What do I do with a flat tire?

[musicgold]

Hi,

I had a flat tire yesterday. The tire used to show low pressure once in a while. I used to think that there was a small leak. However, yesterday, at the grocery store (after traveling about 1.5 km) I noticed that the tire was totally flat. Luckily, I had a spare, which I used to replace the flat tire and came home.

1. Can I get the flat tire fixed or I have to buy a new one? Where can I do that?

2. What should I do in the future if I notice low pressure symptoms with a tire?

Thanks,

MG.

[mike24]

You can go to a garage and they usually charge anywhere from $10 to $20 to fix a flat tire.

[jasonkwan86]

If you notice that your tire is leaking air, you should try to locate where it is leaking out from. This can be done by running water over the tire and bubbles should form where air is coming out from. If it is a small hole, you can get a tire plug to fix the hole. These can easily be obtained from hardware stores, garages, or canadian tire.

[skyesdaddy]

If you notice that your tire is leaking air, you should try to locate where it is leaking out from. This can be done by running water over the tire and bubbles should form where air is coming out from. If it is a small hole, you can get a tire plug to fix the hole. These can easily be obtained from hardware stores, garages, or canadian tire.

+1.. I suggest you use a spray bottle w/ soap and water to pin point the leak.
Mist it all over the tire including the rim and valves to accurately determine where the problem lies.
If the leak is on the sidewall (which I doubt) that's a totally different 'ball game'.

Good luck

[BartBandy]

It's a lot easier to find a leak when the tire of off the car and inflated. If you suspect a leak, just take it to a tire shop.

Many shops will insert a plug from the outside. It's a cheap fix because the tire stays on the rim and doesn't have to be dismounted, remounted and rebalanced, but I've had one of these plugs fail (slowly, thankfully) and I'm not impressed with them. I prefer what another shop did, which was to take the tire off the rim and apply a patch to the inside. Cost was $25 or so, compared to $10 for the plug, but for the $15 difference, I would rather have had the patch both times.

Of course, the tire guy with the plug solution will tell you "it's good enough", and usually, I'm sure he's right, but the patch can't pop out like a plug could. The extra $15 is worth it to me.

For example, if I get a flat on the highway, for whatever reason, I'm driving (slowly) to the next off ramp. I stress this with my wife, to do the same. I don't give a crap if I damage an alloy rim or not. If my car can get off the highway under its own power, I'm taking it off the highway. If a $25 patch saves me from that situation once in my life, it's not only safer, it'll save me from buying a new tire and alloy wheel.

[mangoman]

And as someone mentioned above be sure to check the valve/base of the valve (especially if you don't see any damage like a nail in the tire) using some soapy water. Sometimes it's just a poor seal and air escapes there other times it's the mechanism inside the valve that is faulty (there was actually a recall recently on some cheapo ones that had made it into the supply stream).

Dill Tire Valve Stem Recall (KFSN) -- Some of you may be treading on a dangerous problem and don't even know it. 30 million tire valve stems are being recalled by the distributor because of cracking and chances are you may have them on your ride if you bought tires in the last two years.

Mike Arreola, owner of Factory Tire in Fresno said, "If you lost the air in the tire it could create a problem, if it blows up it'll flip."

Tire shop owner Rick Bogardus explained that if your tire is leaking air your car will pull to the left or the right. He suggests making a simple phone call if you're not sure what kind of tire valves you have. "Just call your shop where you have your tires installed and ask them do you use those valve stems and if so have them changed out."

The recalled tire valves were manufactured between August and November of 2006 and were sent to tire shops all over North America. Bill Rider has had more than 130 customers come in to his Petaluma tire shop in the last month complaining about their tires leaking air. He was told, "They didn't put the UV protection in the valve stems so the sunlight is making them deteriorate way too fast."

The only way to check if you have a defective valve is to take the tire off the rim. Here's a comparison the stem on the left is in good shape with no cracks but when you bend the one on the right it comes apart and that's where air leaks out.

Faith Broussard, a Clovis resident said, "That's very scary. I had no idea I didn't know anything about them." She and her husband Joe just bought four new tires and were glad to find out about the valve recall. Joe said, "I guess I'll have to research and find out if my car has one of those and get it fixed right away."

Mike Arreola of Factory Tire in Fresno just found out he was carrying some of the valve stems that are being recalled. "Well now I'm going to make sure that those are not the ones I'm buying."

The valves in question were made in China by Tech International for an American company called Dill. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating claims of a defect after a Florida man died in a rollover accident being linked to the Dill tire valves.

Dill tire valve model numbers:

TR-413
TR-413CH
TR-414
TR-415
TR-418
TR-423