Apollo Tyres — apollo tyres rejects warranty - sidewall burst on brand new innova crysta at 3000 km - family's lives at risk

Address: Ashok Nagar, Chennai

I am filing this complaint against Apollo Tyres Limited for rejecting my legitimate warranty claim and putting the lives of my family at serious risk due to a defective tyre.
Incident Details:

Vehicle: Toyota Innova Crysta (Registration: TN09DR0***)
Vehicle Cost: ₹26+ Lakhs
Purchase Date: September 26, 2025
Incident Date: Last week of November 2025
Odometer Reading at Incident: Approximately 3000 km
Apollo Complaint Reference: TC[protected]
Customer ID: CI[protected]

What Happened:
On a routine family trip, the front left tyre (Apollo Apterra H/LS TL, Size: 205/65 R16 95S, Serial No: 0425) suddenly burst from the sidewall while driving on a normal road. My family of 4 members, including myself, were in the vehicle. By God's grace, I managed to control the car and stop safely. This could have been a fatal accident that would have claimed the lives of all four family members.
Impact on My Family:
The trauma caused by this life-threatening incident has been devastating:

Entire trip plan collapsed: Our family trip, which we had planned and looked forward to, was completely ruined. We had to abandon all our plans and return home in distress.
Severe panic attack: The near-death experience triggered a severe panic attack for me and caused extreme fear among all family members. It took me two full days to recover from the shock and trauma. The image of what could have happened to my family keeps haunting me.
Complete loss of confidence: I no longer have the confidence to drive my own vehicle with the same Apollo tyres fitted on it. A car worth ₹26+ lakhs is now sitting idle because I am genuinely afraid for my family's safety. How can I trust tyres from a company that produces such defective products and then refuses to take responsibility?
Mental agony: The constant fear and anxiety about the remaining three Apollo tyres is causing ongoing mental stress. Every time I think about driving with my family, I am reminded of how close we came to losing our lives.

Actions Taken:
I immediately took my vehicle to EPIC Toyota Service Center, Erunkancherry on November 28, 2025. They inspected the tyre and raised a warranty complaint to Apollo Tyres on my behalf.
Apollo's Response:
Apollo Tyres issued a Technical Inspection Report dated December 1, 2025, rejecting my warranty claim. They stated the failure was due to "external impact" and "SIDEWALL THROUGH CUT" - not a manufacturing defect. This is completely unacceptable for the following reasons:

Only 3000 km driven - A quality tyre should not fail so soon under normal driving conditions
Normal road conditions - Thousands of vehicles pass on the same roads daily without tyre bursts
All other tyres are fine - If it was road damage, why did only one tyre fail?
Remaining tread depth was 7.70 mm with only 8.33% wear - clearly indicating minimal usage
Multiple similar complaints online - I found numerous complaints against Apollo Tyres for similar sidewall failures

My Demands:

Full tyre replacement: Replace all four Apollo tyres with a reputed brand (MRF/Bridgestone/Michelin) at Apollo's cost. I refuse to drive my family on Apollo tyres anymore.
Compensation for trauma: Appropriate compensation for the mental trauma, panic attacks, sleepless nights, and the constant fear that my family and I continue to experience
Compensation for ruined trip: Reimbursement for the trip expenses that were wasted due to this incident
Product recall: Apollo should recall and investigate this batch of tyres (Serial starting with 0425) for quality issues to prevent other families from facing similar life-threatening situations
Written apology: A formal written apology from Apollo Tyres for the trauma caused

Supporting Documents Attached:

Apollo Tyres Technical Inspection Report (Complaint Ref: TC[protected]
Vehicle registration details
Service center records from EPIC Toyota

This is not just about a defective tyre - this is about the safety and lives of consumers. Apollo Tyres cannot simply reject warranty claims by blaming "external impact" for what appears to be a manufacturing or quality defect. A tyre bursting at 3000 km on a brand new premium vehicle worth ₹26+ lakhs is absolutely abnormal. Because of Apollo's defective product, I nearly lost my entire family, our trip was ruined, I suffered panic attacks for two days, and now I live in constant fear of driving my own car.
I request the consumer forum to intervene and provide justice. No other family should go through what we experienced.
Contact:
VijayKumar Anbu
Ashok Nagar, Chennai
Email: vijayakumar.[protected]@gmail.com