Unable to patch Tesla Michelin tires

[Figo7966651]

Two month ago I found my right rear tire slowly leaking (~10psi drop per month). Initially I thought the Schrader valve was damaged by myself during the last air pumping, so I pumping the tire every 3~4 weeks to bring it back to normal pressure. But recently just found a nail in the tire (see photo), then I figured that is the reason for leaking.

My local Costco told me they cannot patch Tesla tires because of the added insolation foam inside. Then i called Tesla SC and was told they don't patch tires now due to tons of backlog issues, but they refused to provide any recommended places to patch it, just told me any 3rd party can do it.

I'm looking for somewhere has Tesla experience who know how to properly lift the car (with my jack pad) and patch the tire. Also, $70~$80 for patching the tire seems over priced from what I read online, my most recent experience was $10 at Boston MA in 2018. Any recommended places near Sunnyvale CA with reasonable price?

 

[XPsionic]

https://www.rematiptop.com/assets/tech/trm/Reference/Sound-Suppression-Tires-Repair-Guide.pdf

Repairing ContiSilent Tires with Quiet Foam – TechLink

gm-techlink.com

No recommendations, however you might want to call up the Costco and see if they could do this one simple task of cutting out a piece of foam to do the patch. It's hardly any more difficult than patching a normal tire...

 

[RayK]

I had a flat in the factory MXM4 and it was patched by Tesla Santa Clara Service a couple of years ago. I was there on Monday and they were slammed with cars being checked in for service so that may be why they aren't patching tires. It took them about 20 minutes to fix my tire and it lasted until I got another puncture near the sidewall and I replaced both rears.

My understanding is that to fix the MXM4 you have to cut away the foam inside the tire and then you can apply a patch. I believe it's recommended to replace the foam but that might be asking for problems later on if the glue doesn't hold and then you have a piece of foam bouncing around inside the tire.

 

[oreobbq]

The quick and dirty (but still effective) way to fix these is with a plug. A kit like this.

 

[android04]

It's easy to patch. They just need to cut a small section of the foam inside, where they are applying the patch. They can try gluing the small section of foam back after patching, or just toss it (it won't matter). Any tire shop should be able to handle it. Here's an informative link that shows how it's done (it's got nice pictures too) Repairing ContiSilent Tires with Quiet Foam – TechLink

 

[Sam1]

go to a discount tire, they will fix it. all they have to do is cut a small piece of foam off where the puncture is. I've had at least half a dozen fixed there.

 

[RG-M3]

Yup, had mine patched. They scraped away the foam from the 4 inch area and patched it like any other tire

 

[Jeremy3292]

This makes me want to buy the Discount Tire tire certificates even more now when I replace my OEM tires. If they can't fix the foam due to a puncture they will have to give me a new tire.

Also I'm not really sure I follow why you can't just plug the tire like you would any other tire with a nail hole. Just get one of the simple plug kits and just poke a hole through the foam and plug it, no?

 

[MaxYasgur]

I had a similar problem with a screw in a tire. Local SC also told me to go to any reputable tire shop. I called a couple of NTB places. Found one that said they could fix it. Manager knew about the foam liner and even had the special pads to lift it. Said he got them because he was getting so many calls about Teslas. They cut away the liner around the screw, plugged the hole, and checked the tire balance for $27. Tire has been holding air fine now for over two months.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Yeah, I've had my tires patched 3 times. No big deal, they just rip out a clump of the foam and patch it like any other. Any good tire shop will know this.

 

[CaptainKrunch]

you are making this WAY more difficult than it needs to be. Just plug the damn thing with the plug kit you should have in your car anyway and fill it with air with the compressor you should have in your car

 

[rhumbliner]

go to a discount tire, they will fix it. all they have to do is cut a small piece of foam off where the puncture is. I've had at least half a dozen fixed there.

+1
Discount Tire fixed my Goodyear Eagle with sound deadening foam for free.

 

[timk225]

If I needed to fix a nail hole in a Tesla tire, I'd do it the same way I fixed tires on my 1971 Plymouth Valiant and many other old cars for many years. Get a cheap plug kit, coat the plug with RTV silicone, pull the nail, rough up the hole, throw the plug in there, DONE!!!

 

[father_of_6]

Chewing gum. Nuff said.

 

[Theadonnan]

Discount tire patched this earlier this week (for free).

 

[mycroftxxx]

I had a flat recently on one of my OEM Michelin MXM4s, and although the Tesla mobile tire service truck ended up not being able to fix it, it wasn’t because of the foam. (A 3/8ths inch thick piece of welding slag, probably from a local construction site I had driven by just a few minutes before the flat occurred, was the culprit and the hole was too big to safely patch.) And I’ve had Continental tires with the foam lining patched several times. It’s no big deal for any semi-reputable tire shop to handle.

 

[ucmndd]

Either take it to America’s Tire or plug it yourself. This is not rocket science.

Model 3s are more common than Camrys in Sunnyvale. It takes no special skill to lift them, and any tire shop in the area can figure this out. I’ve always found Costco to be unreasonably conservative about stuff like this with no better prices than America’s Tire.

 

[Huskyfan]

I had a nail in my tire. Leaked pretty dang quickly. Like flat when i came out of a store while only in there less than 90 minutes. i keep a air compressor and patch kit in my frunk. Found the nail, pulled it out, plugged the hole with my patch kit. Have driven on it for over 500 miles, no issues, still holding air.

Had a BMW i3, which has super light weight tires. I learned to patch flat tires with that car. Had three of them in four years.

Tire places will tell you not safe. The worst that will happen is a slow leak. Beats spending money on a tire with another 10-15K left on it.

 

[Huskyfan]

you are making this WAY more difficult than it needs to be. Just plug the damn thing with the plug kit you should have in your car anyway and fill it with air with the compressor you should have in your car

good advice. A pair of work gloves and a good pair of pliers also a good addition to the plug kit and compressor. And an air gauge.

 

[ODWms]

I’ve driven cars 10s of thousands of miles with a simple plug I had quickly installed years before, and forgot all about them.