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flat tire experience

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I'm not a fan of "goop" stopleak products like the Tesla tire kit. They play havoc with the TPMS sensors. I purchased a cheap inflator and tire plug/repair kit at Pep Boys and keep them in the car all the time. That gives a lot of options. If the tire is so badly damaged I can't fix it, it needs to be replaced and I need a roadside assistance loaner tire or tow to a place to replace the tire anyway. Just my 2 cents'
I asked my tire shop about the "Slime Safety Spair" kit that I bought when I got my S 4 years ago, and they said it's no big deal - the stuff rinses out with water and doesn't have any effect on the TPMS sensors. I have a plug kit as well, just in case, and use the compressor that comes with the Slime kit as a cheap inflator when I need to top up the tires.

It'd be complete unsurprising if the original SLIME/TPMS products didn't play well with each other...
 
I too recently had a flat with a 2" drywall screw in the first groove of the tire tread. I thought , no big deal. Not more than a few bucks to fix that. Only have about 8k miles on it. SC tells me it can't safely be repaired. WHAT! So that was a $300 dollar screw. I have had probably a dozen flats it over 30 years of driving and I have only once had a flat that couldn't be repaired; sidewall puncture. That I get.

I love the tires, but this to me is not really acceptable. Also can't get tire road hazzard insurance until I replace the tires from someone other than Tesla. So with only 9,500 miles on my Goodyear Eagle Tourings, I have to decide, do I continue to hope I don't get another flat until I need new tires, or should I be proactive and buy some new tires now and keep the ones I already have as spares for future flats that wouldn't be covered by road hazzard insurance?
 
I like the idea of a second set of tires on rims ready to replace a problem tire or wheel. Winter tires are good backup when you have tire or wheel damage to stay operational while the problem is fixed. Keeping tires off rims for some future hazard is not an immediate fix and it's rim damage that usually is more serious. Tires stored too long dry out so they are not for high speed driving. They are still round and made of rubber so they will get you to work and back.

Recently I used sealant to fix a flat and created a balance problem when the sealant wouldn't stay distributed in cold temperatures. These sealant kits may get you home but they are not a lasting repair.

For that drywall screw in the first groove, I would get a second opinion.

If you have a stored set of wheels with tires you are self insured making road hazard fees questionable, in my opinion.
 
I was talking to independant tire store owners who are reputable.
They tell me the main reason why tesla's don't have a spare or a jack is because:

1. The battery pack.
Never assume end user is competent to do anything correct even with the proper set of tools.
Always assume human factor of oops, or the infamous "oh @#$#@".

2. The jack.
Those jacks you find in serviceable cars can not support the weight of a tesla. A screw jack wont cut it to jack up the car.
You would need a Hydraulic Jack, and well that would eat a lot of room and add weight compared to a standard screw jack you get with cars.
Even then how many people even realize that you need to put your car in jack option to lift the car due to air suspension.

Too many things can happen to a tesla when its jacked by a non professional.
Even a good smaritan trying to help a lady with a flat on the side who does not know how to jack a tesla, can bring more problems then waiting for road side to come by.

3. Spare.
Tesla's try to save weight as much as possible.
Adding a spare would eat into trunk space. Adding the weight of the jack and the tire, could add a lot of weight.


I could see 2 and 3 not make sense...
Adding at most 100lbs for a flat option is moot.
However i see 1 being a real big problem.

I am reminded how stupid people are each time i drive out on a public road.
And giving those same people, not all of us here, but a percentage of it, the option to seriously mess up the car, i think tesla didnt want to handle that nightmare by not refurbishing us the means to do so.
 
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@Don85D, I get your point about having the second set of tires mounted on wheels, ready to go. Had the for my last car and really like the ability to make the change over to winter tires any time I wanted in less than an hour. On my 2001 Celica GTS, that was a $730 solution. For the MS, it's more like double to triple that, at least. Something to think about, but not really in the cards right now.

And I did get the tire back so that I could take it to a Goodyear dealer for a second opinion. Here's to hoping for a more agreeable answer from them.
 
I'm not a fan of "goop" stopleak products like the Tesla tire kit. They play havoc with the TPMS sensors. I purchased a cheap inflator and tire plug/repair kit at Pep Boys and keep them in the car all the time. That gives a lot of options. If the tire is so badly damaged I can't fix it, it needs to be replaced and I need a roadside assistance loaner tire or tow to a place to replace the tire anyway. Just my 2 cents'

You can use the Tesla kit to inflate the tire without using the can of goop.

I used to carry an inexpensive plastic hand pump. It takes a while to inflate a car tire but it is light to carry, cheap, and it works.

I haven't plugged a tire before, can it be done without removing the wheel from the car? Some needlenose pliers, a hand pump, and a plug kit might be a worthwhile kit. I have the Tesla flat kit but I'd certainly hate to use that goop if I could avoid it.
 
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That's the work of a nail gun. Note the clipped corners on the heads. This is vandalism.

I wonder why a vandal would put 6 nails in the same spot in the thickest part of the tread of a tire? Wouldn't it seem to make more sense for him to put one or two nails in each of the 4 tires, maybe in the sidewalls? It is certainly an odd puncture. There are marks in the rubber adjacent to the puncture, like a drag mark.
 
I haven't plugged a tire before, can it be done without removing the wheel from the car? Some needlenose pliers, a hand pump, and a plug kit might be a worthwhile kit. I have the Tesla flat kit but I'd certainly hate to use that goop if I could avoid it.
That's basically what I carry. You can't always get to it, but you'd be surprised how often you can. The tough part is finding the nail in the tread if you are alone in the car. Easiest way is to have one person looking at the tire as you slowly drive forward (or backwards). If alone, you have to advance a few inches, look, repeat until you find the nail. That said, when you are sitting there waiting for roadside assistance to show up, what else do you have to do? :)
 
I got my first nail 4 months on my Model 3 not even 1500 miles on it , and also my Model S plenty, I bought the Tesla air compressor with the tire liquid it brings and it just would leak out, I learned to just call Tesla road side and have them take me to closest tire shop and get a patch on it, they tell me the foam inside tire makes it hard on them to work and put patch. Just something you have to learn from experience I think

 
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I’ve had my S for one month. Ran to Lowe’s for a quick buy and on my way picked up what looked like a knockout from an electric service panel. Called my girlfriend who came by with her Accura. Tried to put her donut on but the caliper was in the way so I took the wheel to Autozone bought a plug kit plugged it with two plugs since it was a slice and aired it up with her pancake compressor and it held. Now I realize I could have put the donut on her car and put her tire and wheel on mine and gone home to enjoy what was left of Memorial Day.
 
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I’ve had my S for one month. Ran to Lowe’s for a quick buy and on my way picked up what looked like a knockout from an electric service panel. Called my girlfriend who came by with her Accura. Tried to put her donut on but the caliper was in the way so I took the wheel to Autozone bought a plug kit plugged it with two plugs since it was a slice and aired it up with her pancake compressor and it held. Now I realize I could have put the donut on her car and put her tire and wheel on mine and gone home to enjoy what was left of Memorial Day.
every vehicle needs a spare
 
about to take my first long road trip in my 100D with staggered 21" wheels
can't really have a single spare tire that will match both tire sizes
I have a set of 19" OEM wheels/tires which are only 2 mm less diameter and 5 mm less circumference than the front 21's but I assume would be a disaster to drive with different size tires whether right/left or front/back?
I have the Tesla inflation kit, but I suppose my only option is to also buy a plug kit and cross my fingers?
 
about to take my first long road trip in my 100D with staggered 21" wheels
can't really have a single spare tire that will match both tire sizes
I have a set of 19" OEM wheels/tires which are only 2 mm less diameter and 5 mm less circumference than the front 21's but I assume would be a disaster to drive with different size tires whether right/left or front/back?
I have the Tesla inflation kit, but I suppose my only option is to also buy a plug kit and cross my fingers?
David. I think your 19 inch tire would get you to a tire shop driving carefully.