I believe Ford doesn't cover tires, there's separate paperwork detailing the the tire warranty from the tire manufacture.

 

Figures.
In the past "road hazard" coverage has cost me a few dollars per tire.
In my experience, that was more than worth the nominal price of the coverage. Have used it a few times over the years.

 

For the other car "geeks" (like myself) out there:

The nail is about 2" in from the sidewall, this is kind of on the edge of where it is considered safe to plug a tire.

So, the question is: Plug the tire or replace it? (only about 5K on it)

Opinions please.

 

As long as it is in the area of the tire that contacts the road you should be able to have it patched. I personally would not plug the tire. It's worth taking in to be patched from the inside and any decent tire service center will tell you if it can be patched.

 

My dealer did me a solid and patched mine up for zero funds.


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For me, plugging a tire is a quick DIY.
I've done it several times in my driving career.
Just, this time the nail is kind of on the ragged edge of the safe to plug zone.
Still on the road contact surface of the tire, but kind of close to the sidewall area.
This is what has me concerned.

 

Plugging a tire is considered a temporary repair. The only permanent repair a tire shop can legally make is removing a tire from the rim and patching it. The reason for this is their have been many tread separation attributed to plugs not allowing water to get out of the hole in the tire once it gets in from driving on a wet surface. This causes the steel belts to rust causing the rubber to separate from the steel.
True story.
Mark

 

Les Schwab Tire and Discount Tire near me (Redmond, WA) patch tires for free. Once Discount Tire just plugged the tire for me and it didn't hold. I drove back and they patched it from the inside (still free). I think if I asked them to patch tire from the inside first time around, they'd probably do it.

I saw you're in PA and I don't think you have either store near you but perhaps other stores over there offer the same service.

 

Had a friend who owns a Corvette get an 8" bolt into his tire. Not a nail but a half inch wide bolt. Went in and damaged the rim as well so he had to replace both the tire and the rim. Not cheap on a Vette. He now proudly shows off his very expensive bolt.

 

Good news!

Was only a short pan head sheet metal screw. Backed it out - no leak, filled the hole with a little black silicone - back in business!

 

I've plugged tires myself for a years and never had an issue. To each their own though. But when i do plug a tire, i do add fix a flat to it to help seal it better on the inside. I buy from tires.com/discounttires.com and never get the warranty. Its just rare for me to get a nail or anything. And i know what expensive tires/rims can be. I just bought new tires for my lightning, almost $1000.

 

When I needed to plug a leak I always did it ramming a ribbon of butyl smeared in tire glue through the hole. Silicon covers the hole but doesn't close it.
The kits for this kind of repair are inexpensive and the fix is permanent.
Anyway I always go to the shop to put a patch from the inside when I find the time afterwards.
And due to my OCD I always carry a Slime repair kit in the trunk just in case. Plus the TPMS. Plus the DDS...
I know...

 

Was only a surface wound. No need for a plug.

 

Most tire shops charge $15.00 or less to patch a tire, some for free. After seeing the aftermath of tread separations I will never use a plug as anything but a temporary repair again. It's just plain dangerous. If the tread separates at highway speed it can be very hard to control not to mention the damage to your car and the cars around you when the tread comes off. I have witnessed it tear fenders up, rip fuel filler necks out, and tear brake hoses off. Its just not worth it. And no I don't nor have I ever worked for a tire shop. I am the shop foreman incharge of the motorpool for a large public utility where we do our tire work in-house.
Mark

 

Had a Nail and had it plugged. Used plugs on drag radials too that held up just fine. Patches are fine but in my opinion so are plugs. I got a bubble in my sidewall the other day and that made me hit up tire rack for a nice $180 replacement tire. Don't want a blowout in a turn

 

Last nitght, wife picked up a fingernail clipper in the tire. Smack dab in the middle of the tread. I thought, eh, no problem, Discount tire will patch it for free. Discount removes the tire from the rim, and looks at the size of the slice the fingernail clippers made, and said sorry, we cant fix it:crying:. $205 later (include mount and balance), I have a new tire on order to replace a tire that had 7k miles. These lower profile 18" continental tires arent cheap and I was not a happy customer.

Oh, the TPMS worked great. Instant warning, because my wife had no clue she had a flat. I think TPMS saved my rim.

 

Im glad the tpms worked great for you. TPMS could have saved the tire too if it was only a small leak.

Not trying to say you did anything wrong but its nice to have a relationship with certain shops. The places that do free tire repairs usually do it to try and find something on your car to upsell you new tires, brake pads, etc..I take mine to a shop in town that does free repairs and seen some people get scammed into getting work done. I know people that work there so i dont get to deal with the **. They told my friend he needed new brake pads so he said well i will do the work myself. Not thinking about checking them himself he went ahead and ordered the parts online fir a decent price. It turns out he still had 50% life left on the pads and the rotors looked new. Since he had ordered the parts we went ahead and replaced them and since we were in there adjusted his parking brake since it was a little loose.

off topic the funniest thing i saw was a young girl take her car in for a tire repair on the front left tire. It had a slow leak so she chewed a bunch of bubble gum and stuck it on the tire lmao

 

Happens to the best of us


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You did the right thing replacing it if the sidewall was affected at all from running flat. Its your wife's car and sidewalls are thin, a sudden blowout of a sidewall can be hard to control at high speed.
Mark

 

I have had punctures, that if they were a half inch the other way it would have been all good.

 

Ya, tire store may have done the right thing. I'm just grumpy because its another $200 on top of already spending $600 on vet bills the day before. Money is pouring out right now. And didnt have my coffee prior to going to tire store.

 

I know what you mean, I'm now the proud owner of a fourteen hounded dollar weenie dog.
Mark

 

$1200 dental bill for my German Sheppard and a nail in my tire 2 weeks after buying my Escape.. Dog plugged and Tire plugged, good to go...

 

Something at a construction site slashed one of my tires, and besides big bucks for a 19", finding one wasn't easy. While I limped home 50 miles, my husband called half a dozen places - nothing. My dealer finally located just one at a distributor, but wasn't sure since it was a Friday night and they were closed. They did get it the next day.

O/T vet bills. Our dog goes back to her cardiologist for another echocardiogram next month. : ) At her regular vet's office due to shoulder pain, she had acupuncture by a visiting vet there for a day-long working interview, and was able to jump up on her window bench the next day after not being able to for a month. That was free, though when the acupuncture vet moves here, it will be a regular thing/cost since our dog is older/stiffer now. Like me. Then there are three senior cats... One is 13 today. (Happy birthday.)

 

Happy Birthday !!!! My Female GSD is 15. Trying everything to make it easier on her and her arthritis. Vet mentioned acupuncture and laser treatments ? I guess we are a little off topic lol..

 

Yahoo, just got my new Continental replacement tire to replace my new Continental oem tire!:| Oh, and the Kitty is doing much better too.

 

The local Firestone store does a combination patch/plug that seems to
work just fine. It's a patch with a plug in the center. They clean up the
damaged area and put some adhesive on the tire & push the plug/patch
through the hole. After it sets up, the snip off the excess plug material
& you're good to go.

 

That system saved me too from a nail that pushed in and came back out. Pulled into work with it going off but saw nothing so I propped up the car with a brick and left work and flat lol. Roadside assistance saved me

 

Nail in my side!



I had the same issue with less than 5,000 miles. Called the service # they came and changed the tire with the spare. I went to the dealer they were going to charge me $170 for the replacement tire until I seen the sign at the dealership saying they guarantee the lowest prices with others so I called discount tire on the phone and they quoted me $139. I gave the information to my dealer and they matched the price of the new tire. On the way home I stopped by discount tire and purchased 4 roadside hazard certificates at $16 each. Of course since then it never happened again .... figures