‘Do Not Leave Your Car Out in the Heat:' Woman Says It's So Hot Her Grandmother's Buick's Tires Exploded. Is That Possible?
Having a car involves a fair share of weather-related worries.
Rain makes the roads slick, ice can send you skidding, and fog cuts down your visibility so that you can't see more than a few feet in front of you at times.
Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily.
back
Sign up
For more information, read our
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use
.
While we may know to slow down when it's wet, not to use
cruise control
in the rain, and to turn the headlights on in the fog, many may be unaware that even a hot sunny day can cause a serious, and dangerous, weather-related driving condition.
What Can Heat Do to Your Car?
In a
viral slideshow
with more than 180,000 views, content creator @princessblubbergyatt shared the shocking thing she says that happened to her grandma's
Buick
.
'It's so hot in Ohio that my grandma's tire literally exploded from the heat,' the text overlay on the TikTok reads.
On this day, there was an extreme heat watch in Ohio, with temperatures projected to reach up to 93 degrees. The real feel was in the triple digits.
'What da fawk,' @princessblubbergyatt adds.
From the photos, you can see that a lot of damage was done by the sudden explosion. Not only did the tire come apart, but the hood and the fender ripped apart and peeled away.
In the caption, @princessblubbergyatt warns that you should avoid leaving your car in direct sunlight. 'Don't leave ur car in the sun,' she writes.
Can Heat Make Tires Explode?
Trending Now
'How Bad Is This?' Woman Hears a Clink While She's Driving. Then She Pulls Over and IDs the Real Source of the Problem
'It Saved Me Money:' Woman Goes to Discount Tire for New Tires. Then She Pulls Out Her Costco Card
When a tire gets too hot, the air inside it expands, increasing the tire pressure. The pressure of the air can tear through a tire's surface and lead to an explosion,
CarParts.com
explains.
Heat is the most common reason tires explode. Other reasons include inflating your tire to the wrong PSI (pounds per square inch), particularly under inflating; driving recklessly; and having faulty tires.
Blowouts are still quite rare, however.
'From 1996 to 2002, tire blowouts only occurred in 6.5% of the cars that represented more than 80% of the vehicles involved in crashes,'
CarParts.com
reports.
While this is a rare occurrence, in 2017, there were 738 fatalities due to tire blowouts.
That's why it's important to make sure your tires are in good condition, properly inflated, and not to drive recklessly.
How Much Do Tires Cost?
One tire, depending on the type, can cost anywhere from $50 to $1,500.
Smaller tires generally cost less. For example, tires for 12-inch to 15-inch wheels will usually be in the $80 to $150 range, while those for 18-inch to 26-inch wheels range from $140 to $500,
NerdWallet
reports.
The labor will run you about $50 to $300 on average.
Nearly $2,000 for tires, if you're paying on the high end for both parts and labor, may seem like a lot. But a large bill for routine car maintenance is preferable to getting in an accident.
'It Had to be Over-Inflated'
People who commented on @princessblubbergyatt's post weren't convinced that heat was the only reason her grandmother's tire exploded.
'That thing had to be overinflated lol. Remember to go off the PSI on the door of the car not the tire,' a top comment reads.
'(Grandma talks) I don't understand why it went flat I blew it up to 100%,' another person joked.
'Yeah tires don't just explode bc of heat, it had to be over-inflated,' a third speculated.
Motor1
reached out to @princessblubbergyatt for comment via TikTok direct message and comment. We'll be sure to update this if she responds.
More From Motor1
Buick Is So Big in China It Has Its Own Sub-Brand
This Electric Buick Concept Looks Absolutely Beautiful
'It Saved Me Money:' Woman Goes to Discount Tire for New Tires. Then She Pulls Out Her Costco Card
'Anybody Got Any Idea What These Are?' Mechanic Works on a Customer's Truck. Then He Sees Something Unusual on the Tire
Share this Story
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Flipboard
Reddit
WhatsApp
E-Mail
Got a tip for us? Email:
tips@motor1.com
Join the conversation
(
)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Joey Logano Reveals Terrifying Moment at Track Before Pocono
Joey Logano Reveals Terrifying Moment at Track Before Pocono originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Joey Logano finished 16th on Sunday at Pocono and The Tricky Triangle. Through 17 races, the three-time Cup Series champion has recorded 11 top 20s, four of them inside the top 10, including his win at Texas Motor Speedway in early May. Advertisement On Tuesday, the Team Penske driver made his regular weekly appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio for his "Behind the Wheel" segment. He recapped his mediocre weekend in Pennsylvania and also brought up how he was invited by RTR Vehicles to attend their Formula Drift event at the Raceway Park in New Jersey — his first time being hosted at such an event. "And speaking of car culture, that's a cool car culture that's different from what NASCAR is," the 35-year-old said. "It was fun to see because they had all other types of cars that they were drifting. The atmosphere is quite different, but fun to see." Joey Logano during practice for NASCAR Championship race at Phoenix J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Recalling the event, however, he revealed the horrifying moment when what he described as a tornado hit the racetrack—his first experience of this nature. Advertisement "A tornado went through there," he said. "That was wild while I was there. A tree fell on top of one of the race cars or drift cars. I don't think they call them race cars because they're not racing. A tree fell right on the roof. Crushed it, crushed the car. It was a pretty wild event. I can't say I've been in the middle of something like that before. "But it was like, you know, when a storm's rolling in, you're like, 'Oh, it's just a storm.' Then, all of a sudden, you see things flying through the air, and you start looking for the cow that's flying. I'm like, 'Oh boy.' The billboards were flying. Like the billboards flew onto the racetrack - all of this stuff," he described. Understandably, he was greatly concerned about his family during the chaotic storm. "I'm sitting in this suite, and I'm like — step back from the windows, let's go to the corner over here, get the kids kind of corralled," he explained."This is no longer a safe place. Advertisement "Then, when you walk back outside after the storm rolls through, you see trees down. And as I said, billboards were on the racetrack, and it was crazy. It was pretty wild," the Penske driver concluded. Despite his claims of a tornado, the National Weather Service office in the area suggested that the damage was caused by dangerous straight-line winds exceeding 60 mph. Related: Joey Logano Warns NASCAR It Is Flirting With Disaster at Certain Tracks Related: Denny Hamlin Pauses Interview to Deliver Somber Post-Race Tribute at Pocono This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Toyota Sales Hit Third Monthly Record on Japan, US Demand
Toyota Motor Corp. 's sales reached a third straight monthly record in May on strong demand for hybrid vehicles in the US, Japan and China, even as global automakers braced for big losses triggered by President Donald Trump's tariffs on imported cars. Toyota's global sales — including subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. — reached 955,532 vehicles last month, up 8% from a year earlier, the company said Friday. Worldwide production came in at 906,984 units.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Redwood Materials launches energy storage business and its first target is AI data centers
Tucked between two massive buildings in the hills of the Nevada desert, 805 retired EV batteries lie in neat formation, each one wrapped in nondescript white tarps — and hiding in plain sight. A passerby might not realize this unassuming array is the largest microgrid in North America, that it's powering a 2,000 GPU modular data center for AI infrastructure company Crusoe, or that it represents the next big act of JB Straubel, the co-founder and CEO of Redwood Materials. Redwood Materials announced Thursday during an event at its Sparks, Nevada facility that it was launching an energy storage business that will leverage the thousands of EV batteries it has collected as part of its battery recycling business to provide power to companies, starting with AI data centers. The new business, called Redwood Energy, is kicking off with partner Crusoe, a startup Straubel invested in 2021. The old EVs, which are not yet ready for recycling, store energy generated from an adjacent solar array. The system, which generates 12 MW of power and has 63 MWh of capacity, sends power to a modular data center built by Crusoe, the AI infrastructure company best known for its large-scale data center campus in Abilene, Texas — the initial site of the Stargate project. The scale of Redwood's battery collection operation is staggering. Redwood said it recovers more than 70% of all used or discarded battery packs in North America. Today, it processes more than 20 GWh of batteries annually—the equivalent of 250,000 EVs. It has apparently been stockpiling batteries that aren't ready for recycling, with more than 1 gigawatt-hour worth in its inventory already. In the coming months, it expects to receive another 4 gigawatt-hours. By 2028, the company said it plans to deploy 20 gigawatt-hours of grid-scale storage, placing it on track to become the largest repurposer of used EV battery packs. Straubel's confidence in the endeavor was apparent in every detail of the launch event. To illustrate the commitment of Redwood — and by extension, Straubel — everything about the production, from the lights and music to the projection on the big screen were powered by the microgrid. 'We wanted to go all in,' Straubel said, breaking into a wide, toothy smile. Splashy effects for the event aside, the microgrid setup with Crusoe is not a demonstration project. Straubel said this is a revenue-generating operation, which was constructed in four months, and one that is profitable. He added that even more of these will be deployed with other customers this year. 'I think this has the potential to grow faster than the core recycling business,' he Materials has been on an expansion tear in recent years. The company, which has raised $2 billion in private funds, was founded in 2017 by Straubel, the former Tesla CTO and current board member, to create a circular supply chain. The company started by recycling scrap from battery cell production as well as consumer electronics like cell phone batteries and laptop computers. After processing these discarded goods and extracting materials like cobalt, nickel and lithium that are typically mined, Redwood supplies those back to Panasonic and other customers. Over time, the company has expanded beyond recycling and into cathode production. Redwood generated $200 million in revenue in 2024, much of which comes from the sale of battery materials like cathodes. The company's footprint has grown too, and well beyond its Carson City, Nevada headquarters. It has locked up deals with Toyota, Panasonic, and GM, started construction on a South Carolina factory, and made an acquisition in Europe. Redwood Energy is the next step — and one that isn't tied to setting up its systems to be off-grid. The retired EV batteries can be powered by wind and solar, or they can be tied to the grid. In the case of the Crusoe project, the system is powered by solar. 'There's no green intent required here,' CTO Colin Campbell said during a tour of the microgrid. 'It's a good economic choice that also happens to be carbon-free.' The business model addresses a longstanding challenge in the energy storage sector. For over a decade, companies have been promising to build grid-scale storage from used EV batteries, but they've only materialized in small amounts. Redwood, which got its start as a battery materials and recycling company, is creating a new line that promises to deliver gigawatts of much needed energy storage in just a few years. 'This really demonstrates how economical the waste hierarchy actually is,' Jessica Dunn, a battery expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told TechCrunch. That a large recycler like Redwood recognized the profit potential in repurposed EV batteries shows 'where this end-of-life market will go,' she added. Repurposing batteries is a clear business opportunity for Redwood, but it might also be a business imperative. Redwood was founded to build a supply chain that could handle the predicted wave of used EV batteries that will hit the market. But that wave hasn't materialized quite as quickly as some predicted. 'If Redwood didn't enter the repurposing market, then they wouldn't get a share from the repurposed battery. They'd have to wait the five, 10, 15 years until they retired,' she said. In the meantime, other companies would be able to sell the batteries for grid-scale storage, cutting Redwood out of years of revenue. Straubel acknowledged this, noting in an interview that in many ways Redwood Materials started a bit early. 'We started really early, and in a way we started Redwood almost too early,' he said, noting the company initially was collecting consumer batteries and production scrap ahead of the coming wave of EVs. The current state of the recycling market underscores the challenge. 'Right now, the recycling market is mostly manufacturing scrap, consumer electronics, and EV batteries that have failed under warranty,' Dunn said. That has been enough for Redwood to process over 20 gigawatt-hours annually. But it pales in comparison to the 350 gigawatt-hours in EVs today and the 150 gigawatt-hours expected to hit the road every year. Redwood currently has a recycling facility at its 175-acre campus in Sparks, Nevada, and it's developing a 600-acre facility in Charleston, South Carolina. The latter will remanufacture cathode and anode copper foil, both of which contain critical minerals that the U.S. would prefer stayed within its borders. The company previously said that it will be capable of making 100 gigawatt-hours annually of cathode active material and anode foil by the end of this year. By the end of the decade, it expects production to hit 500 gigawatt-hours. Sign in to access your portfolio
