Broken Tire Belt?

[woolveren]

My 98 A4 is getting steering wheel vibrations at certain speeds, mostly on highway when it goes over 65mph. I took the car to Tirebarn to check wheel balance/ tires and they said that the front left tire has a broken belt and is the cause of vibrations which needs to be taken care of soon before it explodes. But I got my car back and decided to inspect the tire myself. I could not see any visible signs of a broken belt on this tire, in fact it looked in perfect condition to me.. I am no tire expert, so how do these people come up with the conclusion that there is a broken belt in tire when it is looking completely alright from outside with no high or low points anywhere?

Attached below are few pics of the tire;

[bakedcorn]

My 98 A4 is getting steering wheel vibrations at certain speeds, mostly on highway when it goes over 65mph. I took the car to Tirebarn to check wheel balance/ tires and they said that the front left tire has a broken belt and is the cause of vibrations which needs to be taken care of soon before it explodes. But I got my car back and decided to inspect the tire myself. I could not see any visible signs of a broken belt on this tire, in fact it looked in perfect condition to me.. I am no tire expert, so how do these people come up with the conclusion that there is a broken belt in tire when it is looking completely alright from outside with no high or low points anywhere?

Attached below are few pics of the tire;

Are there any bulges, uneven wearing or small cracks or stretching along the tread of the tire or any type of puncture? If so then that's a sign of a tire belt failing. One way to check for bulging of tires is to gently run your hand across the tread or sides of the tire as you allow the tire to spin on the vehicle via a jack.

[woolveren]

Are there any bulges, uneven wearing or small cracks or stretching along the tread of the tire or any type of puncture? If so then that's a sign of a tire belt failing. One way to check for bulging of tires is to gently run your hand across the tread or sides of the tire as you allow the tire to spin on the vehicle via a jack.

There are no bulges or uneven wearing, only thing I could find was something like a small plastic cone shaped thing was there on the tire which I removed using a small screwdriver and that left a small hole on the tire as shown below. The tire is not punctured because I removed this yesterday and its still holding air, other than this running hand across the tread and sidewall was completely smooth.



Removed plastic plug; I purchased this tire brand new and never had any issues with the tire so not sure how this has got on to the tire..

[bakedcorn]

I noticed three tiny holes between the tread in the 3rd pic you originally posted but difficult to see. They are on the right side closest to the top.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

[woolveren]

I noticed three tiny holes between the tread in the 3rd pic you originally posted but difficult to see. They are on the right side closest to the top.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

I think you are referring to these three marks, if so they are just some random sticky tar like material which I have now checked on the actual tire..

[Wrath And Tears]

Rotate front tires to rear, see if vibration changes from steering wheel to your butt. It may even just disappear. That would be a way to see if something was wrong with the tire. That thing you took out really kinda looks like a tire plug, they are notorious for ruining tire belts. It also doesn't look like the entire length of the plug, some could still be in there sealing the tire. I'm not a tire guy so I couldn't tell you with 100% certainty.

[woolveren]

Rotate front tires to rear, see if vibration changes from steering wheel to your butt. It may even just disappear. That would be a way to see if something was wrong with the tire. That thing you took out really kinda looks like a tire plug, they are notorious for ruining tire belts. It also doesn't look like the entire length of the plug, some could still be in there sealing the tire. I'm not a tire guy so I couldn't tell you with 100% certainty.

I am using the spare tire on the front for last couple of days and the vibration is still there.

But the more important question here is, how in the world that tire plug got into my tire? This was purchased brand new some one and a half years ago and it was never punctured. Is this a case where the tire came with this plug installed from the factory? Tire brand is Kumho...

[Wrath And Tears]

I'm not 100% sure it was a tire plug, but due to its puncture location it sure seems like it. Where did you buy the Kumhos from? Its possible a shady shop used a like new tire or something. I would doubt the tire came with that from the factory even though Kumho is on the cheaper / shadier side of tire brands.

[woolveren]

I'm not 100% sure it was a tire plug, but due to its puncture location it sure seems like it. Where did you buy the Kumhos from? Its possible a shady shop used a like new tire or something. I would doubt the tire came with that from the factory even though Kumho is on the cheaper / shadier side of tire brands.

I bought the tires brand new from Tirebuyer.com, think they have a good reputation over internet...

The weird thing is I just found a similar plug(not plastic, looks like steel or that plastic cone shaped part is missing) on the other tire at the right hand side at pretty much the same location.

So were they really selling punctured tires as brand new?

I took few pictures of the other tire, but just now I realized they are out of focus. Will post it once I take a clear picture tomorrow as the right tire is still on car..