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2500 miles in and now my tire has a puncture. Local Tire shop won’t touch it.

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I got a flat the first week with 400 miles on the clock. Couldn’t find the leak until I removed the tire. Nail was gone but you could still see the impression of the head and the tiny hole. Took it to tire shop and they called and said they patched it but they couldn’t guarantee the repair because the goo holding the foam might not be compatible with the stuff on the patch. They showed me pictures of the repair and didn’t replace the small section of foam. About 2,000 miles later it’s holding fine. Also found a YouTube video by a company that showed proper materials and techniques for patching foam lined tires. In my case I believe a plug would have worked just fine.
Tires with foam liners have been around for almost a decade. The procedure is well known.

Your shop should have replaced the square of foam they removed to repair your tire. There's nothing magical about the "goo" holding the foam.
 
I just saw this, so it's obviously too late for you, but Costco Torrance fixed a leak in my LR Y's front driver side tire for $12.95. I don't know if you are a member, but the difference would almost would pay for a membership.
Well shucks. I actually looked this up and one of the reviews (Yelp?) said they turned away a Tesla. And I read that they don’t fix any tires that they don’t sell (like continental). Guess they were wrong! Ah well. Probably saved in the long run from avoiding the 8 $1.50 hot dogs I’d eat while waiting for my tire to be fixed! Good to know for the future though.

Also, I just realized that there is a Costco, sams club, home depot, and Lowe’s all within 2 blocks of each other.
 
Tesla will only replace tires. And no, they are not under warranty.

The tire manufacturer does list an allowed procedure to remove the foam, patch, and balance. The important part is that it cannot be near the sidewall that flexes more.

I had a foam lined tire plugged (DIY - on the rim) at around 7500 miles and it lasted the remaining tread life of the tire.
Just had a rear 19inch wheel plugged the other day at Tires Plus, manager stated we cut a small piece of the foam out and voila fixed... There is so much BS floating around that its unbelievable.... Had 2900 miles...
 
Well shucks. I actually looked this up and one of the reviews (Yelp?) said they turned away a Tesla. And I read that they don’t fix any tires that they don’t sell (like continental). Guess they were wrong! Ah well. Probably saved in the long run from avoiding the 8 $1.50 hot dogs I’d eat while waiting for my tire to be fixed! Good to know for the future though.

Also, I just realized that there is a Costco, sams club, home depot, and Lowe’s all within 2 blocks of each other.
FWIW, I also asked about tire rotations for OEM tires at the Torrance Costco and was told that they do that as well. I don't recall the price for members, but it seemed reasonable.
 
Just had a rear 19inch wheel plugged the other day at Tires Plus, manager stated we cut a small piece of the foam out and voila fixed... There is so much BS floating around that its unbelievable.... Had 2900 miles...
Tire salesman BS that is almost entirely profit driven:

We can't patch your tire because it has foam
We can't fix your tire because the puncture is within an inch of the sidewall
If you buy 2 tires we can only install on the rear (even if the rears are fairly new and fronts are bald)
Siping tires
Nitrogen in Tires
Rotating directional tires
Road hazard insurance
 
Not sure if this is helpful but whenever I buy a new vehicle I take it straight to Discount Tire and have them put road hazard on all of the tires. So from day 1 all of my tires get repaired for free and replaced if not repairable. The cost is less than replacing a single tire. Also free lifetime rotations and balancing.
 
Not sure if this is helpful but whenever I buy a new vehicle I take it straight to Discount Tire and have them put road hazard on all of the tires. So from day 1 all of my tires get repaired for free and replaced if not repairable. The cost is less than replacing a single tire. Also free lifetime rotations and balancing.
In many cases, that's true. Unfortunately it's not all inclusive and some shops will try to blame the consumer which gives them an out as driver caused failures are not covered, Things like too high or too low a tire pressure. Any rim damage or curb rash, etc. Places like Sams or Costco, where they have corporate customer service policies, are better at honoring a claim than some of the tire chain stores.
 
Just commenting on the difference between plugging at patching because they are different.

Plug: You leave the tire on the wheel and you "plug it" with material
Patch: You take the tire off the rim (remove foam if necessary), then put a "patch" on the inside, remount/balance it.

Patching is what most tires shops around me would do.
 
Not sure if this is helpful but whenever I buy a new vehicle I take it straight to Discount Tire and have them put road hazard on all of the tires. So from day 1 all of my tires get repaired for free and replaced if not repairable. The cost is less than replacing a single tire. Also free lifetime rotations and balancing.
It costs about 75% of replacing a single tire if you buy certificates for 4 tires. They cost about 15% of the purchase price and they require you to buy a certificate for any new tires that are replaced by certificate. So you pay for 5 certificates.

if it’s very warn out, you still have to buy the tire fir the other side, locking you into discount tire.

If you don’t purchase the certificate, they still do free flat repair, rotations, etc.

I’ve only lost a few tires to road hazard over the years.

it’s an insurance produce. Good for some, not for others.

Also, places like Costco provide pro-rated road hazard for free. Of course doesn’t help on new tires from OEM.
 
One note...not sure if anyone has already mentioned this (no, I'm not reading this entire thread), but Tesla has a nonstandard frame jack situation.

Unlike most cars, which have a rail suited to standard slotted jacks, Tesla has a flat bend that's even with the battery pack underside, so many tire places won't work on Teslas at all.

Some will work on them if you bring (or they have) a set of "jack pucks" that fit in the holes and reduce the risk of jacking damage to the battery pack.

Just be sure to order ones made from *new* or high-quality rubber or better yet, the aluminum ones that are out there (e.g., DEWHEL's).

Do NOT order any from China that use the toxic, smelly, crappy recycled rubber/plastic compound, which stink to high heaven. Even after putting a set of these cheap ones in two plastic bags and leaving them in the frunk of my Model Y, they stink up the area.

I'm throwing them out and ordering high quality ones. I'd particularly stay away from "Tesmanian" products....the floor mats I got from them were unusable due to the smell and had a wavy, poor fit. I'm betting their rubber jack pucks are the same poor quality recycled Chinese rubber.
 
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One note...not sure if anyone has already mentioned this (no, I'm not reading this entire thread), but Tesla has a nonstandard frame jack situation.

Unlike most cars, which have a rail suited to standard slotted jacks, Tesla has a flat bend that's even with the battery pack underside, so many tire places won't work on Teslas at all.

Some will work on them if you bring (or they have) a set of "jack pucks" that fit in the holes and reduce the risk of jacking damage to the battery pack.

Just be sure to order ones made from *new* or high-quality rubber or better yet, the aluminum ones that are out there (e.g., DEWHEL's).

Do NOT order any from China that use the toxic, smelly, crappy recycled rubber/plastic compound, which stink to high heaven. Even after putting a set of these cheap ones in two plastic bags and leaving them in the frunk of my Model Y, they stink up the area.

I'm throwing them out and ordering high quality ones. I'd particularly stay away from "Tesmanian" products....the floor mats I got from them were unusable due to the smell and had a wavy, poor fit. I'm betting their rubber jack pucks are the same poor quality recycled Chinese rubber.
If you can get the tire shop to use a low profile floor jack instead of a four point floor lift then you only need (1) lift pad. I use Reverse Logic's low profile lift pad for Tesla Model 3/Y. None better. Using a low profile floor jack and the front lift point on the Tesla vehicle you can lift both wheels on a side off the ground at the same time. (The way I see it when using a four point floor lift to lift the Tesla there are 4X as many chances of doing it wrong, damaging the Tesla vehicle, battery.)

Tesla – Jack Pads – Reverse Logic Limited
 
I had also written about a tire puncture of my new Y here

 
I had also written about a tire puncture of my new Y here

Wow sorry you had to deal with that hassle but glad they fixed it and didn’t need to replace.
Also - are you the same Kamban from Wci forums? If so, why aren’t you driving a 10 year old civic?
 
In many cases, that's true. Unfortunately it's not all inclusive and some shops will try to blame the consumer which gives them an out as driver caused failures are not covered, Things like too high or too low a tire pressure. Any rim damage or curb rash, etc. Places like Sams or Costco, where they have corporate customer service policies, are better at honoring a claim than some of the tire chain stores.
I've never had issues with that with any of the Discount Tires in my metro area... They told me short of someone slashing your tires, most everything is covered... One time I was riding with my coworker back from lunch... He got a flat on the freeway... Discount Tire happened to be at the next exit, so he drove slowly there. The tire was destroyed, but Discount Tire told him that since he had certificates to not worry about it, and they replaced it for free. In fact I remember a previous time I was there with a different coworker, whom I was trying to convince to get certificates, he explicitly asked about driving with too low a pressure, and they said that type of damage is one of the primary reasons to get certificates, as many people don't realize they have a flat until damage is already done... And rim damage/curb rash, is explicitly mentioned as a road hazard that would be covered... And one time my wife clipped a nasty pothole and popped two tires, and damaged two wheels... Both tires were replaced under the road hazard certificates.

I've actually had the worst luck with Costco... I've actually never had Costco actually honor a roadhazard repair... Every single time they tried to wiggle out of it... The last time they couldn't even be bothered to tighten my lug nuts, as I checked them in the parking lot, and they weren't even finger tight, some were just loose. So I have never gone back since....
 
Also, places like Costco provide pro-rated road hazard for free. Of course doesn’t help on new tires from OEM.
Does Costco work on Teslas? I haven't gone to Costco for tires in a long time, but my coworker told me that Costco refused to put tires on his model S, claiming that they don't touch EV's... So I told him to go to Discount Tire, as that's where I always go... Especially since Discount Tire will price match Costco anyways.
 
YMMV, as I live in AZ, but the nearby Costco replaced the tires on my Model S w/o issue- They did have to have me show them Jack mode the first time I took the S there, but after that, no problem. Also my local Discount Tire has replaced my tires no problem, they use hand jacks and pucks to lift the car.
 
Excellent rundown. I will add a caution due to a recent experience I had with plugging the tire myself. All prior plugs I have installed over many years have lasted the life of the tire. However, the one (on my MX) did not get a good seal (slower leak, but still leaked). So, what I found out is that ALL the tire shops I contacted would NOT patch the inside due to the fact I (or even someone else) had worked on the tire. At least, that was what they told me. Result was a new tire cost to me. If you have the ability to get to a tire store before attempting a self repair, you should consider it.
It is so easy to plug a tire. I keep a plug kit in both cars for the unlikely probability that we'll get a flat, but be that as it may, both kits came from sitting in the trunk of previous cars. They don't wear out. They're also relatively cheap. I've seen them for under $20, and they last forever.

I'd also recommend people buy an inexpensive air compressor for filling tires. This may be useful if you're out in the wilderness and your tire has slow-leaked too fast.

Basically, though, if I had a tire that was losing pressure slowly, I'd do the following.

1. Find the leak. This part is easier if you bring the tire pressure up to over 50 lbs. Mix a tiny amount of dish soap in a bowl of water and use a rag to wash it over the tire. Look for a little mountain of bubbles.
2. See if there's something in the hole, and if there is, prepare to remove it by having a strong pair of pliers handy
3. Get plug from plug kit and make sure plug is lubricated, ready to push into the hole, threaded into the Plug Insertion Tool (T-handle with large needle eye)
4. Pull out nail or whatever from hole and quickly use plug tool with plug inserted to push plug into hole. If done correctly, you won't lose any more air.
5. Trim excess plug off. The end of the plug inside the tire will fold down over the hole when you drive and help seal it from the inside even more. It won't hurt if a quarter inch of plug or so lays outside the tire after trimming.
6. Aaaand... Bob's your uncle! Or maybe Steve or Mark. I just don't know your family that well. Your tire should remain leak free until the next nail or until it gets replaced at the end of tread life.

I've plugged many, many tires in trucks I used in my business around construction. Lotsa nails! No way should you have to pull the wheel, dismount the tire, or mess with putting a patch on the inside. Totally unnecessary, but useful if you want to date your tire-man's sister.

I agree with others here that this takes some muscle. Some women can plug a tire, most don't want to mess with it. That's why they invented men, so I hear.
nt rundown
 
Excellent rundown. I will add a caution due to a recent experience I had with plugging the tire myself. All prior plugs I have installed over many years have lasted the life of the tire. However, the one (on my MX) did not get a good seal (slower leak, but still leaked). So, what I found out is that ALL the tire shops I contacted would NOT patch the inside due to the fact I (or even someone else) had worked on the tire. At least, that was what they told me. Result was a new tire cost to me. If you have the ability to get to a tire store before attempting a self repair, you should consider it.

nt rundown
Tire shops are constantly stretching logic to sell more tires. Pulling a plug to patch internally is no big deal. I had driven a Polaris Slingshot from Fort Myers to Huntsville for a homecoming event at the factory and got a flat in Huntsville. I plugged the tire to get back on the road but took it to a tire shop the next day for an internal patch. No problem in getting. I also did the same thing on a Volt with no problem.
 
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