Just a quick question guys/gals:

Driving to work this morning, I could tell something was amiss in the rear of my car and I pulled over only to find out my passenger rear tire was going flat. Upon changing the tire, the heat coming off of the wheel and tire was quite hot which led me to believe it was going down for a good stretch of my commute. Typically my commute is 20 minutes at speeds no more than 40-45 MPH.

The tire clearly had a nail in the center of the tread and right in the middle of the contact patch (nowhere near the sidewall).

I took the tire to a Goodyear shop and they called back only to tell me they couldn't patch it as the tire had sidewall damage. In disbelief, I took my tire down the road to a Firestone store and they too told me that I needed a new tire.

So, could the 10 minutes of my commute driving on a tire that was going down cause enough sidewall damage making me get a new tire? I noted no noticeable damage to the sidewall when changing the tire.

Just want to make sure I was correct in telling them to put a new tire on my car.

Thanks for the time.

 

You could easily destroy the sidewall driving on a flat for 10 minutes.

A sidewall is not as thick as the tread of the tire, so if it is damaged, it is usually recommended to throw the whole tire out.

 

The tire still had air in it when I was taking it off the car and you could hear a slight "hiss" from the area where I noted the nail, but you're probably right. By the time I got stopped in a lot, you could tell it was going down.

Thanks for the reply!

 

Due to liability all repair shops take the "if there's any chance, its no good" stance simply because its not worth the risk. Of course I can't see the tire to let you know what the scoop is on it, but it could clearly be no good, or marginal, if it falls into the later catagory no shop will fix it. A tire repair failing causing a fatality is a sure way to lose your business in a hurry.

To you its a tire that you have to purchase - a couple hundred bucks at the worst - to a repair shop it could mean everyone losing there job with the added stress of possibly being responsible for killing someone. Or at a large chain type store, 4 or so million dollars will cover it.

 

Thanks for the wise words, tireguy. It's greatly appreciated.

 

Ask .