2023 Kia EV6 Tires & Wheels Problems

I was driving my Kia EV6 2023 on I-110 in California when the driver rear tire suffered an instantaneous deflation. I was driving at or slightly below the 65mph speed limit, there was traffic in front and to the rear of me, the road surface was excellent. The tires had 11556 miles of use and were operating at the correct pressures as the vehicle has a tire monitoring system. The ambient air temperature was circa 76F. I was able to exit the freeway with some difficulty. The tire was a Continental Cross Contact 255-45 R20. I have been driving for nearly 60 years, had a wide range of cars and tires and never experienced an incident like that described which has all the indications of a product defect.

The EV-6 GT auto experienced a loud clunking grinding noise while steering 180 degrees when turning right and then left. The car skidded on the pavement this happened over a period of 3 months when the temperature was below freezing. After 2 service appointments Bridgewater NJ KIA dealership failed to diagnose the problem . On the 3rd visit they confirmed that the noise emanated from the summer performance tires that caused the tires to skid and caused the noise. Their solution was that storm tires would need to be replace the existing “summer tires”The existing tires are Good Year 255/40R 21. Not only that Good Year does not make snow tires of this size but when I first leased the car I was not told that the car would need snow tires to prevent skidding from snow or icy road conditions. There failure to notify car owners in the northeast of this hazard puts drivers at risk and potential for accidents in cold weather temperatures. Since I have not driven the leased car in below freezing temperatures and risk safety and hazards from driving on these summer tires I believe KIA should be held responsible for failure to notify drivers of this condition. I plan to terminate early the 3 year lease and also withhold payment until KIA acknowledges that they failed to identify this safety hazards and then did not offer to replace these tires to prevent future accidents. These “summer tires” were also Not clearly defined as racing tires with inability to provide adequate tread on icy and snowy road conditions. I am submitting this claim to prevent potential car accidents in driving the car in the northeast were weather conditions are periodic snow and icy conditions.

Car vibrated to degree it was hard to control. Initial tire balancing did not fix the issue. The tire was removed from the rim and a separated balled-up foam tire liner was found and removed. My concern is if this happens again in one of the other tires and causes an accident.

No abrasion, curb marks, track use or drifting (I'm 75 years old). Dealer service declined rotating the tires because mounting this one on the front could increase hazard in event of failure.