Why is the Taycan so prone to tire punctures?

[Vercingetorix]

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[4thPcar]

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?

41K miles - never a puncture

 

[BjörnfromHamburg]

2 years ago, I also had 2 flat tires with the Taycan in the time of 2 months...after the 20 years before only one flat tire ever.
Since 2 years luckily nothing.
I put it in the category "bad luck".

 

[whitex]

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

All these source are bogus. They conflate tire technical breakdown with tire punctures. They misinterpret the statistics, for example stating that "In comparison with the 36 percent of electric owners that run into tyre and wheel problems, just 16 per cent of all petrol and diesel breakdowns are caused by the same problem.", but this statistic means nothing if you don't know how many breakdowns per mile EV's have vs. ICE cars - without this information you cannot conclude if EVs get more or less flat tires, maybe they just have less reasons to breakdown. One of your sources does correctly point out that most EVs don't have a spare tire, which is likely to result in higher percentage of tow truck calls (which is what all these stats are based on).

Bottom line, a lot speculation, mixing failure modes, partial statistics. Yes, there are definitely unique issues for tires associated with EV's. They tend to be heavier and have higher torque, which can absolutely result in higher wear, more blowouts, or even damaged wheels. No evidence in any of the sources that you provided that points to EVs having a higher tire puncture rate (despite the fact that one of them is titled "Electric cars see more tyre punctures: OP" but then gives no proof, heck it barely mentions punctures in the article - perhaps an AI generated piece and click bait title).

 

[B61]

Alltogether 65k km with my CT4, three summers on 21”, same tyres. Also, four winters on 20”, no punctures.
With 4S, 10k on summer 21’, 5k on winter 20”…no punctures.

hope this post won’t curse me

 

[whitex]

I suspect we won't be able to convince the OP, or others who have had flat tires on their Taycans that it's not the car's fault, but rather the roads the car drives on, the driver of the car, and possibly a small impact from stickier road tires if your car happens to use them.

People like to blame their cars. It reminds me of many people blaming their cars (EVs and ICE) for unintended accelerations leading to accidents, with almost every one of them being a driver error (hitting the accelerator instead of the brake - we know this since car manufacturers started added logging and primitive "black boxes" in the car over the last 20+ years). Actual unintended accelerations are extremely rare, and the only confirmed ones were in Toyota cars many years ago (a set of lawsuits that caused so many manufacturers to voluntarily comply with ISO26262 standard). 20 years ago I had a chat with a master technician at Lexus, he told me that a surprising number of cars come into service with owners complaining about the cars stalling, then he pulls the logs via his computer and shows clear as day that the driver hit BOTH brake and accelerator at the same time, causing the perception of a stalling engine.

 

[PorscheTaycan]

Might not be an issue with Taycans as the tyre pressures of 33-35 psi (recommended for mine) is basically similar to ICE cars.

However when we drove Teslas (model 3 and Y) the recommended pressures were 42 psi for front and rear - much higher. Maybe that makes a difference. Regardless, road conditions and foreign bodies would be more significant factors I would agree.

 

[W1NGE]

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?

Not had a single puncture in 4.5 years and 2 Taycans (20" and 21").

Ironically I had my first puncture on any Porsche owned since 2003 in my wife's Macan this year.

 

[whitex]

Might not be an issue with Taycans as the tyre pressures of 33-35 psi (recommended for mine) is basically similar to ICE cars.

However when we drove Teslas (model 3 and Y) the recommended pressures were 42 psi for front and rear - much higher. Maybe that makes a difference. Regardless, road conditions and foreign bodies would be more significant factors I would agree.

Switch your PCM TMPS to "full load" and you will get similar expected tire pressures in the 40's (depending on a tire type and size).

 

[Dabz]

I suspect we won't be able to convince the OP, or others who have had flat tires on their Taycans that it's not the car's fault, but rather the roads the car drives on, the driver of the car, and possibly a small impact from stickier road tires if your car happens to use them.

People like to blame their cars.

Not at all, this thread has convinced me that it’s pure bad luck and coincidence, and that when I asked the same question on social media the fact I got the opposite response to on here proves the low value of social media and it’s algorithm designed to amplify your views rather than challenge them.

The most useful reply has been about the stickiness of the Pirelli tyres. Tyre compound hadn’t crossed my mind and it makes sense that they might pick up more if there’s something to pick up. That would help to explain why, having done equal distance on the exact same routes over the exact same three year period in my other EV, that only the Taycan is picking up the punctures.

Having spent £1200 on tyres this month already though, I’m due to take a different car on my long distance tomorrow just because I’m smarting from the hassle of being stuck on an island during Easter weekend that didn’t have, nor could get, a replacement and having to hobble over to the mainland on a partly flat tyre

 

[W1NGE]

Not at all, this thread has convinced me that it’s pure bad luck and coincidence, and that when I asked the same question on social media the fact I got the opposite response to on here proves the low value of social media and it’s algorithm designed to amplify your views rather than challenge them.

The most useful reply has been about the stickiness of the Pirelli tyres. Tyre compound hadn’t crossed my mind and it makes sense that they might pick up more if there’s something to pick up. That would help to explain why, having done equal distance on the exact same routes over the exact same three year period in my other EV, that only the Taycan is picking up the punctures.

Having spent £1200 on tyres this month already though, I’m due to take a different car on my long distance tomorrow just because I’m smarting from the hassle of being stuck on an island during Easter weekend that didn’t have, nor could get, a replacement and having to hobble over to the mainland on a partly flat tyre

Not helpful right now but next time around take out wheel and tyre insurance for around £500 for 3 years.

 

[Dabz]

Not helpful right now but next time around take out wheel and tyre insurance for around £500 for 3 years.

I have that, it's paid back many times over - but sadly limited to 2 claims per year for tyres so I've used that up this year a couple times over. I paid £450 originally and have claimed 1 repair, 3 tyres and 1 alloy wheel refurb so it's been worth every penny. The policy expires in June so I'll be replacing it for sure

 

[babylou66]

Wider tires increase the odds of incurring screws and such. Any serious cyclist knows pressure has a big effect on whether a tire envelops trash without a puncture versus the trash embedding into the tread then puncturing on the next rotation.

 

[Fun TC Driving]

The lesser the remaining tread depth, the greater the chance of a shorter screw/nail puncturing through into the tire’s air pressure chamber. Conversely with deep tread one could drive around many miles with sheet metal short screws sitting in tires without air pressure loss (specific tire air pressure is always displaced on my IP). EV tires, especially for large performance vehicles like our Porsches are very expensive, so is there a tendency to try and run tires longer with lesser remaining tread depth?

 

[Dabz]

EV tires, especially for large performance vehicles like our Porsches are very expensive, so is there a tendency to try and run tires longer with lesser remaining tread depth?

Sadly mine was only 6 months old. Poor thing didn’t have a chance at a full life

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