I bought a Honda City ZX (top-spec) in 2017. My ownership experience, however, hasn’t been very smooth, with the front left tyre experiencing punctures repeatedly. I have gone through five tyre changes, and my commute doesn’t consist of very rough roads. I have tried out different makes of tyres, but the result has been the same. I have also gotten the alloy wheel checked for damage, and wheel alignment is also in order.
The top-end ZX variant runs on 185/55 R16 tyres and as the sidewall isn’t tall, my tyre dealer recommended one with a taller sidewall. However, I didn't want to change the standard size and asked the company for a statement regarding the issue, but didn’t receive a response.
This is when I got in touch with Autocar India and we wrote to Honda explaining the situation. The company, however, didn’t respond to us either.
Mohan Agrawal
AAA - Tyres with shorter sidewalls can get punctured due to rim damage. Sometimes, even a small impact on the tyre will be transmitted directly to the alloy wheel, which can cause a cut on the sidewall. A way to prevent such a situation is to always maintain the tyre pressure, and maybe even overinflate slightly. Also, if you are facing multiple punctures on one side, do check the wheel alignment and suspension setting as well. If there is a fault in the suspension, it might result in excess vertical movement on that wheel, which puts more pressure on the sidewall, thus causing punctures. Changing the tyre size to one with taller sidewalls can also be considered. However, one must get to the root cause. In this case, it would have been nice to see the company respond to the customer and provide support to what is quite a vexing issue.
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