So I have 1,500 miles on the car... as I walk past it I see a shiny object on rear driver side tire... actually "in" the tire... a nail! right near the side wall! I go to my local tire shop (All Weather Tire in Huntington). They say "can't fix, too near side wall". I say "how much for new tire". They say "$230". Ouch! I say "try to fix it". They say "no guarantee". I say "OK". The fix seems to be working. They also showed me a weak spot inside the tire they said was from hitting something.

Anyone have an opinion? Replace the tire or see how is goes?

 

Remember, you have no spare. If the damage is anywhere near the sidewall, I would not chance it. If you're only driving around town, maybe it's a chance you can take,. But, I would not take the chance at all.

 

It sounds like almost all of the tread is still left. Are you racing or just cruising? Sunday driver or everyday? Near home or long distance?

FP, is your concern that the patch won't hold, or something else? I have no idea how well tire patches hold up nowadays. Do they fail regularly, or are they pretty reliable?

 

I'm surprised they even did it guaranty or not. Taking on the liability is something I would think would scare them off. Where did you get the car, Huntington Chrysler/Jeep? How come we haven't seen you at the beach on Sunday mornings? We're starting to get more XF's turning out. How about this Sunday? Hopefully we'll have 4-5 of us. Come on out.

 

Sunday is family day. Got the car in PA. I brought the car to Huntington Jeep to replace cracks in my headlights, and they said to take it to the dealer where I bought it because it's a "prep" issue! So much for good customer service. The PA dealer got my headlight and even offered to send them to Huntington, but Huntington said no way. So I'm going to PA in a few weeks to get them replaced. I'll probably bring my car to Security Dodge in Amityville (near my work) - anyone have experience with them?

I drive the car daily to work - 17 miles - stop and go traffic.

 

unless you're driving around at high speeds you might want to just continue using the tire and monitor the pressure more frequently at first. the fact that the tire merchant fixed the tire at all suggests that they are probably at least somewhat confident it will work. of course, they would rather have sold you a new tire and made a nice profit. do you know if they patched the tire from the inside or simply plugged it from the outside? a patch from the inside is the best way to repair a tire. however, i've plugged quite a few tires over the years, and have never experienced a failure.

 

* disclaimer - i cannot guarantee you won't experience a catastrophic tire failure resulting in injury or death.

 

That's where i got my Crossfire and 300 from, i used them a few times with both cars with no problems.

 

They actually seemed to do a very thorough job. The unmounted the tire, cleaned and scrapped the area and then patched it from the inside. They submersed the tire and checked for leaks. I found it odd that they didn't rebalance it, should they have? I asked and they said no as the rim was already balanced.

 

Don't worry - no disclaimers needed. However, can you provide me with your home address!

 

I bought 2 jeeps from Huntington, but they still said no. They were nice about it - they just claimed it was the other dealer's problem because he didn't prep the car properly - they didn't want to incur an expense for another dealer's error. I even called Chrysler's head office - they said I had to go to the original dealer too! Seems like BS.

 

I recently posted a thread for tire repair as well. https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ht=tire+repair
I have always plugged tires with good results - even in the sidewall once on an old VW. I would plug it your self and watch it closely for a while - you have nothing to lose and $230 to save - minus the $5 tire repair kit from your local auto parts store.

 

you can lose your life no way plug a side wall.

 

If you have a hole in the sidewall - REPLACE THE TIRE. Period.

 

I agree on the sidewall comment...quit scolding me...my point in the post was that it worked (i.e., plugging a sidewall...granted wouldn't do it again nor on a high performance sports car like an Xfire)...I was trying to point out that litigation scared companies (read tire stores and dealers (and doctors)) may tell you something that is incredibly conservative in order to try to prevent any potential lawsuit (and maybe to increase profits???). Driving is a risk, so throwing away a tire because a company says its risky to repair it from a simple nail hole has downsides and may not be necessary...that was my intended point...

 

Sorry my man, I was not scolding you. The amount of pressure on a sidewall is tremendous along with vigorous flexing of the sidewall when cornering, going over bumps, etc.

A lot of people do not know what they are dealing with when doing tire repairs and we were trying to let everyone know that there can be serious repercussions when tires are repaired in the wrong manner.

 

I had a nail in my tire and the tire pressure got so low that the tire shop said it would be dangerous to fix it because the sidewall was damaged. It's apparently a problem with all low profile tires, that if the tire pressure gets too low, it damages the sidewall. I would get a new tire just to be safe.

 

I have to agree with FP. Given the style and structure of the low profile tires, a repaired puncture anywhere close to the sidewall could be susceptible to a catastrophic failure. And the risk is only made worse by being in a front tire. Failure at speed and you're in the oncoming lane in a heartbeat regardless of speed.
I'd bite the bullet, replace the tire and pick up the road hazard warrantee for future issues.
Of course if you decide to ride it out for a while and see what happens, that's your call...but could you include me in your will?

 

Thanks for the input... I think we should put this matter to rest before someone get hurt!

 

Sorry...don't get hurt, I didn't and don't want too...I love the "free" part of we live in a "Free Country".