[lmacmil]

Yesterday my wife came home and said she heard a thumping noise that varied with speed. We drove around the block and I could hear it too. Looked at the left side tires (not carefully enough as it turned out) and didn't see anything. This morning she gets in, drives less than a block and notices the TPMS light on. Pulls back into the garage and the left front tire is just about flat.

Haven't jacked it up yet to see what the issue is. I assume it's a puncture that won't be covered under warranty. If it's a repairable puncture, my dilemma will be do I get it repaired for $15-20 and then worry about it for the next 40,000 miles or bite the bullet and spend $125 (Tirerack price) on a new tire. I suspect my wife will want a new tire and it's probably worth it for the piece of mind.

 

[RTexasF]

I've never yet had a tire repair fail and that's over five decades.....many flats over that time.

 

[Nodnerb]

I've never had a repair fail either. I'm assuming you have a new hybrid? Mine came with a new tire warranty pamphlet in my user manual carrying case. The dealer even pointed this out. I haven't really read it though but you may want to check and see if you have one. I wouldn't be surprised if your dealer just repaired it free of charge. Or maybe if it's bad enough it can get replaced through the new tire warranty assuming its applicable.

 

[erapmicks]

Do u have the Michelin tires?


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[lmacmil]

I'm almost embarrassed to post this picture since it shows what a crappy job I did yesterday looking at the tire. Obviously I didn't look at the entire circumference or I wouldn't have missed this. I will look at the tire warranty but would be shocked if it covered road hazards. If you can't tell, that's an Allen wrench! I'm taking it to a local tire store this afternoon.

 

[Nodnerb]

Wow, that's some really unlikely and crappy luck to get that stuck in there. You haven't pissed anyone off have you? Almost seems impossible unless someone stuck the long end of the wrench in the groove of the tire to keep it upright so that when you pull away the short end punctures. Not that I'm a conspiracy theorist or anything. Just seems so unlikely.

 

[lmacmil]

Wow, that's some really unlikely and crappy luck to get that stuck in there. You haven't pissed anyone off have you? Almost seems impossible unless someone stuck the long end of the wrench in the groove of the tire to keep it upright so that when you pull away the short end punctures. Not that I'm a conspiracy theorist or anything. Just seems so unlikely.

My wife is just about the most pleasant person around so I doubt she pissed off anyone. I'll just chalk it up to bad luck. If that's the worst thing that happens this month, I guess we'll call ourselves lucky. :laugh

 

[Blogson]

That puncture should be repairable unless driving with that in the tire has damaged the tire carcass. My wife had a puncture in the rear tire of her CR-V a few years ago and she didn't know about the puncture until she had driven several hundred miles, the puncture was repaired, and she drove with that tire for at least a year and a half without incident until she traded in the vehicle. I haven't had a puncture repair fail either, and I've had a number of punctures both in the U.K. and in the U.S.

 

[rsn48]

Get the tire repaired, its ridiculous to throw away a perfectly serviceable tire. A tire can take up to three repairs, after that it should be replaced. On our VW Passat we do have one tire that was repaired three times for punctures, all within the first year of our ownership. Like others here I have had many tires repaired over the 50+ years of driving I have done and no repair has failed.

 

[ny_rob]

That's easily repairable by a tire shop- they'll patch it from the inside- it will never fail if repaired by a pro from the inside.

I got a similar puncture (from a hex bit) the first week I owned my Volt- got it repaired... that was two years and 30k + miles ago...

 

[Voyager]

Looks repairable. Get an opinion from a quality shop. If you must replace, I’d purchase 2 new tires (of exact same brand/size/etc.) and always keep them on the same end. YMMV.

 

[lmacmil]

Looks repairable. Get an opinion from a quality shop. If you must replace, I’d purchase 2 new tires (of exact same brand/size/etc.) and always keep them on the same end. YMMV.

Just waiting for the tire shop to call and tell me it's done (or that it can't be repaired.) I think with only 600 miles on the tires I'd be safe to replace just one if it comes to that.

 

[Voyager]

600 miles? I think your assessment is right.

2 years ago, my wife ran over an old ratty pair of pliers lying in the road. Destroyed a 19” Toyo tire with 14,500 miles on it. Going with the “left and right must match” philosophy, discovered 2 new 19” Toyos were so ridiculously priced that I went with 4 new Continentals instead. That was one expensive pair of pliers! :surprise

 

[vanib]

This tire can be repaired easily. I would bet that even a simple plug will do that job ($5 at any auto store) and last at least 50K miles. But any tire shop will also want to patch it from the inside. Even then it should be around $30.

 

[lmacmil]

This tire can be repaired easily. I would bet that even a simple plug will do that job ($5 at any auto store) and last at least 50K miles. But any tire shop will also want to patch it from the inside. Even then it should be around $30.

They patched it from the inside and it was $18. Worth every penny! Those 18" wheels seem a lot heavier than the 17s on the Highlander we traded. Hope I don't have to remove another one anytime soon.

 

[lmacmil]

2 years ago, my wife ran over an old ratty pair of pliers lying in the road. Destroyed a 19” Toyo tire with 14,500 miles on it. Going with the “left and right must match” philosophy, discovered 2 new 19” Toyos were so ridiculously priced that I went with 4 new Continentals instead. That was one expensive pair of pliers! :surprise

The guy who wrote up the work order said his wife once ran over a pair of needle-hose pliers that went through both the tread and the sidewall. The place I took to has a jar on the counter of the things they've pulled out of tires. There was a railroad spike in it! Made my little Allen wrench look pretty silly.

My son got 2 flats on his Murano with 20" wheels in less than a year. Soon after he found a set of practically new 18" rims on Craigslist. After selling the 20" rims, he practically broke even even though he had to buy 18" tires too. Of course, he's never had a flat since.

 

[JuneBug]

Don't be embarrassed! I once ran over a phillips screwdriver that punctured a tire on our minivan. Took it back to Sam's Club where we bought the tires WITH road hazard warranty. They claimed that the puncture was too close to the sidewall and they couldn't fix it--but they could sell me a new tire. It was about the same distance from the sidewall as your allen wrench. Drove it home, put a plug in it, and ran that tire until it was worn out!!

 

[lmacmil]

I once ran over a phillips screwdriver that punctured a tire on our minivan. Took it back to Sam's Club where we bought the tires WITH road hazard warranty. They claimed that the puncture was too close to the sidewall and they couldn't fix it--but they could sell me a new tire.

There must have been some very fine print in that warranty. I've never bought the road hazard warranty but I assumed they would repair or replace as required. If not, it's not worth much.