[mozman]

... Is that possible?

My wife is at a Lexus dealer dropping her car off for a 4-wheel alignment. The place is packed with elderly people. She overhears a service advisor talk to one of them.... "There is a nail in the tire, unfortunately, because of where the nail is and the angle that the nail punctured the tire it cannot be fixed. We need to put on a new tire..... " cost over $100.

Is it possible for them not to be able to fix it? After my wife told me this I had to bring this question up to the forum, because I thought a plug/patch would fix any nail in the tire. Plus, if what they say is BS, I want to make sure it never happens to my wife.... or me. Thanks!

 

[senza]

If a nail penetrates the sidewall or the tread near the sidewall of a radial tire, patching or plugging the hole is not recommended. This is because radial tires flex a great deal and a plug / patch would not last long.

 

[zebelkhan]

If puncture is through the sidewall, or near the sidewall, tire should not be repaired. So there is merit to what he said, if he was being truthful about the location of the nail.

$100 does not sound too bad for a brand new tire. While ago had a flat in one of the tires in my wife's car. Took it to a tire shop and they charged $30 to take the tire off the rim and fix it. Just last week found a slow leak in another tire for the same car. It was due for oil change so had my wife take it in to the dealer for the oil change and tire repair. They told her $65 to fix the tire! So I picked up the phone and had a nice chat with the service advisor. Got the car back later in the afternoon....no charge for the oil change, tire repair, or the rental!

 

[mozman]

That must have been a real nice chat you had with the service advisor. I'm not sure what the cost for the tire replacement was exactly, my wife just indicated over $100.... so I figure somewhere between 100-199.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

 

[Eric L.]

Yeah to echo the comments above, a puncture near the sidewall or the edge of the tread (near the sidewall) cannot be repaired with a patch. If a shop offers to do that, avoid them!

 

[elliotgb]

I had a nail in the OEM Goodyears, not near the sidewall. The idiots at my dealership applied a mushroom plug instead of a tire patch. Needless to say, the tire kept losing air over the course of a week's time. I ended up buying a new one a Tires Plus. Dealership charged me $25 for the ineffective plug to boot.

 

[Eric L.]

I had a nail in the OEM Goodyears, not near the sidewall. The idiots at my dealership applied a mushroom plug instead of a tire patch. Needless to say, the tire kept losing air over the course of a week's time. I ended up buying a new one a Tires Plus. Dealership charged me $25 for the ineffective plug to boot.

Actually the mushroom plug is the best kind (I'm thinking about the kind that goes on the inside of the tire, that is both a patch and a plug). One should never use just a patch or just a plug when repairing a tire - thats shoddy work.

 

[GMTURBO43]

If you have a Discount Tire they do free flat repair - even if you didn't buy the tires from them. Of course - if they can't fix it you have to buy from them. Not all bad as they have good prices and are pretty competitive with some of the online retailers.

 

[Gonzo]

...They told her $65 to fix the tire! So I picked up the phone and had a nice chat with the service advisor. Got the car back later in the afternoon....no charge for the oil change, tire repair, or the rental!

What did you say to them?

 

[9231]

I'll echo the sentiments already stated about plugs not being effective for punctures near the side wall of the tire. I'll also add that tire manufacturers recommend that no more than one plug/patch be used per tire quadrant (cut a tire into four and each section is a quadrant) with a total of no more than two patches per tire.

$100 to replace a tire is pretty decent - especially on an SUV or car-based SUV. Heck the Mo's tires list well over that!

JC

 

[zebelkhan]

What did you say to them?

I would have probably had a different result with Nissan - Although I have found that they also listen to reason when forced too:

I was very polite. I started off by saying that I was a very reasonable person and had been happy so far with their service but I am finding that price really unreasonable. Then told him not to fix the tire as there were many other places which would fix it for a lot less and I was more than happy to take my business to them. Then I said I was also going to let his manager, the dealership owner, and MBZ of America know why they had lost my business and how this experience would potentially affect my decision to deal with that manufacturer and its dealers in the future. Then I said thank you and please call when my car was ready. That was it!