Broken Belt In Tire – Causes and Symptoms, How to fix?

By David Barlow
Last updated: Nov 27, 2022
Tire belt broken

Driving with a broken belt in the tire is something no one wants. This can happen to anyone who owns a car. So how to tell if a tire has a broken belt? How long do timing belts last? This article will help you understand the tire belt separation symptoms and how to handle this situation.

Bad Tire Belt Symptoms

There are many broken tire belt symptoms. This article will help you recognize the exact signs when your tire belt has any abnormality. As a result, you can get your car repaired in time, ensuring the durability of your vehicle as well as your safety.

The Noise

What does a broken tire belt sound like? Loud noises are probably the most obvious sign of a tire belt broken. If you are traveling at high speed and notice your tires squealing loudly, there is a high chance your tires are starting to separate. 

It sounds scary, doesn’t it? When the tire belt separation noise happens, do not attempt to repair it yourself or use a replacement tire. The longer it is left, the more and more severe the shaking occurs. 

Tires may start to bounce or come apart. Tire belts broken is also one of the causes of increased tire wear, effectively reducing friction with the road surface. Moving on slippery, winding roads, or under bad weather such as too much rain or snow will become very difficult and dangerous.

The only thing that you can do is take the car in for repair immediately because if you insist on going, it spares too much room for things to go wrong. Only a new tire can solve the tire separation.

The Shape

You can tell when a tire belt is broken or damaged by the change in the shape of the tire. When there is a problem, you have to stop moving and look from the outside to see if your tires have changed in shape or not. Then pay attention to possible cracks, tread wear, and spacing.

A tire is split when there is a change in the internal structure of your tire. If not handled in time, they can separate from the outer tire. The tread of the tire will peel off from its inherent internal structure. 

When it leaves its place, bumps on the tire will appear and create an irregular shape of the tire. This separation poses a danger to you, significantly reducing the handling and traction.

In such a case, if you are in an area where there are no people or buildings around, make a temporary fix by using a spare tire. Then, drive immediately to the nearest garage to get timely car repair support from experienced people. It is best to replace the tire with a new one then.

The Vibration

Some car owners had reported that when they had a tire broken belt, their steering wheel began to shake violently, making it hard to ensure the tire broken belt safe drive. It is one of the signs to know that your tires are in trouble, and it is likely that you are riding in a vehicle with a damaged tire belt.

In fact, the shaking of your steering wheel can also be due to a few reasons such as an imbalance of the tires, a problem with the internal system of the car, or the adjustment of parameters is not appropriate, etc. 

Therefore, instead of worrying too much, you should invest in a car repair promptly before the symptoms become worse and damage your car.

What causes a broken belt in the tire?

There are a few causes of broken belts in tires that you should be aware of so that you can provide timely solutions when encountering this situation. Let’s find out the three biggest reasons listed below.

Tire Defects

You might say that it is impossible that your new car has a bad tire, right? But it is true and is a very common mistake in car production today. 

During the manufacturing process, technicians can make errors. The treads that do not adhere to the tire casing or the treads with spacing problems will lead to the tire not performing well.

This is a very dangerous problem and you need to contact the supplier immediately to address the problem or to exchange for another car. In this case, you will most likely receive compensation because of the manufacturer’s fault.

Defective tire belts
Defective tire belts

Rough Roads And High Speeds

A car that goes for a long time without maintenance will have a lot of problems, especially tire-related ones. Due to its frequent exposure to many different types of terrain, the tire belt can be broken when overcoming obstacles on the way. 

Those obstacles include bumpy roads, slippery roads, roads with many cracks, to name a few. Your tire’s life span will tremendously degrade if you go through these rough terrain. 

If you drive at high speed on such roads, we’re sure that your tires will end up in the dump soon. Continuous use and lack of maintenance will cause a rapid breakdown, not only with tire belts but also with other vehicle components.

Tread Separation

The upper part of this article reiterates a lot about tread separation because of its seriousness. On each tire, there are grooves and veins, and the manufacturer has designed them logically and scientifically to help the wheel have enough friction when coming into contact with the road surface. 

Without grooves and veins, the tires will be slippery and can slide, causing danger to you, especially when you ride at high speed or encounter obstacles on the road. You may lose control of your vehicle.

Tire Separation
Tire Separation

Tire Wear

Your vehicle may experience tire separation if it has bad tire wear. Tires also have an odometer. If you ignore the number displayed on this meter and continue to use the vehicle, it may lead to damage to your tire rims. 

Knowing how many kilometers your car has traveled is essential because you will know if you need to bring your car in for warranty service. The manufacturer also recommends that car users should pay attention to this parameter to ensure that their vehicle is operated smoothly and safely.

You should prepare yourself a tire checker tool, specifically your tread. When using this tool, you will know the degree of wear of the tires and the condition of the treads. 

This checkup is especially important as it will tell you how much friction your wheel has with the road surface. If not checked regularly, a thin tire will lead to a split in the tire, or a rupture of the belt, becoming very vulnerable to external influences.

Defective Belts

One thing you should know is that most manufacturers do not make their own tire belts but hire an outside supplier to make them. 

The essence of the belts in the tires are steel ropes, which keep the tire’s shape unchanged when riding on flat terrain and reduce the impact when riding on bad, uneven terrain. 

The manufacturer will use multiple layers of rubber to protect these steel straps. The stronger the tire belt, the more durable the tire will be.

However, while these belts are of particular importance to the vehicle, it is inevitable that they will sometimes have a manufacturing defect, especially when there is a third party to take care of these belts. 

Any error in the process, such as choosing poor quality steel wire, unqualified rubber layers to protect the belts, will directly affect the quality of the tire belt.

As a user, you need to thoroughly understand the manufacturing process before buying a car. You should ask the seller for relevant information about your vehicle and test drive to make sure everything works fine.

Driving Time On A Broken Tire Belt

How long will a timing belt last? As mentioned in this article, you should not drive when your tire belt is broken. So, to the question of how long you can keep driving in such a situation, there is no definite answer.

Driving Time On A Broken Tire Belt
Driving Time On A Broken Tire Belt

Once the belt has a problem, your tires can come off at any moment. But before that, the situation of tire blowing will happen, and the possibility of losing control will be very high.

It is hard to provide the proper answer to the question “How long does a timing belt last?” To avoid dangerous situations, the advice for you is to work hard to check your car regularly for any problems. Visually check the exterior first and get help from a technician when you bring it to the repair facility.

Make sure you don’t go cheap and buy yourself a poor-quality tire. Using a car with cheap tires will be extremely dangerous because you cannot know in advance what obstacles you will encounter on the road. They cannot protect you from accidents.

Conclusion

Through this article, make sure you know the basic signs and effects of a car with a tire belt broken. Any unusual problem that occurs with a vehicle is worth noting because it directly affects your safety.

There is no accurate answer to the question: how long does a timing belt last? Therefore, you should check your car regularly for the engine, internal parts, fuel, tires to detect abnormalities as soon as possible. 

As soon as you realize that your car has a problem, contact the manufacturer as well as the automotive repair shop for timely support. Even if there are no problems, regular car maintenance is essential and advised.

David Barlow

Automotive Experts at World Tire Review

Hi everyone, I’m David (Tireguy). I believe that finding tires can lead to a lot of confusion and frustration for almost every driver. That’s why I would like to bring my experiences and knowledges to develop World Tire Review blog, it will give people a deeper understanding of what choosing the right tire is really like!