I noticed a slow leak in my rear tire this weekend and found a screw stuck straight in between the treads. The other rear tire was low and may have a slow leak as well but I haven't found any damage yet. The car (04 ody) has 6k miles so far and not much wear on the tires.

If it's up to about a quarter inch in diameter, you can get the tire repaired. Reputable shops will dismount the tire, plug the hole, and then patch it from the inside. The plug-only repairs are apparently not legal in many localities. The tire will have to be remounted and rebalanced, so it's probably a $20-30 repair.

Wayne

 

Two of my tires got nail when they were around 9k miles. I have them repaired and as Wayne said, it costs about $22 each. Now, more than a year and around 22k miles, everything seems fine.

Good lucks!

 

Thanks for the info. Sounds like a repair is the best option as long as I can find a reasonable place who does it.

Geoff

 

Something similiar happend to me earlier this year and I just took it to the place we get our tires at and it was exactly $15.

There is no notation on the receipt about balancing. This place, however, does free rotations (and I think balancings) for cars with tires purchased from them.

 

Did the same thing about 3 weeks ago--$15 and they balanced it too. As long as the damage is on the tread patch it. If it's on the sidewall you have no choice but to replace it--which I did about a year ago. No plugs, patch from the inside only. If its done right it'll be good as new.

 

That happened to me today, costs me additional $12 for the tire repair on top of the $49.95 for the 7500 miles service at the dealer.

 

Go for the repair. I just had a tire replaced on my '04 at 6k miles because of a torn sidewall. The cost was $135 plus labor to balance/install and whatever. Total was $150.

 

Did repaired mine 2 weeks ago for $15 from American Tire Co--
they balanced it too. They just patched it from inside ( no plugs
thoguh ) and said their repair is guarenteed up to 50k miles. Now
i have 400 miles after repair still looks good.

 

Thanks again. This is a big help since I've never dealt with a repariable flat. All mine have been shredded by the time I stop or sidewall issues.

Geoff

 

Thanks again. This is a big help since I've never dealt with a repariable flat. All mine have been shredded by the time I stop or sidewall issues.

Geoff

Hubby is in tires. Repair is fine and will last the life of the tire. If the tires are not OEM, take it to wherever you purchased them and they will probably repair at no cost.

 

Repaired the tires yesterday, patched from the inside. I had a screw in one rear tire and a nail in the other. Total for both was $40. So far no issue with balance or further leakage.

I've since been told that Costco does this for free for members, although they're very busy so the vehicle needs to be left for the day.

Geoff

 

Tires

If you need to replace, try BJ's Wholesale. Michelin Symmetry tires for $112.99, mounted, balanced, etc. You could also try taking that price to your dealer (if you have a relationship); I went to Mahwah Honda (maligned on dealer horror stories site by others, but I like them) and they matched the price.

 

Repaired the tires yesterday, patched from the inside. I had a screw in one rear tire and a nail in the other. Total for both was $40. So far no issue with balance or further leakage.

I've since been told that Costco does this for free for members, although they're very busy so the vehicle needs to be left for the day.

Geoff

That is right. AT costco rotation is free for members, but balancing is also free if you buy tires from them. You might have got costco goldstar memship for that price ( around $40 ) and enjoyed free rotation for a year. Enjoy!!!!

 

I had 4 nails on 4 different tires in the last 2 years in the Seattle area. Two of them were repairable (with nails in the middle of the tread). The other two were not repairable (with one nail on the sidewall and the other on the shoulder).

Both repairs were done free of charge at Issaquah Costco (next to the headquarter). It took them less than 90 minutes to get the repairs done.

I paid about $25 each for the two replacements. Issqauah Costco charged me on a pro rata basis.


Here are some interesting statistics according to my experiences.

New York City - 12+ years - No nail problem
Buffalo area - 4+ years - No nail problem
Driving across US - 5+ months - No nail problem
Detroit area - 3+ years - One nail problem
Seattle area - 2+ years - Four nail problems

 

Something similiar happend to me earlier this year and I just took it to the place we get our tires at and it was exactly $15.

15 here too

 

I guess I was lucky. I had my tires rotated and balanced about a month ago at Discount Tire in Duluth, GA and paid a little more for a free lifetime rotation and balance (for the life of the tire). Well yesterday I got a nail in the tire and they fixed the flat for free. They took the tire off the rim and fixed it from the inside.

I've been very pleased so far with their prices and service. They seem to take extra steps to make sure they dont over torque your wheels and have good equipment.

 

Here are some interesting statistics according to my experiences.

New York City - 12+ years - No nail problem
Buffalo area - 4+ years - No nail problem
Driving across US - 5+ months - No nail problem
Detroit area - 3+ years - One nail problem
Seattle area - 2+ years - Four nail problems

Is there a building boom in Seattle?

 

While on the subject of flat repairs, gota question for you avid Oddy folks.

I live in Fort Worth, Texas. With the high level of construction here and relatively frequent roof repairs (hail damage) we get lots of nails in our tires. I got tired of having to, almost monthly, take my cars to Discount Tire. Yes, the repairs are free, but the time was getting excessive.

A few of the repairs were done on the road and I noticed that most mom and pop gas stations use the simple fiberous plugs that are sold at Wal-Mart and similar retailers. The kit comes with a tool that's sorta like a round file to rough-up the hole and there's an insertion tool and a rubber "vulcanizing" cement. The procedure calls for removal of the nail/screw, rough-up the hole with the file, put the plug on the insertion tool, coat it liberally with the cement, and stick it into the tire. After a few minutes the excess plug is cut off.

The instructions make it very clear that this is only for small holes in the tread portion of the tire. It is not for a shoulder/sidewall hole - generally not repairable.

I decided to start doing this myself after having Discount Tire used the same procedure on a few tires I took to them. I asked the manager about it and he said if the cause of the flat was really small, like a roofing nail, then the plugs were ok. Larger holes require this fancy patch/plug combo thing.

Using the kit from Wal-Mart, I've fixed probably 30 or so flats over the last 6 years, all in steel belted radials, and never, never have had one issue. No blow-outs, no slow leaks, nothing. The plug is so small that it apparently does not impact the balance of the tire. Generally when I do the repair most of the air leaks out but I have a compressor so I can re-inflate the tire. If the repair is done on a front tire, I can do it without even removing the tire by turning the steering wheel as needed.

I'm wondering if any other readers have tried this themselves and can comment. I have to admit I'm always a little apprehensive about it, but I have yet to have any problem with it. Wal-Mart sells piles of these kits so obviously lots of other folks are using them, too. If there were really a problem I hope they would be made illegal.

Thanks,

Keith

 

I have used those kits for many years and they work just fine. I usually take one along on road trips to do a quick repair on the road.