Hi All, I had a slow leak from a screw on the shoulder area of the tire on my 2005 RL. It's on the tread portion of the tire but all the way at the edge of the tread in the shoulder area. I successfully plugged the area with a cheap wal-mart plug kit with the black strips and no air is escaping. I've driven it probably 30 miles or so and seems fine. I did notice the plug came out a very little bit more from driving only about a mm or so, but I scraped it off with a razor so it's flush with the tire again. That may just be part of the curing process?

Anyway, it got me researching and the shops say you shouldn't plug the shoulder area. Are they just being overly cautious and want to sell more tires? Or is it really a safety concern to plug this area of the tire? Tires are like 70% so I'd hate to scrap it.

 

Most tire shops won't plug a hole that's too close to the sidewall. I don't know all the reasons, but it's always been explained to me as a safety issue. Do you have a picture of your plug job so we can see how close it was to the sidewall?

 

I think part of it may be that an interior patch might not adhere properly if it has to curve onto the sidewall. Or that the abrasive they have to use on the rubber could weaken the thinner sidewall.

 

From my research, the middle of the tread doesn't flex and is reinforced with steel threads. The shoulder area isn't as thick and not reinforced with steel and is meant to flex. I think that's the main reason they don't suggest a plug due to the flexing. I'll see about taking a picture tomorrow.

 

Never ever plug a sidewall. The end.

 

Here are some pictures. You can see it's not quite on the sidewall but more on the shoulder area of the tire. I think I will replace the tire for peace of mind but surely the plug is better to have than the screw that was in there before.

 

I would not drive on that tire, that is far too far over the shoulder. I have to look it up but probably anything within 1" of the tread from the shoulder is not acceptable.

 

It’s a shame the tire has so much tread left, but you’re doing the right thing by getting a new one.

 

I'd agree, after seeing the photo, too close to the shoulder for a safe plug.
Maybe low speed to get you to the tire shop, if you don't have a spare, but I wouldn't trust it long-term.

 

I have plugged a lot of tires and driven on them for thousands of miles after no problem. I wouldn't ever consider plugging that. That is a trash tire regardless of the tread left.

 

^ +1, I also have plugged many tires for our vehicles and friends/relatives/neighbors/coworkers/... (I've plugged two tires in the past two weeks) and driven on them many of thousands of miles with only one problem tire plug (my daughter's Civic had a leak that took three plugs before sealing properly).

 

Bright side: at least the new tire swing has a good amount of tread on it ! I too err on the side of "hell no i'm not plugging that AND driving on it"

 

If it's on the part that touches the road, i plug it. On the corner,