Why is the Taycan so prone to tire punctures?

[Dabz]

Before getting my Taycan I’d been driving 24 years and had one puncture in that time.

Since having the Taycan (almost 3 years) I’ve suffered 7. Annoyingly 3 in the last 3 weeks. I’ve only done 16k miles over those 3 years too. It’s been a mix of screw, nail, cuts to the rubber down to the cords (despite the tyre not being worn much). And a bulge after a pothole but that’s a separate issue with the U.K. roads not the car or tyres.

I’m on 21s, is it down to the size of tyre, width and torque perhaps?

Tyre insurance is great and I’m pleased folk on here suggested taking it out. My policy allows 2 claims per year so new tyre 4 and 5 this year had to be paid for but I’ve probably tripled the money I paid for the policy.

I get that these things happen, can’t blame the car - I’m just curious is it’s just me or whether it’s the type of tyre. Another owner I spoke to on another platform had found the same thing - multiple tyre issues on his Taycan - which made me wonder. Perhaps an EV thing with the extra weight?

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[whitex]

IMHO your title is a false premise question.

I would challenge your premise that the Taycan is prone to punctures. Even your own data seems to show your puncture rate is accelerating (7 in 3 years, with 3 of them in the last 3 weeks). Perhaps you're getting old or are distracted and not driving in the center of the lanes anymore (lots of road debris accumulates in parts of the lanes which not many cars travel). Maybe you are driving somewhere where there is a lot of hazards. Maybe you made some enemies who leave nails under your tires when parked. Maybe you are just unlucky. Who knows. I got one puncture in the Taycan on the first day I owned it (3 yeas ago), which was my second flat in over 3 decades of driving, but it was while driving on a 3,500 mile cross country drive home from the dealer. Funny, the other one was also on a coast-to-coast trip but that was 27 years ago. My wife and I had "his and hers cars", same models, for many years (for 7 years we both had Model S'es, so EVs). She somehow managed to pick up a flat tire every one or two years, while I somehow did not. Same kind of car, same tires (even same brands and models of tires), same area, and yet totally different number of flat tires. So perhaps it's not the car, but some other factor?

 

[PorscheTaycan]

EVs in general are more prone to punctures because they are heavier than usual cars, and therefore the recommended tyre pressures are higher than other cars - these make them more susceptible to being punctured.

We've had our fair share of tyre punctures with our Teslas before we moved on from them - so it's less a Taycan-specific issue and more an EV-wide issue. They are keeping the tyre shops busy.

This is also why you need to rotate tyres more with EVs, otherwise they go bald unevenly.

 

[Dabz]

EVs in general are more prone to punctures because they are heavier than usual cars, and therefore the recommended tyre pressures are higher than other cars - these make them more susceptible to being punctured.

We've had our fair share of tyre punctures with our Teslas before we moved on from them - so it's less a Taycan-specific issue and more an EV-wide issue. They are keeping the tyre shops busy.

This is also why you need to rotate tyres more with EVs, otherwise they go bald unevenly.

That makes sense - someone else had also mentioned that it’s an EV thing

 

[chun]

Haven’t had a puncture in a decade; more than half of that in a taycan.

If anything, it speaks about how proactive the regions you drive through are in cleaning the roads.

If you’re driving over a nail in a 1.6 tones or 2.6 tones car, you’ll get a puncture all the same

Would also imagine that living in a area with loads of farms will result in more sharp debris on the roads

 

[Dabz]

If anything, it speaks about how proactive the regions you drive through are in cleaning the roads.

Broken Britain Our roads are embarrassing

 

[whitex]

EVs in general are more prone to punctures because they are heavier than usual cars, and therefore the recommended tyre pressures are higher than other cars - these make them more susceptible to being punctured.

We've had our fair share of tyre punctures with our Teslas before we moved on from them - so it's less a Taycan-specific issue and more an EV-wide issue. They are keeping the tyre shops busy.

This is also why you need to rotate tyres more with EVs, otherwise they go bald unevenly.

Got any data to back this up? Majority of flats (all of mine and my family's flats have been) from a screw, a nail, or other foreign object (one time a 12 inch nail that my wife picked up somehow, it went into the tire and bent against the wheel - the tire shop showed it to me, saying they've never seen anything like this - it was on a Toyota non-EV). How does higher tire pressure cause the tire to pick up more crap, or even cause the crap to puncture? And what does this have to do with tire rotations?

 

[PorscheTaycan]

Got any data to back this up?

It’s what the local Tyre shop tells me. I’m no expert.

Anyway I did a google search and found some sources:

https://www.regit.cars/electric-new...as-likely-to-suffer-wheel-and-tyre-breakdowns

https://www.dailyfinland.fi/travel/43885/Electric-cars-see-more-tyre-punctures-OP

https://www.dagens.com/autos/electric-cars-get-flat-tires-more-often-than-petrol-cars

Re Tyre rotations as EV tyres are more inflated my understanding is that they wear out more in the inside so you have to rotate them every 10,000 kms. At least that what Tesla recommended. I missed 20k kms and had to replace all 4 tyres on both Teslas as they became un-roadworthy.

Found some sources re Tyre rotations too:

https://www.tyrepower.com.au/tyres/tyre-care/tyre-rotation

https://www.michelinman.com/auto/au...bility-guide/ev-tire-pressure-and-maintenance

https://www.racv.com.au/royalauto/transport/electric-vehicles/best-tyres-for-evs.html

 

[Dabz]

IMHO your title is a false premise question.

I would challenge your premise that the Taycan is prone to punctures. Even your own data seems to show your puncture rate is accelerating (7 in 3 years, with 3 of them in the last 3 weeks). Perhaps you're getting old or are distracted and not driving in the center of the lanes anymore (lots of road debris accumulates in parts of the lanes which not many cars travel). Maybe you are driving somewhere where there is a lot of hazards. Maybe you made some enemies who leave nails under your tires when parked. Maybe you are just unlucky.

In the same period, same (getting old at 44) driver, same driving ability, same roads and same routes - and same enemies lol - I’ve driven other vehicles for similar distances (14k on my other personal vehicle, and I also run other company vehicles locally) which haven’t suffered the same rate of tyre issues.

 

[d00d]

The last eight years I've travelled roughly 400 miles per week almost exclusively on highways.
Zero punctures with S8, M5 and Taycan over that time, and just one tire bulge on the S8 from a pothole.
It's where you drive, not what you drive.

 

[Horizontally Opposed]

26 months in, no tire problems. I disagree with the premise

 

[SoccerMan94043]

Before getting my Taycan I’d been driving 24 years and had one puncture in that time.

Since having the Taycan (almost 3 years) I’ve suffered 7. Annoyingly 3 in the last 3 weeks. I’ve only done 16k miles over those 3 years too. It’s been a mix of screw, nail, cuts to the rubber down to the cords (despite the tyre not being worn much). And a bulge after a pothole but that’s a separate issue with the U.K. roads not the car or tyres.

I’m on 21s, is it down to the size of tyre, width and torque perhaps?

Tyre insurance is great and I’m pleased folk on here suggested taking it out. My policy allows 2 claims per year so new tyre 4 and 5 this year had to be paid for but I’ve probably tripled the money I paid for the policy.

I get that these things happen, can’t blame the car - I’m just curious is it’s just me or whether it’s the type of tyre. Another owner I spoke to on another platform had found the same thing - multiple tyre issues on his Taycan - which made me wonder. Perhaps an EV thing with the extra weight?

I got a screw in the back driver's side tire two weeks after purchasing my GTS (also 21" - 305s). I have Porsche wheel and tire protection so it was all covered, but very annoying. The service writer at the local Porsche dealer asked me the same question. He hypothesized that it was the kind of driving we do (no idea what that actually means).

In my case I was in the middle lane of the highway doing the speed limit when it happened. I think it's the width and profile of the tire, and perhaps being a bit softer.

 

[Flying ace]

All my flats has been debris, specifically screws and nails. I live in a moderately dense urban area.

This is a luck-of-the-draw situation. Where I live, the biggest cause of debris is home construction in the neighborhoods. A better observation would be to see how many small home construction related trucks you see. They are an indication of how active home construction (or renovations) is, and typically the small trucks are the biggest culprits for dropping debris.

I NEVER park on front a home under construction, and I park far when I visit Home Depot/Lowe's.

Another cause is how trash is collected. Many neighborhood collections are individual bins per home and there could be spillage of construction debris.

Lastly after rain, debris tends to congregate at the low parts of the street near the drain. Do not park in those areas as it has high chance of nails/screws being in the debris.

 

[Hirschaj]

Here's a good article about this topic ;-) https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/false-consensus-effect

 

[DerekS]

Question, is this your first Porsche? I ask because if you haven't driven cars with extra-sticky tires (P-Zero etc) you might not have experienced this before.

One time I got new tires installed and took a nail on the way home from the shop!

Sticky tires tend to pick up more stuff. As for wearing to the inner cords (despite the rest of the tire being fine) I blame Contintental for that, at least that's what I had when I experienced it.

I basically plan on new tires annually.

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