Editorial Comment:

First, look at the following web address to get their OEM warranty and contact info. If the toll free numbers don't work you might try a direct line.

From your description it sounds that the tire has damage that may have been caused to the tire during use, which Nexen's warranty does not cover. I know your daughter says (no potholes, no curbs) but there still may be other causes that she doesn't know about or wasn't aware of when it happened.

If anyone who is familiar with tire adjustment were to see your tire they can usually just by looking whether 90% of the damages they see are caused by use or by a defect in manufacture. The description you've given gives me about a 50/50 chance it might be use damamge, but without seeing the tire I can't be sure.

I'm not siding with Nexen, just trying to give you a realistic expectation.

In any case you should not be driving on this tire, so, why not take it off, put on the spare, and then drive into a tire dealer and ask them if what they see can be repaired. They'll almost certainly say "No." Then ask them what causes the kind of damage they see, and get their opinion. If they say road damage, don't bother to waste your time trying to chase Nexen.

TG