I get an alignment when the car starts tracking off to one side too much when I release the steering wheel. Assuming it's a level/flat road that has little side pitch. Most cars will wander a little even on the best of roads, but usually it's very gradual and not like the car suddenly decides it wants to go off-roading and veers/pulls quickly to one side. I drive carefully but sometimes hit the random hole or tree branch that I don't see in time to avoid or slow to crawl over it.

I'm always suspicious of screws that are along the outer edge of the tire. It should be much harder for a screw than a nail to penetrate into the tire. But it's not impossible. Although I can't tell from your photo, I'm going to guess that it's a self-tapping sheet metal screw that's used for metal roofs and sometimes flashing and gutters. If so, since the tip isn't threaded, it's more likely to get jammed into the tire and then the threaded portion will simply get pushed in by force as the tire spins and contacts the road thousands of times during a drive. Don't get too paranoid that someone's out to get you.

I've rarely replaced a tire because of a picked up screw/nail or two. Rubber tire plugs are very reliable if done even barely correctly. I've had three plugs on the same tire (at the same time) and never had a problem with it losing air. But it depends on your comfort level and the positioning of the penetration. If the sidewall picks up a deep slice due to rubbing up onto a sharp curbing or contacting a piece of sharp metal, I'll usually replace the tire within a month or two. But on the treaded area? Plugs can last the life of the tire.

 

I was paranoid because the last time this happened, it was right in the middle of the tire, and it seemed to happen after we left someone's place.

CT wasn't willing to plug it at all, so no other real option was available, unfortunately.

But will keep a closer eye on the alignment this year - a lot of potholes due to the cold and thawing we had.

Thx!

 

That tire with the screw was beyond worn. It almost looks like it was run low on air for a long time. If your back tires look like that also, do yourself a favor and change them.

Also, you have a problem with the rear end. Those tires should not have that much camber. That amount of camber is ridicules. Something is wrong. Sorry, I corrected myself with a post below.

Good luck.

Have a good day.

 

That tire with the screw was beyond worn. It almost looks like it was run low on air for a long time. If your back tires look like that also, do yourself a favor and change them.

Also, you have a problem with the rear end. Those tires should not have that much camber. That amount of camber is ridicules. Something is wrong.

Good luck.

Have a good day.

Thanks - I'll have to check the back tires but the folks over at CT said that they looked OK.

The service manager mentioned camber, but honestly I didn't understand him very much. Is this something I should take to a Nissan dealership to have them look at?

The folks over at CT said that they adjusted it as much as they could.

What are the risks if I don't do anything? What would it cost to repair this?

Thx!

 

Your tire looks very worn... It was way overdue to be replaced. A worn tire is also more susceptible to punctures.

ALL tires should be replaced at the same time on AWD cars to avoid damage to the transfer case...

Inspect for uneven wear regularly, especially the fronts. ANY uneven wear is an indication the alignment is out of spec (so long as you are keeping them properly inflated). The TPMS will alert you when the pressure is low, so you should never have low air pressure causing abnormal wear, which would be on the outer part of the tread.

 

The TPMS will alert you when the pressure is low

The alert given by the TPMS system is when a tire loses 25% of its set pressure. Unfortunately, a tire starts to exhibit uneven tread wear with as little as a 10% change in pressure. Under pressure creates excessive outer tread wear and over pressure causes the center of the tread to wear sooner than the outer edge.

A 5-pound difference creates uneven tire wear across the face of the tread. It will also make the car feel like it's wallowing when going around a corner and increases the chance of loss of steering control during a sudden evasive maneuver, especially while braking. I'm sure you've seen videos of cars swerving and then losing control. On a dry road, that's from low tire pressure. You can't feel the road, so you over-correct and lose control.

Always check tire pressure at air temp after they have cooled down from driving. The best time to check tire pressure is the first thing before driving for the day.

Have a good day.

 

If your car is parked outside in the sun, the tires that are exposed to it will have a higher pressure than ones on the dark side. Ideally, you want to check tire pressure under conditions when all tires are equal in their environment. My driver front tire is next to the furnace room door, so it's usually warmer than the other three tires and may be up in pressure by one or two pounds when I check. Once driving and things become equal, the pressures are all the same.

I prefer to check pressure when the tires are hot, then adjust the pressure down to what I want. If they're 39 when hot, I'll adjust to 37. That way when it's colder outside the pressure will likely hang around 35psi. And when hot. I know they won't be over-inflated. If I check them with they're cold and they show 35 and I want 37, if I fill them to 37 they may reach 39 while driving hot, which creates too harsh of a ride for me.

 

I only have 18,000 miles on my Continentals (OEM) tires and the tire store said time for new ones. The Lincoln penny test shows tread to Abe's shoulders so perhaps many more than they stated. I had TWO of those sheet metal screws in a prior car and they just "super hot patched" as they called it and it was fine.

 

I just recently replaced my 4 tires and that is the only time the car has had an alignment. I get the tires rotated twice a year, about every 3,000 miles. I have been told many times that a screw/nail in the sidewall is unrepairable. A screw/nail in the tread area can be plugged.

 

Something sliced the sidewall of one of my tires last year, and I used two tire plugs and a lot of rubber cement to seal it. The repair lasted long enough for me to order a new tire - about three weeks. It was about about three inches in from the outer edge of the tire. Any further in (towards the wheel) and the repair probably wouldn't have held as long.

 

The sidewalls flex constantly, and that's the reason repairs to them are not done. Too much likelihood of failure.