maybe a letter, but I'll bank the cheque first!! There was nothing 'without prejudice' in their letter - not even signed!

Mike

[Steve Q]

Glad you're not fitting dunlops Mike and hope the Continentals are better 🙂

definitely bank the cheque first before responding to them 😉 but it is bad form they've not even signed the letter. 

cheers

Steve

[Magnet]

Hello Mike,

This is certainly a breakthrough, but as you and Steve say, this letter appears to be very poorly presented when you consider the significance of its contents. As I see it, it leaves them wide open to any consequential  claim you may make against them. Written by a relatively junior customer services person at Dunlop? Strange!  I would not let this letter out of my sight, and would definitely take a few copies.

A sort of positive end result for you? Well maybe. Realistically (perhaps pessimistically?) I doubt it, since you have reasonably decided not to buy Dunlop tyres, and it is Dunlop who are reducing the cost of a set of their tyres at the point of purchase of another set. I have my fingers crossed for you Mike, and let's hope cheque will be forthcoming. 

Would I take further further action regarding endangering your and other lives? Yes I certainly would - on the back of their letter. Would I wait to see what the outcome of cheque/no cheque? Debatable. Being rather age-cynical - if you do receive a cheque, I would beware of any caveat which says the cheque is paid as full and final settlement or other similar meaning statement. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

 

[Guest]

Hi Gareth, It is  a strange chain of supply that Audi Birmingham go through with their tyres. A company called BMTR supply and fit the tyres on site at Audi, liaising with the Service Customer Liaison Manager. When the complaint was lodged it was done through BMTR rather than Audi (with full assistance from Audi Birmingham) as per the process defined by Goodyear-Dunlop. The letter I have received from Goodyear-Dunlop Product Support states that they have advised a 'dealer allowance' but the letter is headed "Ship-to: Birmingham Motor Tyres Ltd CREDIT........ and gives the document number and ID of the claim. This appears to be a Courtesy copy (such as it is!) and starts 'Dear Customer' and ends, "Yours faithfully, Goodyear Dunlop Product Support & Service", which suggests an automatic process with another copy going off to BMTR.

I am now getting in touch with Audi Birmingham to inform them of the outcome (I was told (by Audi) they would not be informed as I was the complainant, not them). My issue is I paid Audi not BMTR and received an Audi Birmningham receipt. My view is that Audi Birmingham should pay me the amount due and BMTR should apply a credit to Audi's account.

I'm sounding a bit like a pedant - sorry! Its just that I want to document the whole saga in the hope it will help others in the same boat. Once I have got this sorted out I will happily post a copy of the letter and any subsequent correspondence I decide upon. I'm not sure it would be wise to publish now!

Mike

[Magnet]

Hello Mike,

I think it's great that you are posting your experience on here, and I'm sure it will be of benefit to others. 

Complex seems to be the word, and it's a great shame that you have to do whatever is necessary to get only a part refund. You as the offended-against customer, should not have to do this. 

Good luck with it.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[SJUKES]

Hi, just got back from Audi Birmingham (solihull) with the same story ! Thanks everyone who has posted !

Failed MOT on my A7, 3 split tyres (Dunlop sports Maxx GT), the tyres were new when I bought the car from them 10 months ago and only 7,106 miles !! Has anyone else had any success with Audi or Dunlop on this?

They advised me to go for continentals next time, but they supplied it with Dunlop ??

Urgh !!

[mylifesablast]

Get Audi to send them back to Dunlop/ Goodyear.

[Guest]

Hi Simon, There is an established process (which was pointed out by an Audi employee) to deal with this. The guy that dealt with my complaint has actually left Audi now. It is almost certain that the tyres were supplied by BMTR (they supply nearly all of the tyres for Bham Audi) my complaint was raised through them via Audi. I had photographs of the tyres in situ on the car as part of the service my car was going through which was helpful (might be worth asking if there are any). You should at least have documented proof of the failure.

Anyway, based on my recent experience (and partial success) I would advise the following:

Get in touch with Birmingham Audi (suggest Service Manager)and tell them him you would like the tyres photographed (They are not normally disposed of straightaway) and you want to raise a complaint to Dunlop/Goodyear (they know exactly who to ask what the procedure is). There is actually a proper form for it!

It could take up to 12 weeks but in my case Goodyear sought to compensate for the unworn portion of the tyre life as a percentage (in writing to me as the form completed by Audi/BMTR identified me as the contact point) of remaining tread, which was 50%, which they applied to the value of the replacement tyres (Continentals - not Goodyear/Dunlop). That was presented to BMTR in the form of a credit from Goodyear/Dunlop which has since been applied to Audi Birmingham and (believe it or not) I am now waiting for the money to clear Lister's accounts. Can you imgaine what would happen if the boot were on the other foot?

Once I have my money back I am thinking further action - there was no acknowledgement of the failure of the tyres nor the danger it put me and my family in, just the inconvenience!! It is a known problem with A7's despite same floor pan A6's it seems are unaffected.

I hope this helps.

Mike

[Magnet]

Without meaning to be patronising, we are lucky to have shared in Mike H's unfortunate experience, and very importantly, benefiting from his very clear advice which he kindly passes on as an aid to others. Sad but true, forums don't normally work like that, and this is not meant as a criticism of this particular forum, but forums in general.

Having said all that, it seems Mike H has not achieved the end goal without actively progressing the issue, and again, this is where things differ from the norm and it appears it's not uncommon for posters to give up on a 'can't be bothered' basis. 

Although it's not for this forum to dictate courses of action, I think it must be said Simon that the next move is up to you, and I'm sure Mike H will talk us through any stages where there is doubt. All I would add is that if it were me, I would retain one tyre for evidence and every action I take would  be recorded by -e mail or similar.

We give advice and often simply opinion on here - in my case sometimes helpful, sometimes not.

One opinion I would give on this issue is that it is going to take a death or deaths before someone in a postion of responsibility is going to act.

Please - someone tell me I'm wrong.

No kind regards this time, just concerns.

Gareth.

[SJUKES]

Thanks for the replies and advice, especially Mike H

Audi have just sent the following photo's to me but told me they're not responsible for the tyres... I'm awaiting a call back from the service manager to discuss further.

Currently the tyres are still on my car at home, as I had to drive back andthey said it was ok to drive...

Will keep you posted.

Cheers,

Simon

[Guest]

Hi Simon, There is no way tyres in that state are safe to drive, believe me I am in a position to know! I think I need to explain something given your situation. I was informed by text that all four of my tyres were split (with accompanying photographs) so I used the courtesy car Audi had supplied to cover me for the vehicle service and went to my local tyre discounter to see what he could offer. He could do Pirelli P-Zeroes for £250 each (mine is also a black edition with 21" wheels) BUT in common with a lot of tyre suppliers he works through a discounting agent and could not therefore raise the complaint regarding my Dunlops as this can only be done through a Dunlop/Goodyear agent.

Obviously with four deeply split tyres the car was undriveable so I had little choice but to use Audi Birmingham to replace the tyres, however, whilst Audi are not Dunlop/Goodyear agents BMTR (their supplier) is and I could therefore access the complaint process. As I said in a previous post I replaced the tyres with Continentals and managed to get Audi to supply them at £268 each (they couldn't get anywhere near the Pirelli price I had been quoted but the Continentals and access to the complaint system seemed like a good plan!).

Audi are absolutely correct in that they are not responsible for the tyre issues but as "a loyal customer" (you went there for the MOT after all) you are seeking their support to raise a complaint to Dunlop through BMTR. This implies Audi/BMTR will have to supply the replacement tyres but, if they are willing to assist, and they should be, then it might even be worth haggling over the tyres' price as well.

Sorry for the length of this diatribe - just trying to help! Good luck.

Regards, Mike

[skull duggery]

Mike,

Im Glad that you got a response, but to say that this was an inconvenience is somewhat of an understatement. The tyres have clearly failed. I too replaced all four tyres with Continentals as I also refused point blank to have Dunlops fitted & for an extra £10 its worth it for the safety factor and piece of mind.

Simon, did you manage to get your issue resolved with Dunlop ? due to the fact my tyres were disposed of I had no way of supporting my claim... lesson learned. 

bottom line is that I am happy that this issue has been highlighted and that others have been checked and had the defective tyres replaced with a superior alternative.

Anyway... I have now taken delivery of a new A7 55 TFSI with Pirelli P zero's 😉 still 275 30 21.... hopefully there are no issues with these!