If I get a flat tire in UK what’s my options?

[Sixer]

I am playing out a scenario which I hope doesn’t occur. Should I get a flat tyre and can’t get the car home my first port of call is going to be Tesla service. Does anyone have experience of what they will offer me? How much is an 18” tyre from them? Am I going to get fleeced? Can they fix by the side of the road?

Tempted to put a tyre inflator in the boot just in case.

 

[NorfolkMustard]

Get AA/RAC cover

 

[Adopado]

Could be worth carrying some jacking pucks so that any breakdown service can potentially help you out. You can go the whole hog and get a spare but size makes regular carrying unrealistic. I have one at home that can be brought out to me if I'm within striking distance (my last 3 punctures have all been within a few miles of home).

 

[Sixer]

@Adopado did you buy a Tesla spare wheel and tyre? Or an aftermarket cheaper fitting wheel and get me home tyre. I may be tempted with this approach but not if it’s £400!

I suspect I may have issues with my local tyre place stocking a Michelin PS4 Accoustic 18” tyre

 

[Adopado]

@Adopado did you buy a Tesla spare wheel and tyre? Or an aftermarket cheaper fitting wheel and get me home tyre. I may be tempted with this approach but not if it’s £400!

I suspect I may have issues with my local tyre place stocking a Michelin PS4 Accoustic 18” tyre

I have a "get me home" wheel/tyre. Not had to use it thank goodness! [email protected] will give you a quote. They don't list Tesla on the website but sourced the appropriate options.

If a tyre type exists in the country most tyre places can get hold of them pretty quickly ... so if you ever needed a new Michelin it should be possible.

 

[pgh69]

What about the tyre sealant foams you can buy aftermarket as a short term fix?

 

[DanTW_GB]

I bought this:

Model S/X/3 Tire Repair Kit

Out of stock now but should come back in stock soon hopefully, it’s handy as I can keep my tyre pressure at the right level without going to a garage or petrol station, and if I get a flat, I can use the sealant to get to the closest garage.

 

[m3p_uk]

4 years of cover free with Tesla including flats for 50 miles
Roadside Assistance

 

[DanTW_GB]

4 years of cover free with Tesla including flats for 50 miles
Roadside Assistance

this is true - but I've read cases where they can sometimes they take over 24 hours to get to you, meaning you may need to have to abandon the car for a day or so. Each to their own, but I’d rather have the tyre kit above in the boot also, incase that happens to me!

 

[Leelo]

To get you home best option is probably AA or RAC they’ve saved my ass a few times I’ve had punctures in a car with no spare provided they all car a very funky space saver wheel that seems capable of adjusting to fit pretty much anything but is definitely only a get you somewhere to get it fixed I.e. home if you are getting a mobile repairer or a local tyre place if you want

 

[Mr H]

My current car has no spare and no room for one either, i carry one of these but have not needed in for 2 years. I did use it on the wifes car a few months ago and the tyre has remained at the correct pressure since

https://www.amazon.co.uk/STOP-POCKET-TYRE-PLUGGER-KIT/dp/B003VE0ZL6

 

[mswlogo]

I bought this:

Model S/X/3 Tire Repair Kit

Out of stock now but should come back in stock soon hopefully, it’s handy as I can keep my tyre pressure at the right level without going to a garage or petrol station, and if I get a flat, I can use the sealant to get to the closest garage.

Sealant won't work on tires with acoustic foam.

Better off with a Plug Kit. I carry a Plug Kit, Jack, Jack Pads and high Speed Compressor.

 

[Adopado]

What about the tyre sealant foams you can buy aftermarket as a short term fix?

If you have the right kind of puncture they may be an option. They may be helpful but for my last 3 punctures sealants would not have been an answer due to sidewall damage. When I think about it I did actually have a slow puncture but that was dealt with just by adding air ... modern tyres seem to cope remarkably well with a nail or screw embedded in the tread without failing catastrophically ... however, that one might have been a sealant option if the air loss had been more than it was ... but it wasn't! I did read somewhere that punctures that can temporarily benefit from sealant are in the minority.

 

[mswlogo]

If you have the right kind of puncture they may be an option. They may be helpful but for my last 3 punctures sealants would not have been an answer due to sidewall damage. When I think about it I did actually have a slow puncture but that was dealt with just by adding air ... modern tyres seem to cope remarkably well with a nail or screw embedded in the tread without failing catastrophically ... however, that one might have been a sealant option if the air loss had been more than it was ... but it wasn't! I did read somewhere that punctures that can temporarily benefit from sealant are in the minority.

sealants don’t work with punctures in the main tread either on acoustic tires. Sealant can’t get to the puncture due to the foam. It won’t go through the foam or entirely cover it.

 

[Adopado]

sealants don’t work with punctures in the main tread either on acoustic tires. Sealant can’t get to the puncture due to the foam. It won’t go through the foam or entirely cover it.

good point ...

 

[refjamie]

Should I get a flat tyre and can’t get the car home my first port of call is going to be Tesla service.

I was on the Isle of Man between Christmas and New Year - on the Sunday morning I unplugged the car to see I had a flat; Called Tesla service (10am on a Sunday) - after over an hour on hold I gave up. Next morning I pumped it with a compressor and drove to a tyre garage in Douglas who sold me their cheapest (£200!) to get me moving again. I was on the boat back home the next morning so would have been stuck if they didn't have my size.

As a side note; it would have been really helpful if the app had notified me that the tyre was deflating overnight - would have meant more time to fix rather than panic stations just as we were about to leave for the day.

My advice would be to have a compressor and foam (I understand the foam means the tyre can not be repaired (even if the puncture is in the 'middle third') and it kills the tyre pressure sensor - so only to be used as a super last resort, and the usual breakdown cover!

 

[mswlogo]

I was on the Isle of Man between Christmas and New Year - on the Sunday morning I unplugged the car to see I had a flat; Called Tesla service (10am on a Sunday) - after over an hour on hold I gave up. Next morning I pumped it with a compressor and drove to a tyre garage in Douglas who sold me their cheapest (£200!) to get me moving again. I was on the boat back home the next morning so would have been stuck if they didn't have my size.

As a side note; it would have been really helpful if the app had notified me that the tyre was deflating overnight - would have meant more time to fix rather than panic stations just as we were about to leave for the day.

My advice would be to have a compressor and foam (I understand the foam means the tyre can not be repaired (even if the puncture is in the 'middle third') and it kills the tyre pressure sensor - so only to be used as a super last resort, and the usual breakdown cover!

foam (goop) will not work on acoustic tires.

acoustic tires can be plugged or patched (plugged from the back) by qualified people willing to do it. They need to cut the foam out.

 

[Daverh]

modern tyres seem to cope remarkably well with a nail or screw embedded in the tread without failing catastrophically

When I was young and dumb (about 10 years ago) I noticed a screw in a rear tyre. It was diagonal through the side of a tread block and the head had already come off but I wasn't losing any noticeable pressure so ignored it (like I said, young and dumb)
About 6 months / 10k miles later, when I was having a couple of tyres replaced, the fitter pointed out what was now a much smaller screw that was still stuck through the tyre. I reckon I was lucky not to have had a blow out from that.

 

[MrBadger]

As a side note; it would have been really helpful if the app had notified me that the tyre was deflating overnight - would have meant more time to fix rather than panic stations just as we were about to leave for the day.

Its a shame that the TPMS does not pick up tyre pressures before car has moved some distance. My other car reports pressure status without moving, so I would know that I have a problem before moving off, but the Tesla system would not notify of an issue until I had driven a short distance away when a quick tyre swap would become a major inconvenience.

I'm still on a lookout for a reliable air compressor that would work with the reduced rating of the Model 3 12v system.

 

[DanTW_GB]

Sealant won't work on tires with acoustic foam.

Better off with a Plug Kit. I carry a Plug Kit, Jack, Jack Pads and high Speed Compressor.

I’ve read this a few times, but also conflicting opinions. I’m no expert, I’ve never used this kit and I don’t actually know if it will work or not, but I’d give it a go on my 20” M3P tyre if it was flat and I was likely to be waiting hours for some reason, unable to get help. My (limited) understanding is that the foam in this kit expands inside the tyre, and replaces the air inside the tyre with foam. I appreciate people are saying the foam can’t reach the hole as it may be under the thin layer of inbuilt foam manufactured into these tyres, but I don’t see clearly why that should really matter... forgive me if I’m missing something obvious, but in my head, if the air in the tyre is replaced by expanding foam, why should it matter if there is a tiny hole in the tyre still? Surely not much air will leak out since it’s mostly been replaced with the foam that hardens up anyway? Isn’t that the whole point of the kit - to replace the air with expanding foam as a quick temporary fix so the tyre can be driven on for up to around 180 miles, full of expanding foam, no?

Also - why would Tesla sell something like this on their website for the model 3, and not say - ‘N.B. This wont work on a model 3 Performance with 20” Pilot Sport 4s tyres’ at the bottom? I know they can be incompetent at times, but it seems unlikely they wouldn’t mention something along these lines.

thoughts?