Flat tire repair- alternate option available other than Tesla?

[imthiazah]

I had a flat tire on the rear right wheel with less than 4000 miles on it I got 20inch continental crossimpact. Tesla gave me a loaner tire for 3 days and told me I can either get theirs for $433 (incl tax/labor) or shop outside.

I called American tires but they only have an equivalent Bridgestone tire in stock and it works out about $100 less.

The person who bought the loaner tire looked at the puncture and said it is non-repairable as it was a big screw close to the side wall.

I have an appointment scheduled in the morning with the mobile ranger to come replace it. Meanwhile I tried looking online to see if there is an economical option and couldn't find any.

Has anyone been in this situation? If yes, did you go with Tesla?

 

[P85_DA]

Try ordering from tirerack

 

[TurboFroggy]

That is way far away from the sidewall and should be repairable. Any local Discount Tire/America's Tire or Les Schwab should be able to patch that.

 

[TexasRat]

Only question/concern I have with discount tire and stores like that, is do I trust them to drive my tesla into the shop to repair/replace the tire? I'm not sure how many they deal with on a normal basis, and I'd hate for them to screw something up because they're not familiar driving teslas. Maybe it's an unfounded fear.

 

[imthiazah]

That is way far away from the sidewall and should be repairable. Any local Discount Tire/America's Tire or Les Schwab should be able to patch that.

It was a thick stud like screw that was broken in half. I will give it a try in the morning before the ranger comes.

 

[imthiazah]

Try ordering from tirerack

I have 3 days to return the loaner. I don't think it will arrive in time and possible $70 savings from going to tesla. I would do it if it was something local.

 

[imthiazah]

Only question/concern I have with discount tire and stores like that, is do I trust them to drive my tesla into the shop to repair/replace the tire? I'm not sure how many they deal with on a normal basis, and I'd hate for them to screw something up because they're not familiar driving teslas. Maybe it's an unfounded fear.

You bring up a good point, I did not think of that. And I have white interiors too.

 

[xyeahtony]

Only question/concern I have with discount tire and stores like that, is do I trust them to drive my tesla into the shop to repair/replace the tire? I'm not sure how many they deal with on a normal basis, and I'd hate for them to screw something up because they're not familiar driving teslas. Maybe it's an unfounded fear.

discount tire rotated mine no problem. just tell them not to use a flat lift and lift it from the jack points and turn off the air suspension. shouldn't be an issue for them replacing a tire.

 

[Akikiki]

How do you turn off the air suspension?

 

[P85_DA]

How do you turn off the air suspension?

I think he meant put in jack mode

 

[xyeahtony]

I think he meant put in jack mode

haha yup. sorry. my measly S only has coils

 

[TaoJones]

Discount/America’s Tire has been great. 3 different locations, 2 slow leak repairs, and 2 new sets of tires from them to date. The 2 locations in SoCal were familiar with Teslas. The one in North Carolina, not so much.

Just treat every visit as if the guy who’s about to work on your car has never worked on one before unless and until he convinces you otherwise.

A copy of the jack points diagram on your cell phone can be helpful.

Second the point about using jacks and not the lift unless you have set of jack pads or hockey pucks handy.

 

[TexasRat]

Discount/America’s Tire has been great. 3 different locations, 2 slow leak repairs, and 2 new sets of tires from them to date. The 2 locations in SoCal were familiar with Teslas. The one in North Carolina, not so much.

Just treat every visit as if the guy who’s about to work on your car has never worked on one before unless and until he convinces you otherwise.

A copy of the jack points diagram on your cell phone can be helpful.

Second the point about using jacks and not the lift unless you have set of jack pads or hockey pucks handy.

Exactly my concern. If they do it wrong, they could cause underside body damage if they're not doing it properly, and they don't let you stay out there and watch them like a hawk while they do the work (at least in my previous experience). I was treading tire rotations for this reason since they do them for free which is nice, but after reading the manual I realized that I don't have to worry since the X's tires can't be rotated

 

[Akikiki]

What if they damage it, the car or the battery? Will they pay for it? Maybe, - after all - they don't want to lose your $25 tire repair every couple of years. And if its damaged, ya think Tesla's Service Center is going to be forgiving? And how long will your car be down for repair? What if parts are necessary? We know how that works.

 

[Need]

That looks almost identical to my Model X's tire screw damage. My wife took it to our local Les Schwab and it was fixed in 15 min and no charge.

 

[Big John]

In CA America’s Tire fixes them for free. Their manger said they see a lot of Teslas and are familiar with both the car and the foam inserts in the Conti. Did a great job for me. Very professional and clean. That screw placement is
not in an unfixable location. Guy is trying to get you to but a tire. Go somewhere else.

 

[TaoJones]

Exactly my concern. If they do it wrong, they could cause underside body damage if they're not doing it properly, and they don't let you stay out there and watch them like a hawk while they do the work (at least in my previous experience). I was treading tire rotations for this reason since they do them for free which is nice, but after reading the manual I realized that I don't have to worry since the X's tires can't be rotated

I do stand out there and watch them - never a problem.

For starters, after having a brief yet detailed chat with the first point of contact inside, I keep the fob. Usually then a technician finds me when it's time to work on the car. I drive the car toward a bay but not inside since it's not going on a lift. I get out of the car, watch them position the jack at the jack point(s) and the process begins. When they're done, I drive away. Easy. Painless. Quick. Done.

There are easily a half dozen America's Tire within reasonable driving distance. I found the best 1-2 and they've been great.

With all of that said, I recently wanted to find the best alignment and suspension shop within 100 miles, and now will have the rotations as well done there. They have lifts, I have jack pads, and they're very familiar with Teslas. Tangentially, see that Murphy's Law vendor fellow within these fora for his jack pads - good customer service and the pads work great. So would hockey pucks, but these pads take the guesswork right out of the equation and pretty much idiot-proof the process.

One potential downside of taking alignments, suspension concerns, tires and tire rotations away from the purview of SvCs is that I'm at SvCs less now, which means fewer opportunities to have (new) service bulletin items addressed. I'm okay with that as I still end up at an SvC multiple times a year for one reason or another anyway.

 

[imthiazah]

In CA America’s Tire fixes them for free. Their manger said they see a lot of Teslas and are familiar with both the car and the foam inserts in the Conti. Did a great job for me. Very professional and clean. That screw placement is
not in an unfixable location. Guy is trying to get you to but a tire. Go somewhere else.

I ended up replacing the tire as the mobile service person said it may leak even if I got it patched and I didn't want to go through the hassle.

Added a picture of the screw he pulled out.

 

[JenkinsEar]

I ended up replacing the tire as the mobile service person said it may leak even if I got it patched and I didn't want to go through the hassle.

Added a picture of the screw he pulled out.

I went with Discount Tire. Had a 1/2" bolt through the sidewall. DT (not Donald Trump) convinced me they knew how to deal with a Tesla, plus they gave me road hazard on all 4 tires (not just the new one) for $50 + tax, etc.. Did cost me $525 when it was all said and done.

 

[NHK X]

Had a similar issue with my 22” wheels, took it to a local shop right down the road and they ended up damaging the rim. They said the machine they have to take the wheel off wasn’t made for a wheel so large and thick.

From now on I take my Tesla to the SC.