Our van - Abbey 418 GTS 2007 model year was checked by me today and the Matador tyres are showing the signs of cracking on the sidewalls described.
I have now arranged for them to be changed to Continental equivalents in the hope that if you pay for quality that is what you get!
Similar to the post I responded to earlier, I am amazed that this is not being dealt with under the manufacturer's warranty which surely is still valid (unless you have invalidated it by not having approved servicing).
Paul, I agree with your views about warranties. If a tyre is proven to be faulty, and has been treated correctly, then reimbursement should be provided. Unfortunately, I have no doubt that the different attitudes by various dealers covers a very wide spectrum; from acceptance of responsibility and quick action, to dismissive refusal of any responsibility.
There will always be dealers who use the fine print to escape dealing with a problem, to lengthy pontificating, probably knowing that there is a good chance that the owner will take on board the cost of rectifying matters simply to avoid his/her van standing idle and wasting valuable leisure time.
In the process of changing my tyres for the first time (4-year-old van), I have been in contact with the manufacturers concerning poor engineering design which turns the simple task of wheel-changing into a nightmare. The sad fact is, from the manufacturers right through to the dealers, they are not happy with constructive criticisms which might upset the status quo.
From manufacture through to dealership servicing, no matter how the designers and "specialists" may themselves feel regarding their thoroughness, there will always be occasions where "proving in the field" highlights some major failure. But meeting with such a situation seems to freeze the brain from the power to even consider the possibility that they could be wrong.
My husband and i recentley purchased a swift coastline 2007 model. On the 14th of august 2010, after owning it one week we took it out for our first holiday, we had just gone 20 minutes on the M42 and we had a terrible blow out, the tyre was a matador MPS 310 Dot Nos J3/J2 1506 14C 99/98. The damage it did to our van is just heartbreaking, the tyre ripped off round the outer edge but didnt come off completely, thus turning it into a propella, it then flipped round an ripped out the whole floor of the wardrobe including the fuse board and the complete wiring for the whole van, all our belongings were sucked out of the wheel arch causing two lanes of the M42 to be shut down for 2hrs, we were then traumatised further more by being stuck on the hard shoulder of the M42 for 4 an a half hrs in torretial rain with a small boy and 2 dogs. We have since found out that all 3 tyres are the matador defective ones, you can clearly see the sidewall buldges and the cracks, we are going through the insurers at the moment as its caused 4 and a half thousand pounds of damage to our caravan and thats not a finished sum yet!!, but we have a seperate issue with the dealers we bought it from as there was no service stamp or papers when we collected it yet they clearly argue it was serviced, but we have stumped them with the tyres because they are swift assured dealers and should of been very much aware that our van had defective tyres, PLEASE PLEASE CHECK YOUR TYRES....i cannot stress enough how lucky we were to not have been thrown into a ditch upside down in our car, we was only doing 50 miles an hr. If u own a swift 2007 model starting (sep06-aug07) i cannot say enough that you should check your tyres, your dealer will replace them for you at no inconvienience or cost, but if you purchased your van second hand as we did and it was serviced then you have issues with your dealer. If you go on the net and type in matador tyre warning The Swift Owners Club have the tyre warning on thier website.
I own a 2007 abbey expression 540 and on returning from the c c site at Chard on the A303, I had a blowout of my off side caravan tyre, I immediately pulled over ,no hard shoulder, so partially in the road , contacted Greenflag who turned up and dutifully changed over to my spare and the Police who sometimes do help you, protecting life and limb , THANKS. That night I thought I would see how much a new tyre would cost me, so I googled for a price using the name and numbers off of the tyre and I was shocked that there was an article about a product recall on swift talk about MATADOR MASTER TYRES , when I looked at a number of articles another caravanner with exactly the same numbers 175 R14C 99/98 R MPS 310 DOT J3J2 E27 009918 and the same fault. I contacted TYRELINE the agent who holds the guarentee ? so I have told.
They told me that my tyres where not part of the product recall. I am not going to leave that there, but anybody with any other info, please post.
I own a 2007 abbey expression ..... I contacted TYRELINE the agent who holds the guarentee ?
As I've said on here before, if your van is still under warranty that must be the way to go, i.e. through your dealer. If not, it's not out by much and any decent dealer would surely take an interest in this on your behalf.
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Topic: DANGEROUS TYRES ON NEW VANS
