Report five: 9 January 2013 - a tyre blow-out in the A7!

An hour into our journey to Northern Ireland over Christmas, the A7 flashed up a tyre pressure warning light for the driver’s side rear. We were only a couple of miles from the next services on the M40, but we never made it that far: the tyre let go in spectacular fashion as we were driving up the slip road towards the service station.

I got out to check – the tyre certainly didn’t need a top up of air any more. It was completely shredded and off the rim. As for a spare, I knew the answer before I even checked, but there was at least a compressor in the A7's boot to allow top-ups of air without the need to stop at a garage. Not that this would be much use now.

A quick call to Audi Assist, aka the RAC, and they took details of the tyre to see if they could find one at five in the morning. With 21-inch wheels and a wide, unusual profile, I knew the search was futile. Half an hour later, I received a call to say they were sending a low-loader, not a replacement tyre. It looked like our journey was over before it had barely started.

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