Tires: radial pinch, front wheel bearing, inflation pressure

Question
I recently had a front wheel bearing go out on my wife's car and in the process the mechanic told us that 3 of the 4 tires had belt slipage. He said that the belts had slipped outwards toward the tread. These are fairly new tires so a warranty would cover them. The dealer at the place that warranted the tires said that the indentation on the side of the tire was "radial pinch". This is a common occurance and will not be a worry or safety hazard. The blemish is not a bump or knot on the side of the tire but a small indentation. What is it really?

Answer
Bret,

You have 2 separate issues here.

1)  "Slipped belts":  Belts don't slip, but I suspect what the mechanic was referring to was irregular wear - and that is caused by misalignment and aggravated by insufficient rotation practices and insufficient inflation pressure.  I'm sure the bearing contributed to the misalignment.  Because this is beyond the control of the tire manufacturer, this would not be covered by warranty.  So if you got this covered under warranty, you got a gift from the dealer.

2)  "Radial Pinch":  Could the dealer have used the word "splice"?  That is the overlap of the plies, and just like the dealer said, it is common and is not a safety hazard as the tire is actually stronger there. Think of the tire like a balloon, and the balloon is twice a thick where the indentation occurs.