1st Roadside Assistance Experience

[clmason]

Welp.... Murphy’s Law strikes again. Leaving work today around 3:00 and just as I exit the parking lot I see a tire pressure alert telling me to pull over. Sure enough there is a nail in my tire. 3’s digital display shows 14 psi. Glad the car alerted me because I didn’t notice it.

What’s worse? I’m 100 miles from home. It’s 4:00 PM in the Inland Empire (east of LA, same terrible traffic).

Called Tesla Roadside service. They were pretty helpful. Unfortunately the “tire loaner program” does not have any Model 3 tires to bring out to me. Instead they offer to tow the car 50 miles into the heart of LA traffic to a Service Center. I pass on that. Opt for a tow to the nearest tire repair shop. Tow truck arrives in about 30 minutes. He fills up my tire and it’s good enough for me to drive to the tire repair shop. On my way home another 30 minutes later and battle rush hour back to San Diego.

All in all not a terrible experience but I’m thinking about getting a donut spare. Maybe some kind of portable air pump. Either would have saved me ~1:30.

 

[Evoforce]

Yup! Time to make the donuts! That was an old commercial for a popular donut chain. I have 3 cars now without spares and I keep threatening to make some donuts. You know that the minute you do, you will never need it. But... it could help by providing a hole different attitude!

 

[run-the-joules]

Welp.... Murphy’s Law strikes again. Leaving work today around 3:00 and just as I exit the parking lot I see a tire pressure alert telling me to pull over. Sure enough there is a nail in my tire. 3’s digital display shows 14 psi. Glad the car alerted me because I didn’t notice it.

What’s worse? I’m 100 miles from home. It’s 4:00 PM in the Inland Empire (east of LA, same terrible traffic).

Called Tesla Roadside service. They were pretty helpful. Unfortunately the “tire loaner program” does not have any Model 3 tires to bring out to me. Instead they offer to tow the car 50 miles into the heart of LA traffic to a Service Center. I pass on that. Opt for a tow to the nearest tire repair shop. Tow truck arrives in about 30 minutes. He fills up my tire and it’s good enough for me to drive to the tire repair shop. On my way home another 30 minutes later and battle rush hour back to San Diego.

All in all not a terrible experience but I’m thinking about getting a donut spare. Maybe some kind of portable air pump. Either would have saved me ~1:30.

Model S/X/3 Tire Repair Kit

I bought this and keep it in the car. Just in case…

 

[jsmay311]

It didn't occur to me till just now that the Model 3 doesn't come with a standard 12V air compressor / tire repair kit or a dedicated place to store it. It should. Granted it's not all that expensive to buy one, but lots of people won't think to, and the free roadside assistance plan won't always be free (after 4 yrs or 50k miles) and it won't always be convenient.

Do any other non-exotics not come with either a spare/run-flats OR a 12V air compressor/tire repair kit? Or is Tesla alone on this?

 

[run-the-joules]

or a dedicated place to store it.

This is the part that kinda annoys me. There's not really a "great" place to put the UMC and tire kit that don't impinge on otherwise-useful storage.

 

[Candleflame]

has anyone checked whether a spare tire fits into the frunk or the covered space in the booth?

Had a flat tire (gaping hole) 600km away from civilization last week though I had a spare tire. This is actually quite a bit of a problem in Aus where even 200km towing insurance (which is reasonably cheap here) often isnt enough. Nevermind that you need to get a phone signal to start with...

 

[gregincal]

This is the part that kinda annoys me. There's not really a "great" place to put the UMC and tire kit that don't impinge on otherwise-useful storage.

I don’t quite understand this. Would you prefer they had made some storage not useful for anything else to provide you with this non-useful storage space? There are the two wells on either side of the trunk (which is where I kept both of these things in the S) or the covered back center storage (where I’m currently keeping them in the 3).

For the OP, a 12v compressor with goop should be your first purchase with a Tesla.

 

[DR61]

I will carry the Tesla pump kit and a tire plug kit when we get ours. I hope to find an appropriate diameter temp spare also for use when traveling in the outback areas of the western US. I am quite sure a spare will only fit in the large rear trunk based on dimensions of frunk and rear lower compartment that I've seen.

 

[run-the-joules]

I don’t quite understand this. Would you prefer they had made some storage not useful for anything else to provide you with this non-useful storage space? There are the two wells on either side of the trunk (which is where I kept both of these things in the S) or the covered back center storage (where I’m currently keeping them in the 3).

For the OP, a 12v compressor with goop should be your first purchase with a Tesla.

The side of the trunk doesn’t fit them cleanly and the Nolan Trunk in the rear is too useful for groceries (they don’t slide around!) to use on those. I may just keep it all in the frunk since that’s much less convenient to use than on the S, due to the annoyance of having to actually go into the mobile app or the car to open the frunk

 

[SigNC]

I'd opt for tire repair plug kit over sealant, but that's just mean. Ideally you just have both.

 

[GoKingsGo]

I'd opt for tire repair plug kit over sealant, but that's just mean. Ideally you just have both.

 

[GoKingsGo]

Amazon sells a similar repair pump for $38.

https://www.amazon.com/Slime-70005-...id=1518202531&sr=8-8&keywords=tire+repair+kit

 

[John Beans]

After you've pulled out whatever it was that caused your puncture (like a screw) and use slime, take it to be repaired ASAP and have them rinse out the slime to keep your TPMS in good shape and your tire nicely balanced.

 

[N5329K]

I don’t quite understand this. Would you prefer they had made some storage not useful for anything else to provide you with this non-useful storage space? There are the two wells on either side of the trunk (which is where I kept both of these things in the S) or the covered back center storage (where I’m currently keeping them in the 3).

For the OP, a 12v compressor with goop should be your first purchase with a Tesla.

The semi-cheezy Fiat 500e comes equipped with all that.
Robin

 

[Futuresystem]

We currently have a Mitsubishi PHEV which also has no spare. It DOES come from the factory with a small compressor and a repair kit.
However, I bought another wheel from the wreckers which I throw in the back for longer trips, ..... so no doubt I’ll never need it when it’s actully in the car.

Having said that, I’ve actually had two tyres destroyed beyond roadside repair in 46 years of driving, one of which would have very likely been saved with a TPMS, so it’s not something I’ll worry about when we get our M3.
I will however carry a compressor and repair kit with me.

 

[mwu]

I am coming from a 2003 VW Jetta which I bought new. VW put full sized spares in these, so I've always felt pretty good about being able to recover from a flat.

That said, I've only ever needed the full sized spare once in the 15 years I've had the car. I was able to change out the flat and get back on the road in 10 minutes -- it was awesome to have it then, but just extra weight the rest of the time.

For the Model 3 my plan is to have a repair kit / compressor for daily driving and maybe a spare in the garage to toss in the frunk for longer distance trips. Though in my experience nails and such are more likely on a short distance trip.

 

[Gruntled]

Amazon sells a similar repair pump for $38.

https://www.amazon.com/Slime-70005-...id=1518202531&sr=8-8&keywords=tire+repair+kit

Thank you!

 

[omgwtfbyobbq]

HF sells a small 12V compressor for about $7 after coupon and a tire repair kit is maybe $5. 24oz of slime is $10.

http://www.hfqpdb.com/coupons/1793_ITEM_12_VOLT_250_PSI_PORTABLE_INFLATOR_1516852939.9061.png
Tubeless Tire Repair Kit 9 Pc
https://www.amazon.com/Slime-10164-Tubeless-Tire-Sealant/dp/B01LCLMKTY/

Or if you want something faster, the high volume 12V pump can supposedly inflate a car tire in a few minutes, but it's a little more expensive $30-$35.

12V 100 PSI High Volume Air Compressor

 

[Snerruc]

Most high buck cars don’t have a spare any more. My last BMW didn’t have one or a kit. I guess rich folks don’t change flats anymore. Mobile service doesn’t do much good if there is no cell service.

 

[swoosh82]

Welp.... Murphy’s Law strikes again. Leaving work today around 3:00 and just as I exit the parking lot I see a tire pressure alert telling me to pull over. Sure enough there is a nail in my tire. 3’s digital display shows 14 psi. Glad the car alerted me because I didn’t notice it.

What’s worse? I’m 100 miles from home. It’s 4:00 PM in the Inland Empire (east of LA, same terrible traffic).

Called Tesla Roadside service. They were pretty helpful. Unfortunately the “tire loaner program” does not have any Model 3 tires to bring out to me. Instead they offer to tow the car 50 miles into the heart of LA traffic to a Service Center. I pass on that. Opt for a tow to the nearest tire repair shop. Tow truck arrives in about 30 minutes. He fills up my tire and it’s good enough for me to drive to the tire repair shop. On my way home another 30 minutes later and battle rush hour back to San Diego.

All in all not a terrible experience but I’m thinking about getting a donut spare. Maybe some kind of portable air pump. Either would have saved me ~1:30.

Did they repair the tire even though it has acoustic foam inside of it or did they justt replace it?