Tires - nail holes

DaninKansas · Dec 5, 2014

Local shop refuses to patch a tire (they remove and patch - no plug) that has a hole in the side wall of the tire.

When I dropped my Jeep off the owner of the shop mentioned they had a rash of side wall punctures requiring the replacement of the tires under road hazard warranty. When they pulled my tire - a shingle nail where the sidewall meets the tread. They refused to patch it and mounted the spare and told me I needed to order a new one (original tires at 75% tread).

Anyone else run into this?

Dick2 · Dec 5, 2014

Yep. Costco found a nail in one of mine in the same area. Cost me $40 for warranty replacement, as they would not attempt to fix it.

Chris(WA) · Dec 5, 2014

Never have known a reputable shop to repair side wall damage. They cannot guarantee the repair and cover the liability it would create.
I will not say it cannot be done as I have done it myself on my own tires back in the day and had good results. Have also had them fail.

gab · Dec 5, 2014

No decent shop is going to plug or patch a side wall or the corner where it meets the tread, isn't worth getting sued to save somebody the price of a tire.

DENNIS MIN · Dec 5, 2014

DaninKansas,

Radial tube it. Be aware that it should be replaced, but you can get some further use of it, perhaps a spare?

D.

John A · Dec 5, 2014

Dan, I have a local Spanish run tire shop that fixes any and all tires, Semi"s to golf carts A place like that is where I go with all My non warrantied tires. All name brand tire ships have just gotten too p!ssy for my taste. But with the world getting so Sue-Happy It is no wonder that the name brand tire place are in CYA Mode.
I too Have patched tires with a single nail hole at the base of the side wall many, many times and I haven had any failures but that was my results.
Go find a Place Like that and make sure it is put back on the rear axle IMO!
MY Thoughts, It is your tire, Your Decision!
Later,
John A.

Steve@Advance · Dec 5, 2014

Yes, I've run into this too many times.

Told the repair was "too close to the side wall" when it was an inch from the edge of the tread.

Once told they couldn't fix it because it had been run flat. It went flat in the garage overnight.

The reality is the sales people work on commission, nothing for them in repairs...

I'll never darken the door of another chain tire store again! Rather keep my money in the neighborhood mom and pop store anyway.

notjustair · Dec 5, 2014

Around here it gets a plug and rotated to the back. I know plugs aren't the thing to do anymore, but I still do within reason. Or without reason sometimes. When the tire on the drill went flat during planting I had to double over two plugs to fill the hole. That was last year. It doesn't leak at all.

Eldon (WA) · Dec 5, 2014

(quoted from post at 14:43:10 12/05/14) Local shop refuses to patch a tire (they remove and patch - no plug) that has a hole in the side wall of the tire.

When I dropped my Jeep off the owner of the shop mentioned they had a rash of side wall punctures requiring the replacement of the tires under road hazard warranty. When they pulled my tire - a shingle nail where the sidewall meets the tread. They refused to patch it and mounted the spare and told me I needed to order a new one (original tires at 75% tread).

Anyone else run into this?

Google it....not recommended. I tried plugging the rear tire on our Pontiac G6 a couple of years ago when a spike went thru the tire and out the sidewall. The plug held for 10 miles....kinda hard to say goodbye to a $200 tire with 8000 miles on it....

john in la · Dec 5, 2014

Without going into all the details; I had a tar paper nail get stuck into the sidewall of a new tire (had never been on the ground) while in the bed of my pickup.

I went by the local truck/tractor tire place and bought a tube. Installed it in the tire myself and ran the tire till it wore out.

old · Dec 5, 2014

Yep back when I still worked at a tire shop NO tire with a side wall hole ever got fixed with just a patch since the patch will not stay in place any how. We did install a good number of radial type tubes in that type of tire and that worked just fine. The side wall of a tire flexes to much for a patch to stay in place so that is why they do not patch them and could lead to a blow out

matthies · Dec 5, 2014

Same here, just looked at the plugs at the store and in big red letters Temporary Fix Only.

GregCO · Dec 5, 2014

It is very common for a tire shop to not touch a sidewall repair. It is a crap shoot as to how well it will hold up if at all. All that being said I have fixed many myself and had mostly good results. I even put a plug in a sidewall one time in the middle of the night while going through Utah with nowhere to get it fixed or replaced. The spare was buried under the load on the trailer and I didn't fell like unloading it to get to it. Plugged it at a gas stop and aired it up. Ended up lasting the life of the tire. Your mileage may very. If your tire just has a nail hole in it a tube may work out great. Move it to the back and keep an aye on it.

Greg

Fullers Farmalls · Dec 5, 2014

Just had to go through this. Had a piece of metal puncture the tread. It was the outer most tread and they wouldn't plug or patch it. Said they don't do that anymore. Guess times are a changing.

504 · Dec 5, 2014

There is a fine line between repair and junk,some shops do not have a clue what is repairable and what is not. If a patch will not hold, then a thin piece of rubber(tube )will not hold either.
We had a rash of cut tires. A customer had just put on a new set of mud tires on his truck and two of them had been knife cut in the lower sidewall.I took both tires and put a good radial patch in the sidewalls of both tires. They were still on my FIL truck three years later when he sold it. The customer got new tires from his insurance company.

Grey · Dec 6, 2014

Never had that issue with our tire shop here in NC. They will plug or patch anything. In fact, the owner sends out a pickup truck with two guys and a box of nails every weekend to drum up business.

FBH44 · Dec 6, 2014

Well, we've all had that happen, very expensive. Why don't one of us invent a way to patch the dern things?? We're not talking brain surgery here. Go on Shark Tank and let them fight for the opportunity.

Leroy · Dec 6, 2014

Big difference between patch and plug at that spot, Plug will not flex as needed but patch will.

ss55 · Dec 6, 2014

This site has an interesting discussion about patching tire side walls:
Left hand column/ Research & Info / Articles/ Talk of the Town/ Patching Tire Sidewalls (5th item down).

They mention re-vulcanizing and tire welding.

To me, it would depend on the application and what is at risk if the tire failed again. On an auger transport wheel -OK. On the family car - NO.

Tires - nail holes

DaninKansas

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Dick2

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Chris(WA)

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gab

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DENNIS MIN

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John A

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Steve@Advance

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notjustair

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Eldon (WA)

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john in la

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old

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matthies

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GregCO

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Fullers Farmalls

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504

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Grey

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FBH44

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Leroy

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ss55

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