We had the Goodyear Duratrac installed on our HSE 110 with 20" wheels. After the first rain we noticed black spots on the bumper that were coming from the spare tire. At first we thought that it was do to an over zealous application of tire dressing from the dealer upon delivery. This is a tar like substance and does not come off easily. Normal car wash soap does not cut it. A solvent (denatured alcohol) needs to be used. Took it back to the dealer. They removed the spare and cleaned the tire multiple times over several days at their shop. This left a black stain on their wash bay floor and the wall they leaned it against. Put the spare back on, did it again at the first rain. We eventually got the dealer to replace the tire with a brand new one, no tire dressing applied. Then next rain, same thing happened. (see pictures). the finish on the bumper is getting damaged from the stains and cleanings. dealer said they would replace the bumper. The latest effort by the dealer is to take one of the on-road tires and place it with the spare. We did this and the tire with nearly 900 miles on it did the same thing. So driving on it, in the rain for that many miles changed nothing.

Has anyone else had this issue? There appears to be a coating of some type on the tires that leaches onto the bumper in the rain. This is so wired and no body can figure this out. Looking to go to Goodyear for some help. Any thoughts?

 

Could it be the spare tire mount and not the tire? Is there any grease or lube on the spare tire holder? Any rust on any hardware?

Maybe buy a cheap spare tire cover off Amazon ($25?) to catch the dripping and stop staining the bumper.

 

I to would be looking at the mount, I can't imagine how the tire would be bleeding like that

 

I have 18" Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac on my Disco 2 and have not experienced this problem. Since you say the dealer had this happen in their wash bay, away from the truck and the spare carrier then it's either the tire or the wheel. The only explanation I can think of is something is breaking down the rubber and causing the rain water to carry the slurry down to the bumper. As ridiculous as this sounds, does the vehicle spend any time parked near an incinerator or a chemical plant? If it's happened on multiple tires from presumably a different manufacturing batches, then I can only assume something in the environment is causing it. Do the road wheels do it when the truck is parked?

 

My mind goes to the actual mount and rim. Cosmoline is often used when shipping parts like brakes, rims, etc... There may be some of that leftover on the inner rim that is collecting and dripping down. It is a corrosive preventer. Have you wiped on the inside of the tire/rim to see if it's pooling there?

Just my .02...

 

Have the dealer replace the bumper before you are stuck with the permanent coffee stains.

 

SAR-Rovers - did you get the issue resolved and do you know the source of the issue? I have the same problem in my 2021 XD HSE with the Goodyear tire setup. Thanks!

 

MNDefender: no, we have not resolved this issue. What region of the country are you in? We did contact JLR customer service, they assigned a case number and agent. This has continued and our dealer has tried additional tires (5) which have all done the same. We did get some traction recently. The tire supplier and a technical representative from Goodyear came and met us at our dealer to review our tire and talk to us. We learned from the tire supplier that the JLR dealers in the Seattle area are providing "free" tire covers for customers who purchase the Duratrac tires. This is obviously a band aid to cover up the issue. The JLR dealer in Portland and Boise will not sell these tires any more until this is resolved. The Goodyear technical rep said he was going to talk with the engineers at the factory. We have heard nothing back. JLR needs to lean on Goodyear to get this resolved. There are no other JLR "approved" off-road tires that fully meet the OEM specifcation.

Our local dealer has been great and they are frustrated as well. They are going to replace our bumper, parking sensors and some now scratched rims from repeated tire changes. Goodyear has offered to pay for the tires. More photos attached. This is still going on.

 

Thanks for the response. Your latest photo looks rough, mine currently is only a few spots. I’m located in MN, take it into the dealer on April 5th to get a few other items taken care of as well. Hopefully just teething issues.

 

Thanks for replying. Do you have any pictures of your spots? I will share them with the JLR rep we are working with. I do know that the amount of rain is a big factor. We gat a lot of rain in Oregon. They did not occur with the light snow we had nor does it occur when it does not rain
much.