Mustangbru8

Today I pulled out of my office and soon after the alert came through that I only had 9 psi in my right rear. My mechanic is a mile away so I drove slow there and we found the screw and he plugged it. Is that good or should I look at getting a new tire. My tires are the contipro contact 245/40 18 and have about 16k miles on them.

beejAMG

if you didnt damage your tyre from the inside when you ran it a mile with low pressure and the patching was done right. you should be alright.

next time, better to stop at a servo, pump correct air pressure and then drive straight to trye repairer.

CEB

Unfortunately there is no way to tell definitively - but - driving a mile on a flat tire most likely damaged the tire internally. And 9psi is effectively a flat tire.

Mustangbru8

The sidewall shows a tiny amount of abrasion right up by the tread so it never got totally on its side but perhaps even that is not good. Is 16k miles to many to just replace 1 tire?

homeofstone

You stated the tire was plugged which is not good for a permanent repair. The tire should be removed from the wheel and inspected and if ok then patched inside.

cetialpha5

Where was the screw in the thread? If it's near the outer ribs, it's probably not good, if it's near the inner ribs, then you can just dismount the tire and patch it. You can take it to a store like Goodyear and they'll fix flats for free.

CEB

You most likely damaged the belts. There is no way to tell with x-ray'ing the tire and that isn't gonna happen.

Measure the tread depth of the other tire on that axle and compare it to a new tire. If the difference isn't that great then just replace that tire.

Mustangbru8

I bought a Mercedes for the safety and have no problem spending a few hundred bucks to make sure it's still safe. I'm thinking I just replace the tire, I rather be safe than sorry.

PHML

if on the sidewall, then get new tires...its not safe.

if on the treads and there are enough meat left on there, then it should be okay to run it with the patch.

Mustangbru8

It was in the last tread on the outside. So if the diagram above was my tire it was the 5th tread on the right.

homeofstone

In that case I would replace the tire.

Mustangbru8

Just to be clear I was talking about the diagram above on the left side that has the cutaway of a tire, In the tread void groove and the 5th to the right. I would like to not replace 4 tires, that would seem a little excessive.

cetialpha5

If you're talking about the one that has 6 ribs and the screw was in the 5th, then it's somewhat borderline. I'd take it to a real tire shop that can take the tire off the rim and patch it from the inside. If the screw is closer to the center of the tire, then it's possible it can be patched, if it's more toward the 6th rib or shoulder, then you should probably get another tire. Maybe pick up a used on eBay or craigslist to match the thread depth or if you ask the tire shop, you might be able to get away with just one new tire if it's a few 32's difference.

Mustangbru8

It's a lease too with 1.5 years left, too bad it wasn't due back next month.

beejAMG

you said you bought a mercedes for safety...now its a lease. what is it really?

how did your guy fix the tyre? from the outside or inside? if its from the outside, then you wont be able to tell the damage on the inside of the tyre and you said it ate a lil on the outside wall when you ran it flat.

if your guy fixed it from the inside (proper way), then he should have seen if there was any damage on the tyre. if he didnt say change your tyre, you dont need to worry.

now if money is not a problem as you said and you would rather have peace of mind. get one tyre, wont cost you more than 150.

cetialpha5

Oh, if it's a lease, then I wouldn't worry about it too much, get it repaired from the inside if it wasn't done that way. If it was, then you're probably fine and you're all set. If not, because it's a lease you're going to turn in, you're going to be fine with just getting one tire.

cetialpha5

Oh, if you're really worried, you can actually buy a tire from tirerack.com and they'll shave down the tire to match the other tires on your car. But if you're going to do that, you mind as well buy a used tire. I bet the tread on the other tires is in the 7-8/32's range so a used tire of the same brand with no patches would be the same thing.

jylee

Tire repair is safe, no need to worry. However, it is best to patch, than plug repair.

ss3964spd

I have plugged at least a dozen tires; my truck, my wife's BMW, my previous E500, and other family vehicles and not a single one has leaked or failed. Ever.

As said, plug away if the hole is in the tread area, but if it's in the side wall the tire needs to be replaced.

homeofstone

You are a lucky man regarding plugs in tires. I have seen many fail at Interstate speeds due to heat. One of the areas of work I have been in charge in the past was the motor fleet and we had tires fail on trips which had been plugged without my fleet service manager knowing. People got a quick fix and did not report it. A patch to the inside of a tire is the safest repair.

CEB

Incorrect. Damage to the belts may not be visible. In this there are strong indicators (scrubbed sidewall from driving on a flat tire (tyre)) that there could (should?) be internal damage - a potentially dangerous situation.

And yes, plugging a tire from the outside is also potentially dangerous - but - people often use the term "plug a tire" when they really mean a proper patch.

beejAMG

incorrect. if you run flat your tyre, you would scrape some rubber off before you damage the belt. rubber bits after you run flat your tyre is reason enough to change a tyre, so you dont even need to go further and find out if the belts are damaged as well.

thats why I said if the guy that fixed it just plugged the hole from the outside, he may have missed the rubber bits inside the tyre.

Mustangbru8

Thanks for the info guys. After thinking about it and some research the screw hole was too far too the outside to be able to patch from the inside and I didn't want to worry about it on my family highway trips so I stopped by my dealership and replaced the tire for 300 bucks.

CEB

Sorry, but you are still wrong. Even without visible damage (either inside or out), there is a good possibility of damaged belts. You can either wait for a catastrophic failure or you can x-ray the tire. A significant portion of belt damage caused by significant underinflation is invisible until there is actual belt separation.

beejAMG

Sorry mate but im not gonna get into another pissing competition with you. You have a point but to say im incorrect when its just lacking more info is just wrong. Maybe you still havent forgotten about the hyundai incident but you have to move on with those kind of things kid. Its ok, you dont have to nitpick my posts and jump into any chance to get back at me.

Besides, OP resolved the issue a few days ago. Any post from here on are pointless.