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Slow leaking flat on tires w/ 29k miles

aphex

aphex

Moderator<br>All Things Apple
Moderator
One tire on my wife's Jetta has a small puncture in the tread that is slowly leaking air. Had the dealer check it out today while in for an oil change and he said its too far to the side for a patch to hold, only option is to replace.

They want $210 installed for a single Continental Contitouring (225/45/17). All the tires have about 29k miles on them and still have a good amount of tread left.

Should we;

A) Just replace the single tire (even though it will now be considerably newer than the other three)
B) Replace a set of two (likely going with another brand to save money)
C) Replace all 4 (not really keen on spending $500 right now on tires)

I did briefly consider using option A and purchasing a slightly used exact match off ebay for $50, but im a little hesitant to even consider a used tire.
 
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aphex said:
One tire on my wife's Jetta has a small puncture in the tread that is slowly leaking air. Had the dealer check it out today while in for an oil change and he said its too far to the side for a patch to hold, only option is to replace.

They want $210 installed for a single Continental Contitouring (225/45/17). All the tires have about 29k miles on them and still have a good amount of tread left.

Should we;

A) Just replace the single tire (even though it will now be considerably newer than the other 3)
B) Replace a set of two (likely going with another brand to save money)
C) Replace all 4 (not really keen on spending $500 right now on tires)
Click to expand...

I know those tires 🙂 Do you have the Avignons?

I don't like them very much as they had a tendency to tramline really badly when I first got the car, either I got used to it or it doesn't do it anymore, not sure. I think you can get them cheaper on tirerack/sears when I looked so see if you can get it done somewhere else and just pricematch the difference.

I've never had two tires with tread off that much so I can't comment on how it would be. If it were me I would probably just go that route though. I had a service loaner Jetta for 2 weeks when my GTI was getting a new mechatronic and it had the same thing with having one new tire and 3 older ones, I didnt feel anything.
 
Well the good news for you is, those tires will last quite a while (mine have 43k on them and they still have a good amount of tread left).

Have you tried any actual tire places instead of just the dealer? They might be able/willing to try patching it. Worth a shot maybe
 
Marlin1975 said:
Where is it on the tire? Got a pic?

You could plug it if not on the sidewall.
Click to expand...

^This (pics).

A second opinion certainly wouldn't hurt, you should be able to get it plugged provided it's not on the sidewall, especially with coxmaster saying you should have more than 15k left on the tires...
 
Well, you know for a fact that the dealer will never sell you a $10 fix if can sell you a $210 fix. If the leak is in the tread it isn't in the sidewall and therefore can be plugged. Just go to Walmart and buy a $10 tire repair kit and plug it yourself or if you have a Discount Tire store nearby stop there and they will plug it for you.
 
Marlin1975 said:
Where is it on the tire? Got a pic?

You could plug it if not on the sidewall.
Click to expand...

PlasmaBomb said:
^This (pics).

A second opinion certainly wouldn't hurt, you should be able to get it plugged provided it's not on the sidewall, especially with coxmaster saying you should have more than 15k left on the tires...
Click to expand...

Yep, what they said.

You can go to walmart or any other place really and get a plug kit yourself. It's REALLY easy to do and as long as it isn't on the sidewall, just plug it.
 
Go to a real tire place and see what they say as to if it can be fixed, from the inside of the tire is the best way. If they also say it won't hold, then you will need to replace the tire. Or depending on how slow the leak is, just fill it up with air every 3 or 4 days. But eventually, it will likely fail when on the road.
 
Honestly, I would maybe just replace all 4 if you got that much out of them... kicker is if you can find a deal for new tires where you can buy 3 get 1 free 🙂

firestone tires usually offer that service/price, and it usually is more competitive then buying tires off tirerack.com and having someone do the mounting & balancing
 
mizzou said:
Honestly, I would maybe just replace all 4 if you got that much out of them... kicker is if you can find a deal for new tires where you can buy 3 get 1 free 🙂

firestone tires usually offer that service/price, and it usually is more competitive then buying tires off tirerack.com and having someone do the mounting & balancing
Click to expand...


So everytime I get a nail in a tire that has over 20k I should buy a new set? 😵


Oh and firestone sucks. They are know to be ripoff shops. I know first hand, I applied at one and was told how things work.
 
Marlin1975 said:
So everytime I get a nail in a tire that has over 20k I should buy a new set? 😵
Oh and firestone sucks. They are know to be ripoff shops. I know first hand, I applied at one and was told how things work.
Click to expand...

big diff between 20k and 30k IMO, but every tire and every vehicle wears them differently

It all depends on the tire and I have no clue, just from the text it sounds like it's probably a tire that's low on tread w/ maybe 5-10k left at most. So at that point, do you really want to wait a year and then replace the rest anyway?

besides, most punctures are easily repaired, so obviously not every nail mandates a new set

in ths case, a tire is not repairable, it is dead and must be replaced, so you MUST replace at least 1 tire. Weigh options, and if it's actually reasonable, I would just replace all 4 at the same time.

Obviously if its not reasonable, don't!


Also, theres' nothing wrong with firestone products, their tires are great for the $. The dealerships sell them at a reasonable and unbeatable amount when yous hop at the right time w/ the right coupons.

their service dept. leaves something to be desired, they ask for WAY too much unneeded work...but that's how they make $
 
tires cant be repaired within 3/4 of an inch of the sidewall for good reason...thats where the steel belts stop and the sidewall plies begin.

the other thing is that a plug is a temporary stopgap repair. NO tire manufacturer approves plugs for permanent repairs in any of their tires, period.

Permanent repairs are to be done from the inside, with proper preparation of the injury and if necessary a patch plug combo is used where the plug fills in the injury to protect the patch.

If the injury is larger than 1/4 inch or if the injury has created a slice, then repair is forbidden by the manufacturer as the steel belts are compromised too far. Replacement is the only approved option at that time.
 
This argument can go on for years so why not just buy a can of Tire Leak Stopper ($5) and be done with it until you DO buy a new set of tires?
 
JulesMaximus said:
We aren't talking about a Ferrari here. Just replace the one tire.
Click to expand...

Lol so true

I had no hesitation about replacing a single tire on my 96 saturn. In hindsight though i should have replaced them all because the tread lasted less than i thought and at the time i had a killer deal on new rubber
 
allanon1965 said:
tires cant be repaired within 3/4 of an inch of the sidewall for good reason...thats where the steel belts stop and the sidewall plies begin.

the other thing is that a plug is a temporary stopgap repair. NO tire manufacturer approves plugs for permanent repairs in any of their tires, period.

Permanent repairs are to be done from the inside, with proper preparation of the injury and if necessary a patch plug combo is used where the plug fills in the injury to protect the patch.

If the injury is larger than 1/4 inch or if the injury has created a slice, then repair is forbidden by the manufacturer as the steel belts are compromised too far. Replacement is the only approved option at that time.
Click to expand...


Actually, you're only half right......and half wrong.

Proper repairs of tires, according to Michelin (the inventor of the radial tire) and the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) recommended repair procedures, involves both internal patching and an external plug. Doing either alone is not acceptable and will void a tire's warranty, at least with Michelin.


From Michelin's warranty booklet/statement for their tires:

Tire punctures consistent with these guidelines can be repaired by following the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) recommended repair procedures.

Repairs of all tires must be of the combined plug and inside patch type.
Click to expand...
http://www.michelinman.com/media/en-US/pdf/tires/michelin-2009-limited-warranty.pdf (Pg. 16)





From the RMA's site:

A rubber stem, or plug, must be applied to fill the puncture injury and a patch must be applied to seal the inner liner. A common repair unit is a one-piece unit with a stem and patch portion. A plug by itself or a patch by itself is an unacceptable repair.
Click to expand...
http://www.rma.org/newsroom/release.cfm?ID=233
 
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the info I was basing my post on was from my goodyear training 20 years ago...things change, thanks for the update, but I always use a patch/plug combo on any of my tires anyway🙂
 
I've plugged many of my tires before where the puncture was right on the shoulder and never had a problem. They were all low profile tires too. If it was on the sidewall that's a totally different story though.
 
they make sidewall patches. surely your warranty will be compromised, but the patches DO work.

i had a new set of tires on a car and someone slit all 4 tires in the middle of the sidewall (nowhere near the tread. it was dead middle of the sidewall). i had to take off all the tires, grind down the inside where the slits were, and use rubber contact cement in them. then you apply the patch, and use a little spikey tool to really seat the patch in.

let dry for 20min and then put the tires back on and pump them up. it worked amazingly well. it does look scary though, because the tires on the outside when under pressure would show the slits opened up like a deep flesh wound, and from appearence you kinda wonder how they actually hold up under all that pressure and flexing but they do. the tires held for 30k miles like that, then i sold the car.

it is still risky though. if you dont do it right then you risk a blowout. but in your case, the hole is very close to the tread so i would think it would be just fine. also, your car is light weight, so again im sure it would be fine.
 
wirednuts said:
they make sidewall patches. surely your warranty will be compromised, but the patches DO work.

i had a new set of tires on a car and someone slit all 4 tires in the middle of the sidewall (nowhere near the tread. it was dead middle of the sidewall). i had to take off all the tires, grind down the inside where the slits were, and use rubber contact cement in them. then you apply the patch, and use a little spikey tool to really seat the patch in.

let dry for 20min and then put the tires back on and pump them up. it worked amazingly well. it does look scary though, because the tires on the outside when under pressure would show the slits opened up like a deep flesh wound, and from appearence you kinda wonder how they actually hold up under all that pressure and flexing but they do. the tires held for 30k miles like that, then i sold the car.

it is still risky though. if you dont do it right then you risk a blowout. but in your case, the hole is very close to the tread so i would think it would be just fine. also, your car is light weight, so again im sure it would be fine.
Click to expand...

That is dangerous as hell, the patch has NO cords for reinforcment of the tire sidewall! those slits opened up like that due to the cords (read sidewall support) being cut.

Doing that runs a very real danger of blowouts! you got extremely lucky....certainly not something I would want to share the road with....
 
i didnt mean to make it sound that its safe to repair sidewalls, but in op's case he probably would be fine with an inner patch. its a small leaking hole right near the tread, i have repaired dozens of tires like that. not all inner patches are the same. if i can find the name of the kit i used ill post it. it was a special patch made for sidewalls.

although each situation is different, and i cant see his tire first hand so i shouldnt even be making suggestions.
 
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