Experience with flat tire

[Rockster]

Neither of our BMW's had spares and we were fine for years. We've had one actual flat in our Model S and the roadside service took quick care of the tow, even though it was Easter weekend and we were out of town. We've also driven over nails/screws twice that produced slow leaks and required patching at our local tire place. Ideally I'd prefer having a spare but after more than 10 years driving three cars without one, I've never been seriously inconvenienced.

(I'm sure I've jinxed myself by saying all that and I'll get four flats on the way home, in a horrible neighborhood that's without cell service and is inexplicably filled with zombies.)

 

[Solarman004]

Our Leaf came with the compressor and sealant, but the MX did not. I put together a kit for the X of Slime and a compressor. Others on TMC have also included a tire plug kit, which I will likely add. My only debate now is whether or not I need a jack to make an emergency repair easier.
It's still not clear to me if the sound-deadening foam will prevent the Slime from sealing...

 

[ecrsail]

There was another thread on this subject just last month:

Model X: Pictures of the inner tire foam insert

How to approach possibly repairing a Model X tire with a puncture would be a good topic for someone to consolidate the good information both threads into a sticky thread/posting as this subject is clearly going to come up often....

--Eric

 

[Jbailey]

Complete tire blowout last Thursday in Gainesville Florida...very exasperating experience. Called Tesla and told they could not get a tire until Monday and said that they would not cover any car rental but would cover the tow. Car was towed to Goodyear and Tesla paid the 65.00 towing charge. The assistant manager at Goodyear said he could get a tire (19" Mxm4) Michelin the next day overnighted... for well over 300.00 apiece. I told him to order 2. Called the next day and told "bad news, the rim was dented"...Goodyear guy found a new rim overnighted for 550.00 or so. 2 days later, went to pick up the car ...new dent in the back. They denied and said without proof nothing they would do. Tesla ranger had actually done a minimal warranty job the day before and it was perfect, No dent when he was finished... so I know this was new... drove the car home perturbed, Next day noticed they had put latitudes (wrong and cheaper tires) on the back. They ordered 2 of the correct tires and changed them out yesterday.

Body shop will fix dent in a couple of weeks

What an absolute flail. Total cost of blowout + extra tire + dent that Goodyear kindly provided = 1600.00 plus ....and the cost of Protonix to treat the ulcer.

 

[Gymee]

Complete tire blowout last Thursday in Gainesville Florida...very exasperating experience. Called Tesla and told they could not get a tire until Monday and said that they would not cover any car rental but would cover the tow. Car was towed to Goodyear and Tesla paid the 65.00 towing charge. The assistant manager at Goodyear said he could get a tire (19" Mxm4) Michelin the next day overnighted... for well over 300.00 apiece. I told him to order 2. Called the next day and told "bad news, the rim was dented"...Goodyear guy found a new rim overnighted for 550.00 or so. 2 days later, went to pick up the car ...new dent in the back. They denied and said without proof nothing they would do. Tesla ranger had actually done a minimal warranty job the day before and it was perfect, No dent when he was finished... so I know this was new... drove the car home perturbed, Next day noticed they had put latitudes (wrong and cheaper tires) on the back. They ordered 2 of the correct tires and changed them out yesterday.

Body shop will fix dent in a couple of weeks

What an absolute flail. Total cost of blowout + extra tire + dent that Goodyear kindly provided = 1600.00 plus ....and the cost of Protonix to treat the ulcer.

So sorry to hear this.

 

[Jbailey]

Other than this one bad experience, I love the car. Trouble free and a daily blast to drive

I found an extra rim for 180.00 on ebay, using the other replaced tire as a spare to keep at home and have a Tesla air compressor /puncture repair kit in the trunk.

Most new cars, like my wife's MDX do not have spares. The problem I experienced is that replacement tires for the Tesla are not readily available so it may take days and a personally paid-for car rental...I guess depending on where you live. However, at this point, a blow out or punctured side wall in a Tesla can be a very big deal. With Tesla's roadside assistance I had a very false sense of security that should a blowout occur, I would be OK. Had I known otherwise, I would have prepared by obtaining a spare.

Just bad luck...I have not read of anyone having the cluster of problems that I experienced. Even my rear dashboard camera which should have captured the dent making culprit had quit working a couple of weeks ago.

 

[suresv]

Other than this one bad experience, I love the car. Trouble free and a daily blast to drive

I found an extra rim for 180.00 on ebay, using the other replaced tire as a spare to keep at home and have a Tesla air compressor /puncture repair kit in the trunk.

Most new cars, like my wife's MDX do not have spares. The problem I experienced is that replacement tires for the Tesla are not readily available so it may take days and a personally paid-for car rental...I guess depending on where you live. However, at this point, a blow out or punctured side wall in a Tesla can be a very big deal. With Tesla's roadside assistance I had a very false sense of security that should a blowout occur, I would be OK. Had I known otherwise, I would have prepared by obtaining a spare.

Just bad luck...I have not read of anyone having the cluster of problems that I experienced. Even my rear dashboard camera which should have captured the dent making culprit had quit working a couple of weeks ago.

Tesla has a spare tire program on the S where when you have a blowout, they will send the tow truck guys who will replace your blown tire with a spare tire and then you can use a couple of days to fix the original tire and then return the spare to the service center. I had used it on my Model S (I had the 21" performance tires on the P85+ - causing many blowouts in the bay area roads). They still don't have that program for Model X - once they get that program going this should get easier

 

[Jbailey]

Tesla has a spare tire program on the S where when you have a blowout, they will send the tow truck guys who will replace your blown tire with a spare tire and then you can use a couple of days to fix the original tire and then return the spare to the service center. I had used it on my Model S (I had the 21" performance tires on the P85+ - causing many blowouts in the bay area roads). They still don't have that program for Model X - once they get that program going this should get easier

I assure you...that was not a choice. They were nice on the phone and did call a tow truck, but that was it. Things sound more civilized in the bay area.

Me: " You mean I have to actually rent a car and there is no tire available"
Roadside assistance: "We apologize for the inconvenience"

 

[Jbailey]

I assure you...that was not a choice. They were nice on the phone and did call a tow truck, but that was it. Things sound more civilized in the bay area.

Me: " You mean I have to actually rent a car and there is no tire available"
Roadside assistance: "We apologize for the inconvenience"

They did call around to try to find a tire but were unsuccessful. I am virtually 100-120 miles equidistant from Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa. Even so, if I wanted a tire the next day my wife would need to drive there to get it. They were to call me the next morning to let me know where she could go to get it, and they did not. Just as well, the rim was bent and we did not know it at the time.

 

[Jbailey]

Tesla has a spare tire program on the S where when you have a blowout, they will send the tow truck guys who will replace your blown tire with a spare tire and then you can use a couple of days to fix the original tire and then return the spare to the service center. I had used it on my Model S (I had the 21" performance tires on the P85+ - causing many blowouts in the bay area roads). They still don't have that program for Model X - once they get that program going this should get easier

I'm sorry, I failed to say that my car is a model S...2015 85D

 

[DrivingTheFuture]

Other than this one bad experience, I love the car. Trouble free and a daily blast to drive

I found an extra rim for 180.00 on ebay, using the other replaced tire as a spare to keep at home and have a Tesla air compressor /puncture repair kit in the trunk.

Most new cars, like my wife's MDX do not have spares. The problem I experienced is that replacement tires for the Tesla are not readily available so it may take days and a personally paid-for car rental...I guess depending on where you live. However, at this point, a blow out or punctured side wall in a Tesla can be a very big deal. With Tesla's roadside assistance I had a very false sense of security that should a blowout occur, I would be OK. Had I known otherwise, I would have prepared by obtaining a spare.

Just bad luck...I have not read of anyone having the cluster of problems that I experienced. Even my rear dashboard camera which should have captured the dent making culprit had quit working a couple of weeks ago.

I was about to say hearing about your dent may have convinced me to get a dash cam for our Model X, but after seeing the comments about glitches with even the stock SD memory cards, and the hassle (and cost) of install on other threads, I'm not so sure we will make that leap. I have to face it that taking our beautiful car out into the wild world we live in may entail going through some bad experiences, but it will be easier to just accept that and live in the car like we would any other and... come what may... life goes on.

ALSO, we are one of the first to build a home in a new development (we did get the best lot) but I fear we may get a nail or two (or three or four) over the next couple years as they build out the neighborhood (probably going to build another 40-50 homes on our street) so I take it obtaining a spare tire (and wheel or just tire?) would be in our best interest as we are 40 miles from nearest Service Center (luckily we do have the 20" wheels so tires should be easier to find?)

 

[Diavel]

Want to share my experience as I am jaded when it comes to tires and nails.

The model s program I've used numerous times. They give me a wheel and off I go in a loaner wheel on my S.

On the X, different story. As I've posted earlier that I've had two nails already and was patched up from a tire shop. I asked the tesla service advisor later on and he assured me it was fine to do it and it seems fine.

Now I needed a new tire as I had my front passenger tire punctured and was completely flat. Called Tesla roadside and no model X program yet because of the abundance in tire/wheel sizes and staggered setup.

X was in a flatbed to service. Tesla offered to Uber me to center (i declined and rode with the truck) and even provided me with a loaner for two days for free while they sourced a tire for me. These tires are so new shops do not stock them yet. Got my X back with a new tire.

Cost for everything... $450. Not too shabby as it was covered by the company that punctured my tire.

Wheel specs 20x9" fronts so tires are cheapest of all model X tire options.

Do not buy normal tires. Our X tires are special due to that sound deadening foam inside it.

 

[adamcb]

Got a nail hole in my left rear tire (much the same as the OP - losing about 3-4 lbs/pressure a day) on Thursday or Friday. My tires on my P90D X were the Goodyears.

Took it to the Austin Service Center on Sat, they fixed it. $80. Said they had to cut out a piece of the sound-insulating foam (much like the pics showed on the Continental). The hole was between two treads - so a perfect candidate for a patch.

Sorry you had to replace the tire.


Adam

 

[pete8314]

Might as well add to the misery!

3.5yrs/50k miles in my 2013 S (19" wheels) and never an issue. 3k miles in my 2016 S (21" wheels), and this morning managed to not avoid a small rock (about the size of a tennis ball cut in half), which took out the passenger front tire immediately. It was close to the office, so I limped into the parking lot and started calling. Tesla were a little vague (but helpful), so suggested they call the tow company, and in the meantime I call around for a tire. I did, and found one that could be at the nearest Discount Tire in a few hours. I get towed there, then see the back tire is also flat. No firm prognosis could be made until they got it on a lift, which didn't happen until the first tire arrived. Needless to say, the rear tire was a blow-out as well, and the front rim is bent, so looking around something around $1200, plus the car being stuck at the tire shop for a few days, as there no others in the state.

I guess in this case a spare tire wouldn't have helps as I lost two of them, but jeez, these wheels are fragile. It was not a big rock, and it didn't damage the face of the tire at all, just caused an immediate blow-out.

My big learning from this is get the car towed to a tire shop near home, as opposed to near the office, that would have saved so much hassle and Uber'ing.

 

[dweeks]

"The tire continental repair instructions are here. You could have gotten it fixed."

I have used these exact instructions to convince a tire shop to plug one of my tires, after being told the tire is not repairable.

 

[Librae]

Had a flat the other day due to a screw. I brought it to Les Schwab and they managed to fix with without any issues. Cost: $0

 

[brianman]

the spare tire program that is available on S

The what now?

 

[pete8314]

The what now?

They offered it to me as an option - basically the pick-up truck brings a wheel and tire out to you to switch out the busted one, then you go get it fixed, and return the loaner wheel & tire back to the local SC. Wasn't an option for me, since I blew two tires :-/

 

[Jrogville]

Complete tire blowout last Thursday in Gainesville Florida...very exasperating experience. Called Tesla and told they could not get a tire until Monday and said that they would not cover any car rental but would cover the tow. Car was towed to Goodyear and Tesla paid the 65.00 towing charge. The assistant manager at Goodyear said he could get a tire (19" Mxm4) Michelin the next day overnighted... for well over 300.00 apiece. I told him to order 2. Called the next day and told "bad news, the rim was dented"...Goodyear guy found a new rim overnighted for 550.00 or so. 2 days later, went to pick up the car ...new dent in the back. They denied and said without proof nothing they would do. Tesla ranger had actually done a minimal warranty job the day before and it was perfect, No dent when he was finished... so I know this was new... drove the car home perturbed, Next day noticed they had put latitudes (wrong and cheaper tires) on the back. They ordered 2 of the correct tires and changed them out yesterday.

Body shop will fix dent in a couple of weeks

What an absolute flail. Total cost of blowout + extra tire + dent that Goodyear kindly provided = 1600.00 plus ....and the cost of Protonix to treat the ulcer.

I just came across this thread researching the flat tire issue and noticed your location. High Springs? I live 5 miles south of High Springs! And here I was wondering if there were any Tesla owners in the Gainesville area. Do you know if there's any local club here in Alachua County? Anyway, hope you haven't had anymore flat tires.

 

[Ingineer]

I've plugged both my tires and those of others over the years probably over 100 times. All you need is a plug kit, and a decent air compressor. Every now and then the puncture is not able to be repaired by an external plug, but it's a pretty rare occurrence. You don't need a jack, you don't need a lug wrench, and you don't need to take the wheel off. I carry a small spray bottle with soapy water for locating the puncture. You may have to move the car around a few times and add some air with the compressor to find the hole, but when you do, just position the car so the puncture site is easy to access, remove the offending object (helpful to have a leatherman or similar) and follow the instructions in the plug kit. This will work fine even in the tires with the noise absorbing foam. It may not be "approved", but it's safe, and the worst that can happen is it doesn't hold and you have to take more drastic action. I'd say around 95% of the time it's fixed permanently and your back on the road with only a little dirt on your hands to show for it.

If you use the "slime" based stuff, not only is it temporary, but it also kills the TPMS and makes a big mess. I would avoid it! The plug is not much more effort and usually lasts the life of the tire, so no further hassle or expense.

Here's a decent plug kit on Amazon: Amazon.com: Smittybilt 2733 Tire Plug and Seal Kit: Automotive

Here's a decent compressor: Amazon.com: Viair 00073 70P Heavy Duty Portable Compressor: Automotive

Add a small spray bottle full of water with a little dish soap to your kit and it's compete!