[GoLawrence]

So I hit a manhole cover, well more like the hole because some yahoo didn’t put it back on after some repair work on Florida Ave. in Hemet, CA, last week. No cones , no signs, nothing! So I bent my rim, ripped my tire almost off, screwed up my alignment, rim in back is bent outwards and I’m still waiting to hear back from Subaru about whatever else. My service advisor told me right off that I will need 4 new tires. Because of all wheel drive you can’t change 1 and be safe or you might do potential damage to the car. Cool 4 new tires right!!!
Now the insurance company is saying they will only replace the 1 tire because that was the only one damaged. Here is my dilemma. The job of an insurance company is to get me back up and running and go after the party at fault. This accident was on the negligence of somebody else that did not put a manhole cover back. Yes 1 tire was only damaged, however all have become damaged or deemed useless because of the incident. The service advisor told them that it is a safety risk and will do potential damage to the vehicle. So the insurance company wants me to drive a dangerous car? C’mon the tires are only 7 months old, the car’s only 7 months old!
What are your thoughts?

[WRXSTi0487]

Depends on how much your tires are worn. I have been told by someone at subaru that if the rolling circumference of the new tire is more than 1/4" difference than the other 3 then yes serious damage to the differentials can occur.

I was told this by 2 different people in 2 different subaru dealerships.

Hope this helps.

[GoLawrence]

That is what they told me... I have 18k on her now.

[GoLawrence]

So I had a 30 min talk with Statefarm and they won't do anything about it!
All 4 tires need to be replaced because of the incodent and they feel it is better to put their customer in a unsafe situation because they save money!

Searching for an insurance company that gives a SH** after work!

[JustinH]

you could get one new tire and shave it down?

[JAYMAC10]

Have you gone to the City with a claim yet? Maybe you can get them to cover the other 3 tires for the mistake they made in not puting the manhole cover back on??

Just a thought...

Jay

[Sideoiler]

Originally Posted by jaydow11

Have you gone to the City with a claim yet? Maybe you can get them to cover the other 3 tires for the mistake they made in not puting the manhole cover back on??

Just a thought...

Jay

I was thinking the city should cover all damages and they should be happy nobody fell into it.

[ikos]

you should be fine with just one new tire!! the dealer is just trying to make some more cash!!

[eXstasy]

Originally Posted by ikos

you should be fine with just one new tire!! the dealer is just trying to make some more cash!!

^^...and you say this based upon what? As someone said earlier, it depends on how much the other tires are worn. The OP stated that he has 18k miles on the original tires. That still doesn't tell us how much tread he has left, only gives us an estimate.

[upncummr]

In my opinion part of the "cost" of driving an AWD vehicle is knowing that in some cases damage to a single tire is going to result in the need to replace all four tires.

It's happened to me twice and although I don't like doing it, it's just the way things are.

I think it's an unreasonable expectation to think that the insurance company should be responsible for replacing the other three tires. But of course, that's just my opinion.

By the way....sorry for the misfortune.

Gary

[06naSTI]

I was in a similar situation. The insurance only wanted to pay for one tire. I had 19k miles on the old tires and ended up having to buy 4 new.

[upncummr]

Another option besides either buying four new tires or buying one new tire and having it shaved is to try and find a used tire that's a similar tread depth to your remaining three tires.

In the event that you do buy four new tires, you can consider selling your original three tires if they're in decent shape.

Gary

[flytojungho]

if insurance doesn't want to pay up, buy all 4 tires and go after the city. what is your insurance deductable? If it's more than the price of 1 tire, just pay all 4 out of your pocket and somehow get money from the city later because it'll probably take time to process your claim

[GoLawrence]

Originally Posted by JustinH

you could get one new tire and shave it down?

No way! The tires cost $250 and worst case I keep my old ones if something goes wrong again.

[GoLawrence]

Originally Posted by Sideoiler

I was thinking the city should cover all damages and they should be happy nobody fell into it.

My Notes:

Talked to City of Hemet: 8:20 am
Cal Trans has jurisdiction over highway 74

Cal Trans:
Left several messages in different departments including claims.
-Claims department had a message center to leave information and a claim form will be sent in 3 weeks.
-Got a returned call from Teri Lopez, legal department, she faxed over a claim form.
-Received another call from a Jennifer, don't know what department. She was helpful and let me know that Lake Hemet Municipal Water District is in charge of the manhole cover.

Lake Hemet Municipal Water District:
-Talked to Matt H. (Hawell I believe), he was aware of the incident this morning. He explained that it was a Cal Trans sub contractor that was working on the manhole.
-I researched the sub contractors and found that All American Asphalt is the contractor from the Cal Trans web site. This is attached to email.

All American Asphalt:
-Left a message with Daren Cook, Supervisor of Manholes.
-Spoke to Ali he said to go through your insurance, he was with Cal Trans.
-He gave me a name and number to call, Rebecca, project supervisor.
-Rebecca did not know about the situation and took my information and said she will contact me back as soon as possible.
-Gave me a number to their law firm.

Nightmare!