I have about 2k miles on my 05 MT. My TPMS light came on last week and one tire was low, filled it and went on, happened again yesterday, I had some time today so I stopped into MazdaDirect, Columbus, Ohio. They showed me the screw in the center of my tire, told me that they would not plug it because of "safety on z rated tires". They wanted $280 to replace the tire.

I declined the not so generous offer.

Took the car to my regular mechanic. He plugged the tire for free and told me I was good to go.

Long story short ---

Anyone hear of the safety issue the dealer is concerned about?

Thanks

 

A repaired tire can no longer be trusted to run at the speed rating limits for which it was manufactured. A Z-rated tire is good for continuous running up to 150 mph.

You can no longer assume the tire can stay together at high speeds as it was originally made to do. Hence the safety warning. You're fine for general driving, but I wouldn't trust it at speeds nearing 100 mph. I'd also put it on the rear as it's less worry should it fail on the highway.

Chris...

 

Your OK in town and light Hwy use

Don't take it to the track...those plugs have a habit of melting out when the tire gets really warm and deflating quickly....not good....

As Chris said...it's better on the back

 

I believe there is a pretty significant difference if the tire was plugged from the outside vs. the inside.

If they plugged it from the inside (taken off the rim), that's a much safer way. Still not exactly the same it was before picking up the screw, but probably quite reliable.

Personally I wouldn't want to drive on a tire that was plugged from the outside, but I'd feel OK the other way around.

 

plugs=outside

patches=inside=better....but still not heat safe

 

I believe that if you were to take it to someone like Discount Tire and have a plug/patch combo put on the tire that is will still be good up to a one less rating of the one that is on the tire. That is the proper way to fix a tire, those gummy plugs that most service stations use will come out eventually, so be careful.

 

If you drive like a grandmother you are fine... if you drive like an idiot, you are putting your life and a $35,000 car at risk for the sake of $300.

 

Thanks for your input. Looks like I gonna get a new tire to go with my almost new car. Anyone got one for sale?