BunnyGirl

I acquired a large screw in my rear passenger side tire yesterday morning. I discovered it when I was going to leave in the afternoon for a job interview (tire perfectly fine in the morning when I went on an errand).

Should I get the tire repaired if it is possible or should I replace the tire? I have 7000 miles on my tires so I'm not looking to buy a whole new set at this time, would just get a tire like what is already on the car. Does anyone have experience with a repaired tire and do the repairs hold up?

chr1s

repairs hold up fine. I usually take mine to discount tire, they'll tell you if they can't repair it.

zeblien

If the screw is in the tread, it can be repaired. If the screw is in the sidewall, the tire should never be repaired (although they can be patched). But dont patch or repair any damage to the side of a tire. Dont want you to have a blow out if it fails on you.

zeblien

Chr1s

You can replace just that tire, but you should replace the back 2 tires to keep the tread wear even, and make sure they are the same brand of tire as you have now. Just dont repair a sidewall scew

Ericok

Patched IF you can find someone to do it. I have yet to get anyone to patch a sidewall puncture. Repairing a screw in the tread is not a problem (although your tire's speed rating will be affected).

reaper1

Where I'm at , you could find a few corner tire shops where they would put a rubber strip and that works . Had that done a few times. They actually call it a rubber plug. If you go to one of this Goodyear they don't do that , because of coure they want to sell the whole tire.

Aseras

daily driver plug it. if you ever plan on doing some hig mph runs or whatever, replace.

mazda8guy

Don't plug it. If it is in the tread of the tire it can be safely repaired. Get them to unmount the tire off the rim and put a patch on the inside.

Plugs are a temporary fix at home to get it to the tire shop. Generally a tire shop wont plug it at all unless there lazy and cheap.

BunnyGirl

I called my dealer to ask about this last night what they recommended. They said I could take it to them and they would plug it, but that I then would need to take it to a tire shop to get it repaired. I called the nearest tire place that sells that same tire and they said it is around $20-$25 for them to take it off and repair the inside of it for me or between $350-$400 for a new replacement tire of the same type.

I'm definitely opting for the repair, which I thought I would do anyway. I was just curious if anyone had experience with how well they hold up since I don't really know of anyone to have had that done. The screw is in the tread part just to the left of center.

I talked to the "Goodyear place" and they seemed more than interested and willing to repair it as opposed to replacing the whole tire. The guy said the majority of punctures in the tread area can be repaired.

I don't have time to deal with it today since I am working until 1:30 and then have other appointments to go to. By the time I am done the tire shop is closed. I'm going to have it taken care of on Saturday.

zeblien

Please dont plug that tire. Have them take it off and patch it if the scew is in the tread. Plugs are very temporary and can pop out. Any fix on the sidewall is dangerous and having to replace your tire, and the wheel, and the other damage done from a blow out is going to cost more then replacing 2 tires.

F22C1

Just take it to any Les Schwab, Discount Tire for a free flat repair. I always do and it's free.

Even though if you didn't buy the tire there, they do it hoping to promote future tire business when you need it.

BunnyGirl

I didn't know Les Schwab had free flat repairs. One of those is closer to me. I just don't know that I trust them with my car. I know three people that work there from when I went to school (a few years younger than me) and I don't think I would trust them to stand around holding a carboard sign!!! I suppose I could always ask for someone else if I don't like who they are assigning my car to.

New Yorker

The same thing happened to me in June. If I knew then what I know now, I would've save a lot of money.

Okay first, as others have said, your puncture is repairable. Here's an article from Tire Rack that explains everything very nicely:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=77

Before I found that article I took my car to a tire store that, believe it or not, just patched it on the outside—they didn't bother removing the tire to do a proper repair.

But there's another option. You might be able to find someone in the For Sale section selling off their OEM tires. Not only will you pay less for a replacement (I think a new one was $236 at Tire Rack), but you might find one that's close to the mileage of your other tires—even better than getting a new one. I had 3,700 miles on mine—found someone who sold me one with 3,000 miles for $125—less than the cost of a new one, and a better mileage match.

Good luck.

Aseras

well if you have another flat, whatever you do, don't use the jug of goop in thr trunk ( the IMS kit ) unless it is your LAST resort. that = replace tire.. and it's a MESS.

zeblien

Why does the goop render the tire useless? Not compairing apples to apples here, but that goop goes in bike tires as standard.

shahram72

Because it ruins the balance of the tire. I just did this to my F-150 (repair shop could not find the leak. I took it to my mechanic later and asked him to do a rotate and balance. He was unable to balance the tire even after dismounting and cleaning the inside of the tire, which I wish he had not done, because it is leaking again!

Detrich

Dang Bunny... You've had your car an entire year less than me and you already have more than double my mileage- kekekeke. (Just rolled over the 3K mile mark over here.)

I've never had a tire repaired before- with the crappy LA roads, I'm too paranoid to risk it. But, do you have the spare tire kit and/ or AAA service? Cuz' if you have at least the spare tire kit, then I think it would ok driving around on a repaired tire.

When I have some extra $, I'm planning on getting a full-size spare w/ a matching 18" OEM rim to put in my trunk and sell my Spare Tire Kit (donut)- only because I have a full-size spare in my BMW and it's been both a life saver & a time saver. When I hit a flat- which in LA happens a lot- just have AAA swap it out and my car looks exactly same as before. Then, I go to Costco whenever I have time to have them replace the blown one.

BunnyGirl

I have the spare tire so I would go with that over the goo, but I still need to get the other one fixed. Roadside Assistance will tow it for me so I don't really need to deal with that, just getting the tired fixed.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

Sorry for bring this old thread up.

if someone plug-repair the tire, can I still go to another *real* tire shop and have them patch the inside ?

cuz the *real* tire place that I usually go was closed yesterday, so I went to pepboys instead .... and for some reason I dont really trust their plug repair

Tigster

Yes if they plugged it you can take it to a tire shop and have them put a patch on the car. I have done this before while traveling.

CarAndDriver

No street tire for the RX-8 should even be that high. That is outrageous extortion. Some tire workers take people for rides just like car salesmen.

Check out tirerack.com for what you should be paying. They carry the stock RE040 for $223. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....=Potenza+RE040

PhotoMunkey

Did your mechanic replace the valve stem? Also, if the inside of the tire has been cleaned, it WILL be possible to rebalance the tire. More likely is that you have an out-of-round tire due to an internal belt stretching or failing. If the tire was run very low on air at some point (as you've indicated it has a slow leak) then you have likely already damaged the internal structure of the tire. THIS is a blow-out waiting to happen...