What is Road Hazard?
Road Hazard damage occurs when a tire fails during the course of driving in a legal manner on a road maintained by state or local authority.
Nails, glass and potholes are the most common Road Hazards. With Road Hazard protection, your tire repair or replacement is reimbursed should Road Hazard occur.*
With American Garage’s Tire Road Hazard Service Program, your tire repair or replacement is reimbursed (to the extent and subject to the conditions).
- The Road Hazard Program covers tires from the date of purchase or until 2/32” or less of tread remains, whichever occurs first.
- Repairs are reimbursed up to $25 per tire per occurrence.
- Tires must be rotated every 7500 miles or less.
- The following tires are not eligible for the Road Hazard Service Program:
- Competition tires
- LT Flotation sized tires
- Trailer tires
- Oversized tires
- The following vehicles are not eligible for the Tire Road Hazard Service Program:
- Any emergency service vehicle.
- Any vehicle used for hire, commercial, towing, construction or postal service.
- Any vehicle used for off-road use.
- Fleet Vehicles
- Program is only available to customers living in the 48 contiguous States. Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories, Canada and Mexico are excluded.
- In the event that you need a replacement tire outside of our service area, the original/damaged tire must be returned to us for inspection prior to approval for the Road Hazard & Free Tire Repair Protection Plan.
Road Hazard and Free Tire Repair Protection Plan
Don’t let a hole in the road put a hole in your wallet!
The purchase of the “Road Hazard & FREE Tire Repair Protection Plan” is only available on new tires purchased from American Garage.
If a tire(s) covered by the “Road Hazard & FREE Tire Repair Protection Plan” becomes unsafe and unusable due to a road hazard, such as a non-repairable cut, snag, nail or glass puncture or during the life of the original usable tread, it will be replaced with a comparable tire. The replacement cost will be determined by multiplying the original purchase price of the tire (excluding taxes and other applicable taxes and service charge outlined in the following example.
For Example:
Tire: P205/60R16
Original tread depth: 11/32nd*
Remaining tread depth: 7/32nd**
Original Purchase Price: $150
Percentage of tread worn: 44%**
Replacement cost would be $150 original purchase price (or current retail price) x 44% = $66 plus applicable disposal fees, charges for mounting, balancing, stems, sensors and rim cleaning.
- Original tread depth as per the manufacturers specific tread depth for that brand name tire
** The manufacturer’s tire “Adjustment Chart”, for the passenger tire purchased, will determine percentage of tread worn and the tire will be measured using a tread-depth tool.
Vehicle Owner’s Obligations
Proper tire care is necessary to obtain maximum tire mileage and service. It is the owners responsibility to make sure the tires are properly inflated and balanced. The vehicle must be kept in proper alignment and free from any mechanical condition that may cause improper tire wear or damage. Tires must be rotated ever 7500 miles. Proof of tire rotation is required (via receipt from a professional automotive facility). Tire rotation notations on the Tire Protection Plan pamphlet are for personal records only and does not satisfy the “proof of rotation” requirement.
Tips for Avoiding Road Hazards
Some road hazards are unavoidable, but using the tips below, you can give yourself a safety edge – and protect your tires at the same time.
Look: Make sure you keep your eyes on the road at all times, and avoid unnecessary and dangerous distractions like texting or talking on your cell phone. If you’re in a larger area, busy area or a school zone, keep a look out for pedestrians or cyclists entering the roadway. Also keep your windshield as clean as possible so you can see any unexpected hazards clearly. When you visit us for regular maintenance, we’ll make sure your wiper fluid is full and that your wipers are in good condition.
Listen: If you’ve got the radio on, make sure the volume isn’t so loud that you can’t easily hear things like other cars approaching, horns honking, or emergency signals from fire trucks or ambulances.
Light: Keep your headlights on if it’s anything but sunny outside so the road is well-lit and so others can easily see you. It’s actually the law in most states to have your lights on after dusk or if it’s rainy or foggy. And keep in mind that your blinkers aren’t for sending Morse code messages to your buddies. Anytime you’re making a turn or changing lanes, use your blinker ahead of time to let others know what you’re about to do.
Leave Space: Keep a safe distance between you and the car in front of you using “The 3 Second Rule”. To test your distance, pick out a landmark or spot on the road. As soon as the car in front of you passes it, count a full three seconds. If you reach that same spot before the three seconds are up, you’re too close. If the car in front of you unexpectedly slams on their brakes, you’ll need that 3-second cushion to avoid an accident. This space also allows you plenty of time to avoid road hazards like debris or potholes.
When Should I Replace my Tires?
While it is simple to place a Lincoln penny in the tread groove of a worn tire and use Abe’s likeness as a guide, we don’t think Honest Abe knows what’s best for today’s drivers. The Lincoln penny tread depth test has been touted for years to be a suitable method of determining when it’s time to get new tires. It’s based on the premise you’re driving on legal tread depths anytime the top of Lincoln’s head is obscured by the tread and that a tire’s ability to grip the road isn’t greatly reduced in adverse conditions (rain, slush and snow) until the tread wears to about 2/32” of remaining depth. It then maintains you’re ready for new tires at 2/32” and can see the penny above Lincoln’s head.
A driver’s ability to control their vehicle depends on the traction between their tires and the road. Tires don’t require tread designs or even much tread depth to deliver traction on dry roads. A practical example of this is the racing slicks used on stock cars and open-wheel racers that provide traction at over 200 mph. However, tires do require tread designs to generate traction on wet, slushy and snow covered roads. Liquids can’t be compressed and require time and energy to move them out of the way as our tires drive through them. Those same racing slicks would lose traction at amazingly slow speeds anytime something prevented them from maintaining contact with the road.
So a tread design is necessary to direct water and slush from between the tire and the road, as well as provide edges that bite into snow. But that’s only half the equation; because we’ve seen that tread depth also contributes to how well the design does its job. The air our tires encounter at highway speeds can easily be compressed and moved out of the way with relative ease. However the same isn’t true of liquids. When water collects on the road surface during rainstorms, the water depth, vehicle speed and vehicle weight, as well as the tires’ tread designs and tread depths collectively determine when and if the tires will be forced to hydroplane and how quickly they can stop a vehicle.
CONDITIONS, LIMITATIONS & EXCLUSIONS
- This warranty does not compensate for loss of time, use of vehicle, towing inconvenience or incidental punitive or consequential damages.
- The total liability shall not exceed the original purchase price of the tire covered by this warranty excluding applicable taxes an service charges.
- This warranty does not cover tires that have become damaged as a result of neglect, misuse, racing, abusive driving, tires with DOT numbers removed from the sidewall, vehicle mechanical problems, fire, theft, damaged caused by a collision or curb impact, chemical corrosion, ozone or weather checking, improperly inflated tires, cosmetic damages, misalignment or vandalism.
- This warranty is non-transferable and is limited
to the original purchaser and original vehicle for which the tire(s) was installed on. Tires must be rotated every 7500 miles or the warranty is void. - Repairable punctures with diameters of less
than 6mm in the tread will be repaired free of charge except for other service charges and applicable taxes. Sidewall damage is not repairable. - The “Road Hazard & Free Tire Repair Protection Plan” does not cover Zero Pressure tires or trailer tires.
- If equipped with tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) it must be fully functional.
- Road Hazard is only eligible on the purchase of all 4 tires, installed at the same time.
Note: This certificate plus the original purchase invoice for which the tire was originally installed on must be presented to American Garage, LLC at time of claim. The “Road Hazard & Free Tire Repair Protection Plan” does not imply that tires sold at American Garage, LLC are impervious to road hazard damages.