zergcerebrates

I decided to bring my car to the tire shop to have my rear right tires checked because I had to put in air every two weeks so I suspected that there must be a nail. Anyways I went to one auto center and the wait was one hour so I decided to go to Sears Auto center since it was just a few blocks away, and what a mistake. They took my tires out and found there was a nail and it was a small nail I dont think it was even over 2.0" long. At first they said they can repair it but after a few min wait they said they cannot repair it and company policy does not allow them to put back the tires on my rims. After countless negotiations they were unwilling to put back my original tires saying its safety concerns blah blah, but the thing is this nail has been in my car for over 3 months and it was fine. Later I just gave up and had them put the spare tire on and went home. After I got back home I opened my trunk and found out it was a mess. I had quite a few things in my trunk so they just pushed everything back(certain stuff did crack and bent) forcefully into the back area so they can fit the tires and the rims and they didn't even bother to put the jack,wrench,and other tools back into the pouch just let it lay in the spare wheel compartment which they didn't even close appropriately thus under the weight of the rims and the tires the cover for the spare wheel is bent. ARRGH!

BTW. Are Mercedes Spare tires suppose to have this cranking/Clicking noise? I wonder if its done on purpose to remind you that I'm using a spare tire?

I also noticed a lot of black powder inside my tires anybody know what could be the cause?

eLTURCOamg

i dont htink anytire should make that noise

PaulX608

Make sure they mounted your spare with the correct, shorter, wheel bolts intended for it. If the longer, standard wheel bolts are used, they can extend into the emergency brake mechanism and do very bad things. Sounds like you have a serious beef with this place. I don't know about your specific location, but I've always heard bad things about Sears garages. Stories about brake pads mounted backwards with the friction surface toward the pistons and the metal backplate toward the rotor (OUCH!!), spin-on oil filters double gasketed, directional tires mounted the wrong way, etc. I avoid them personally. If you found a lot of black powder in your tire that's liklely why they refused to repair it. That powder is the inner rubber from the tire breking down. This is generally caused by overheating due to underinflation. Low profile tires have short stiff sidewalls, and it can be next to impossible to determine inflation levels visually. It's a good idea to inspect you tires regularly. For me, every time I get gas, as the gas is pumping, I walk around and check my tires. Look for obvious things like foreign objects, odd wear, flat spots, etc. It's a really good habit to acquire.

ZedStyle

or the black powder could just be brake dust

zergcerebrates

Wow thanks for the info. Does that mean I need to buy a new tire or is it doable after its inflated?

Kar don

the clicking cracking is DEF from them using the regular lug bolts on the spare tire.

khaug

I cannot believe the level of ignorance displayed by some of the replies to this thread!!!

First, some punctures are considered repairable (generally involving the tire tread area). Punctures occurring in the edge of the tread/sidewall area are not considered repairable. A competent tire dealer will refuse to repair these out of liability concerns! The thread originator says "I had to put in air every two weeks", but then says, "...this nail has been in my car for over 3 months and it was fine". Not so!

Two posters have claimed that the spare requires some sort of special mounting bolts. Not so! M-B supplies no such bolts, and the owner's manual for my W211 states, "Use only genuine equipment Mercedes-Benz wheel bolts. They are identified by the Mercedes star. Other wheel bolts may come loose." I ask you, how could there be a functional spare tire if it required special bolts that M-B does not supply?

The poster identifies "black powder" having been found in the tire. One reply identifies this as possibly being brake dust. How could brake dust possibly migrate to the inside of an inflated tire?

I think, sir, you most likely have a tire with an unrepairable puncture and your tire shop has done you a favor by refusing to repair it. I think you need to purchase a new tire and have it mounted and balanced, and go about your business. OTOH, if you feel the puncture should be repairable, I think you need to take the tire to some other tire shop and get a second opinion.

Best regards,

PaulX608

Depends on the year and model. I was just offering a possibility. Some MBs, especially ones with steel wheeled temporary spares, do come with a special set of bolts spcecifically for use with the spare tire and the failure to substitute those when mounting the spare has caused more than a few members here clicking sounds and damage to the emergency brake mechanism.

zergcerebrates

Thanks for your reply. When I say its fine I meant that even with the nail it drives fine after putting in more air in it could last for around 2 weeks before I start noticing difference in air pressure. I wanted them to put it back on so I can drive to a another location since its all within a 5 mile radius.

And yes my benz does not have special bolts.

The puncture hole was not on the edge but exactly on the middle and since its so small I thought they could of repaired it. Hopefully its repairable because the tire cost around $400

lkchris

Lesson here should be to NEVER take a Mercedes to a generic "American car" service center.

They have no clue.

Also, forget the idea of sourcing parts from Pep Boys, etc.

For tires, go to an exclusive Michelin dealer or Discount Tire, which is usually surprisingly good.

You just don't get all the Mercedes goodies for Chevy prices.

X72

zergcerebrates, I am in Miami and I take all of our cars to a place called "El Mago del Ponche" (The Flat Magician). Owned by a Nicaraguan fellow with an all Spanish speaking staff. I bring my own torque wrench so they don't use the impact wrench to over tighten the bolts.

They dismount the tire (marking the tire to be able to put it back in the same place without having to rre-balance the tire), apply a patch on the inside of the tire (not a plug) just like you would patch a bicycle inner tube. I am in and out of there in about 20 minutes. Have never had a problem. Of course, I don't need my tires to be safe at 130 mph.

Since I am dealing with a small shop, they are not too concerned with liability issues like Sears or any national chain would be. I would say the same thing that Sears said to you because of liability concerns.

Most places would just rather sell you a tire anyhow. I had a nail in a tire type flat with a slow leak on a trip to South Carolina. I took it to get fixed there and they told me the tire was not fixable. I looked at the tire and knew that they just wanted to sell me a tire since the nail was in the tread area. I had the wheel re-mounted, drove the car back to Miami (checking the tire every couple of hundred miles and adding air with a bicycle pump I carry), and had it fixed for $15 (including a $4 tip) at my usual tire repair place. So I get it done at better than Chevy prices.

Moral: I bet you can find some hard working people in the Los Angeles area to fix your tires if you want to do it inexpensively.

Addendum: Of course, the repaired tires have only been down to about 20 psi and never run completely flat which will ruin the sidewall and should not be repaired. Our car has the 225/55-16 tires which can be visibly seen to be low, unlike with 17 or 18 inch tires. Highly recommend a tire pressure monitoring system for low profile tires.

2MANYCARS

I will never go to any Sears auto center, Pepboys, Jiffy Lube or any similar service stations to get my babies fixed up. I've always been using the shops I trust in NJ which are located in the same town, or I will go to MB Manhattan or Rallye in Long Island. Very sorry to hear what happened to your car, hope she's fine and back into business as I am typing this.

Talbot

Don't you suppose that patch changes the balance?

Barry45RPM

The best type of puncture repair is a plug/patch device. The inside of the tire is scuffed & adhesive is applied. A patch like device is applied to the inside of the tire... but this patch has a plug that is also pulled thru the puncture, pulling the patch part flat against the inner tire. (The plug/patch looks like a "T", with the vertical part pulled thru the puncture & the horizontal part becoming part of the inside of the tire.

A true tire professional will advise you if the plug/patch is too close to the edge of the tire, where flexing will render any type of repair undependable. (Thats why side wall repairs are never done.)

Its a shame to see a tire with thousands of miles of tread life still on it be "unrepairable" & have to be thrown away, but you're travelling at least 60 MPH and you only have a small patch of rubber in contact with the road at any one time. How much would you be willing to spend to learn how to walk again after a preventable tire failure caused you to lose control of the car? Do the right thing (whatever it is) and then put the experience behind you.

squarepants

The followingonly applies if you have steel belted radial tires (which you probably do).

One think nobody has mentioned here is steel cord corrosion. When the tread portion of a tire is punctured, the steel belt material (cord) is exposed to air, water and perhaps a dissimilar metal (the nail). Unless a proper patch is immediately applied, the cord begins to corrode quickly. The corrosion normally spreads over time without any outward sign until the entire tread simply delaminates (much like a truck retread). This type of catastrophic tire failure usually occurs at high speed and commonly results in loss of vehicle control and/or a rollover.

The fact that you have had a nail in your tire for 3 months is a very likely indicator that there probably is some corrosion in the steel belts of your tire. The black dust may be an early indicator of delamination. Applying a patch at this point may arrest the corrosion, or it may not. An outfit like Sears is not going to want to take any chances. They probably have a policy that (driven by their legal department) that they do not repair tires with a history like yours.

I know this because I am an attorney that has represented major tire manufacturers in a number of lawsuits. I NEVER repair a tire that has been punctured. Its just not worth it. I have met too many quadraplegics who made that mistake. You never know, the guy at Sears may have saved your life or that of a loved one.

Always respect your tires!

X72

barry45rpm, that is the type of patch they use. I stand corrected. I haven't had any balance problems.

squarepants describes exactly why the national chains are reluctant to repair a tire for a low fee and take on massive liability risk. Maybe I shouldn't leave my bed because that is risky too.

I do respect my tires and check them weekly. I also am riding in a car (not an SUV) with stability control, making the fear mongering rollover scenario very unlikely. A million bad things can happen and yet they only happen rarely; suing and trying to make someone else pay will eventually bankrupt the society.

Dvinn

That company policy they claimed is for real, I had been told similar lines from them. They wasn't trying to pull a fast one on you there. Those policy saves them millions each year on law suits.

squarepants

I don't think I am being particularly averse to risk when I make what I consider wise choices about who touches, and what happens with my tires. Yes, you run a risk by waking up. My point was not that you should't get out of bed but that the cost of anew tire (vs. a repair) is IMHO a relatively small price to pay for a big return in increased safety. But everyone is free to mae their choices. The guy was irate that Sears would not change his tire and automatically assumed it was so they could profit more. I was just trying to give him a different perspective.

I was involved in 5 different lawsuits involving rollovers caused by tire failures at highway speeds. Not one of them involved an SUV. No stability control in the world will let you bring under control a 3000lb car traveling at 70MPH with only 3 tires die to a blowout. I am not a fear monger. I have no vested interest in this. I am just relaying my life experience. I have personally seen many lives ruined over a stupid choice such as plugging a tire versus getting a new one. Unlikely as the risk may be, making the safe choice is so (relatively) inexpensive it is hardly worth taking a chance.

You can continue to have your Nicaraguan guy fix your tires. I happen to drive by the exact place you mentioned every day on 8th street in Little Havana (I work in Coral Gables) and I would not trust them with my bicycle tires. But hey, if those are the kinds of chances you think are wise, more power to you.

You are barking up the wrong tree. As I mentioned, I have defended tire manufacturers, not sued them. But I guess you were just trying to take a swipe at the fact I am a lawyer. Not sure why you feel that is necessary but its your right to do so (no doubt thanks to some lawyer somewhere!.)

X72

Squarepants, nothing personal. The legal system doesn't operate in a vacuum. Victim/blame mentality in the culture allows it to flourish. If something goes wrong, someone is to blame and must pay.

All empires must fall. I just see the tort system (regardless if you are on defense or offense) as one of the signs of our decline.

I am not telling you what you do is right or wrong. I am simply pointing out that our legalistic culture is not going to have long term benefits that outweigh the costs.

I agree that Sears was right in not repairing zercerebrates tire. But if I were Sears, I wouldn't repair any tires because I am relying on judgement that could be called into question that then shifts responsibility of the tire's safety from the tire manufacturer to my company. Not worth it.

How many other companies are making decisions like this out of fear of the legal exposure?

You likely would be surprised by how well your car would perform if a tire failed for whatever reason.

squarepants

And what in the world does any of that have to do with the OP? We've hijacked this thread long enough. No hard feelings, agree to disagree (but I dont disagree entirely with your views of our overly-litigious society.)

chemsales

I saw the topic and couldn't help thinking about the Ron White comedy cut about Sear's Tire Centers.

It is best to look out for your tires, you never know when a Ford F-250 dually diesel decides to play rough on the highway. I was quite surprised to see that truck with me at about 110 through north Georiga. All he had to do was get off his d**n cell phone and get out of the left lane. You would have thought I yelled "Chevy" at him!