[HappyG]

I just found out I have a nail in one rear tire on my M50. Really regretting not getting tire coverage from Discount Tire now…but my question is If I use the tire kit to seal will that prolong the tire life long enough that I should go that route or Is it a truly temp fix if on a trip so I should save the repair kit and just get the 19” tire replaced (and if so, is it best to replace both rear tires - promptly followed by coverage)
Thanks for helping and still loving this vehicle!

 

[gsbaker]

I just found out I have a nail in one rear tire on my M50. Really regretting not getting tire coverage from Discount Tire now…but my question is If I use the tire kit to seal will that prolong the tire life long enough that I should go that route or Is it a truly temp fix if on a trip so I should save the repair kit and just get the 19” tire replaced (and if so, is it best to replace both rear tires - promptly followed by coverage)
Thanks for helping and still loving this vehicle!

I assume you will pull the nail out, as it would worry the hole. If you leave it in you could go a few miles to get it patched. If you do you will remove it you will be fully flat and will depend on the repair foam.

Go to a good repair place for advice. Too close to the side and you can't patch. But if you can patch there are rubber plugs that can be glued in without removing the tire.

with a good patch you may be able to eke out an existance until you can buy tire insurance.

though you may not want to claim a blowout of a patched tire.

 

[HappyG]

I assume you will pull the nail out, as it would worry the hole. If you leave it in you could go a few miles to get it patched. If you do you will remove it you will be fully flat and will depend on the repair foam.

Go to a good repair place for advice. Too close to the side and you can't patch. But if you can patch there are rubber plugs that can be glued in without removing the tire.

with a good patch you may be able to eke out an existance until you can buy tire insurance.

though you may not want to claim a blowout of a patched tire.

Thank you. I had not considered a patch which may be the better option. I will check at a tire repair place as suggested. Really like your sunset orange. Family overruled me, but I think thats a great color for the i4

 

[pjbm4]

Thank you. I had not considered a patch which may be the better option. I will check at a tire repair place as suggested. Really like your sunset orange. Family overruled me, but I think thats a great color for the i4

Definitely get it checked by a tire shop. Not worth having a real blowout at high speed. Peace of mind is key.

 

[bmw_al]

I've repaired every nail/screw hole I've had in all my cars for several years, and never had a further issue with any. Tire repair kits are cheap and there are plenty of YT videos on how to do it. You may not even have to take the wheel off if you're lucky. As others have suggested, if you're unfamiliar, take it to a tire shop, but a run of the mill nail/screw hole can easily be patched. Caveat is I haven't had to do that yet with my i4 (much heavier vehicle), so I'd have to see how well it works if/when I run into that situation.

 

[cruzer666]

Do you have a Les Schwab close to you? If possible, they will do a proper repair, free of charge for you.

 

[FaRKle!]

+1 for DIY tire plug (kits with many plugs and the tools you'll need are like $20 on Amazon), or taking it to a tire shop for patch+plug if you don't know how to take your wheel off. Plugs on their own will hold up plenty well.

 

[kindofblue]

Discount Tire/American Tire (same company) will fix your flat for free if it's fixable (patch) and will also sell you their road hazard insurance.

 

[cruzer666]

Discount Tire/American Tire (same company) will fix your flat for free if it's fixable (patch) and will also sell you their road hazard insurance.

Yep, a simple plug is a bad idea for a 5000 lbs sedan with instant torque.

 

[kindofblue]

Yep, a simple plug is a bad idea for a 5000 lbs sedan with instant torque.

Agreed. I would only plug it if necessary to get it to a tire repair shop. A patch from the inside is quite reliable even in EVs like our previous Tesla MY.

 

[Bluehighways]

Have a Tire Shop repair it from the inside using what is called a "Compound Patch".
As long as the hole is in the "OK" area almost all Tire Manufacturers approve of this repair.
.

.

 

[Bluehighways]

Here's a list of the Tire Manufacturers that approve of a Compound Patch tire repair and their rules, if any.
.

 

[cruzer666]

@ssh can we pin this thread somehow? this is useful information.

The compound patch is the only kind of patch that should really be used on this car. A simple patch or a plug aren't the way to go with these cars. Some would argue that these tires should not receive a patch in the first place.

 

[ssh]

@ssh can we pin this thread somehow? this is useful information.

The compound patch is the only kind of patch that should really be used on this car. A simple patch or a plug aren't the way to go with these cars. Some would argue that these tires should not receive a patch in the first place.

Done.

 

[HappyG]

All very helpful. Thank you!
Update: I went to our (unnamed) shop which is usually very good/fair and they said they couldn’t patch b/c it’s run flat. I know thats incorrect, but wasn’t going to argue w/the tire expert. He was not trying to sell me new tires either so 🤷‍♂️. Anyway, I have appt tomorrow to get 2nd opinion at Discount Tire.

 

[cruzer666]

All very helpful. Thank you!
Update: I went to our (unnamed) shop which is usually very good/fair and they said they couldn’t patch b/c it’s run flat. I know thats incorrect, but wasn’t going to argue w/the tire expert. He was not trying to sell me new tires either so 🤷‍♂️. Anyway, I have appt tomorrow to get 2nd opinion at Discount Tire.

He may be partially correct. Theoretically you can't or shouldn't patch a run flat if you've been running with it without any pressure in the tire.

 

[kindofblue]

He may be partially correct. Theoretically you can't or shouldn't patch a run flat if you've been running with it without any pressure in the tire.

I hadn't thought that any i4s in the US were on run-flat tires.

 

[ssh]

I hadn't thought that any i4s in the US were on run-flat tires.

They aren’t.

 

[HappyG]

All very helpful. I went to our (unnamed) shop which is usually very good/fair and they said they couldn’t patch b/c it’s run flat. I know that’s wrong (. but wasn’t going to argue w/the tire expert. He was not trying to sell me new tires either so 🤷‍♂️. Anyway, I have appt to get 2nd opinion at Discount Tire.

I hadn't thought that any i4s in the US were on run-flat tires.

That’s how I knew he was wrong and then double checked on the Hankook website. It is not run flat. We’ll see what DT has to say.

 

[bmw_al]

Yep, a simple plug is a bad idea for a 5000 lbs sedan with instant torque.

Yeah see this is what I wonder about. As I said, I've repaired every flat on all my other cars but this is my first EV and it's much heavier, plus the torque like you said. If I get a flat I'll probably evaluate it and decide if I wanted to try plugging it. I might if it's a small hole in a rear tire, but maybe not a front.