Something screwed my tire!

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NissanLeafCamper

Well-known member
Joined
May 22, 2015
Messages
205
Location
Los Angeles California
S4UWx0p.jpg


I recall seeing something metally in my tire before. Though it was just a little piece nudge between the groves. Turns out it is a screw buried... I think... deeply. Uh, warranties don't cover this sort of thing, do they? Heck, I don't believe they even cover tires. Anyway, What should I do? Take it to nissan dealer? Or Take it to a cheap tire shop and see if they can patch it? I guess I shouldn't pull it out, right? Is it patchable? Or should I just buy a new tire? Or used tire?

Could it be said I'm 'screwed' at this point? :mrgreen:
 
Punctures of that size in the tread area are easily repairable. I wouldn't keep the tire on a car I ran at 100MPH, but it should be fine for normal driving, especially if both plugged and patched (on the inside). Damage to the sidewalls requires replacement of the tire.
 
NissanLeafCamper said:
... I guess I shouldn't pull it out, right? ...
Not unless you have the kit to patch the tire :roll:
I had a similar encounter with a sheet metal screw that the installer of my new basement Mitsubishi mini-split system managed to drop in the road.

Initially tire was losing air at moderate rate.
You could drive five miles before needing to stop to use compressor to fill the tire.

After two or three times, had to stop every two miles.
But I did make it the twelve miles to Costco to buy new tires.
The original Ecopias were shot at 27,000 miles.
 
Had the same thing. Might not have noticed it except for LeafSpy displaying the psi difference. The leak was very slow. No problem driving on it. Any good tire shop will take it off, plug it from the inside, and your good to go. Shouldn't cost much.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Punctures of that size in the tread area are easily repairable. I wouldn't keep the tire on a car I ran at 100MPH, but it should be fine for normal driving, especially if both plugged and patched (on the inside).

+1, Make sure the shop intends to both plug and patch. If they give you some song and dance, find another.
 
Buy a string patch kit for $5 and do it yourself. I've used these my whole driving life, and never had a leak.
 
Despite going unnoticed long enough for nearly all the head of that screw to be ground away, that tire should be easily repairable, oftentimes at no charge as a goodwill gesture by a tire shop.
 
Thanks guys for all the replies. I highly appreciate them. I tried to look into the Mitsubishi Split System and I found nothing. Is this for Mitsubishi tires? Thought I could find a wikipedia article on it, but I couldn't. It just sounded interesting.

Regarding the tire. What exactly is 'plugging'? I knew about patching, but not plugging. What do they use for that? I'll be sure to look for one that will do both and walk away if I'm given a little lecture to do only 1 :?

What is the average cost for a patch and plug?
 
You're in Los Angeles? Find a Discount Tire and they'll likely do it for free in an hour or two for free, or at most $20-30 that you can get refunded on your next Tire purchase.

Any other shop will be similar in price.
 
Plugging involves inserting and gluing a piece of rubber through the hole.
Patching involves placing a sheet of rubber inside the tire.
There is lots of good info and pictures here, courtesy tirerack.com:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=77

Bob
 
Hi Guys,

For better or worse today I went to the tire shop and I was looking for the screw while parked and could not find it. The screw has fallen off last night when I was driving I guess. Interestingly I recall seeing it a few days back meaning it had to have been stuck in there for a day or two.

What should I do at this point? There is a hole in there now. Tire pressure of all tires is 42 PSI I checked them all with my handy tool that I got from amazon. It doesn't seem to be leaking but I bought a can of fix a flat just to be sure in case it does leak suddenly.

What do you guys think? Should I stiill take iit in?

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+1^ the screw's head has broken off, but the threads are still in there. It might hold for a while, but it'll probably leak eventually, so you might as well deal with it while you have time, and not at random. Tire goop will cost you a new TPM as well.
 
NissanLeafCamper said:
... I tried to look into the Mitsubishi Split System and I found nothing. ...
Mitsubishi home mini-split heat pump heating and cooling equipment.
See http://www.mitsubishicomfort.com/products.
 
Yeah, you can see the body of the screw still plugging the hole. Get thee to the tire shop ASAP. The rest of the screw could work loose at any moment and strand you. Don't use the fix-a-flat except in dire circumstances. Better to pay for tow in most cases.
 
Well damn ! I thought the whole screw had worked itself loose and not that only the head broke off! :cry: I'll go to the shop today and get the work done. I hope it holds. I wonder if the body of the screw went through the tire wall and is just plugging it? I don't know how thick the tire walls really are, but those screws can be really long.... I wonder if they will pull out the screw or not. I checked the PSI and it is still coming in at 42 PSI....

I asked a cheap tire shop and they said $15... but I also checked with what looked to be a 'good year' tire shop and they said $20. I'm just going to go with the 'good year' shop since the price is so low though it is a bit further.

Thanks guys I should have had a patch done yesterday but did not know better. :arrow:
 
NissanLeafCamper said:
Hi Guys,

... It doesn't seem to be leaking but I bought a can of fix a flat just to be sure in case it does leak suddenly.
...
LEAF came with its own fix a flat.

But as others said, should not be used unless a dire emergency.

Not only will the sensor have to be replaced ($40 to $60 for aftermarket at Costco, over $100 at Nissan dealer), but the stuff is also corrosive and the rim has to be thoroughly cleaned to remove all traces of the sealant.

If the tire does start leaking which it will eventually, much better to stop every few miles and use the very good 12V air compressor that the LEAF comes with to inflate the leaking tire.

I stopped at least five or six times on the way to Costco.

But that was much better than putting sealant in it.

And with LEAF Spy Pro I knew exactly where the pressure was and never let it get below 34 psig.
 
Thanks Tim. I got the patch done at the good year place for $15. They told me it was a patch with the plug already in it. Not sure if that is how they work. Anyway, i did not know the fix a flat stuff kills the sensor in the tire. If I had known that I would not have ever bought it. Actually, i don't have the original fix a flat or inflator that came with the leaf. At least I have not find it. Could it be in the cargo area in a special compartment? I also only got one key for the leaf. Wow, can't believe I missed out on so much stuff that comes with the leaf :( I have tripple A so perhaps much cheaper to use than fix a flat :|
 
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