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Tire Repair Parameters: Liability or Scam?

pioneervato

pioneervato

Lunatic Member
What is it with many tire shops now limiting tire repair to pretty much confined to about 80% of the tread area? Is this really a liability (as they now claim) or just a scam to sell you on a new tire?

A couple months back my daughter picked up a screw on the inner part of the tread approximately 1-1 1/2 " in from the outer edge of the tread. Of course it was on a Sunday when this happened and the closest place was a Wal-mart a few miles away. So I drive to her friend's house where my daughter spent the night (about 30 miles from my house)to pick up the tire and get it repaired.

The tire jock from Wal-mart comes out to look at the tire and immediately tells me it can't be repaired. I asked, "can't or won't?" He says he won't because the puncture falls out of the area that is considered repairable but would be glad to sell me a new tire, which after all fees and taxes, came out to about $120. I have seen displays at Discount Tire shops with tires painted on the tread surface to indicate the area of repairability and have been online to research his claim and I know that my tire in question was within the repairable area of the tire but he argued that it wasn't and told me he couldn't do it. When I asked him to furnish me with some documentation or proof of his claim or assessment he failed to comply. That's when I told him he was full of *crap*!

I followed my daughter home with the doughnut spare and we stopped at an independent tire shop close to my work and had the tire plugged. I know that done properly, the plug can be as good or better than a patch and the tire hasn't had any issues since the repair. Heck, I have used plugs myself and never had any issues for the life of the tire.

Ok, you experts in the field of tire repair or general automotive maintenance and repair, was he right or just trying to sell me a tire? Are tire shops now using this as an excuse to sell more tires or what?
 
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He was trying to sell you a tire. I worked service stations and sold tires and as long as the repair was not past the curve of the tire where it becomes the sidewall we would and could put a vulcanized patch on the inside. We would NEVER plug a tire.

With a radial design tire the sidewalls flex so much that they can pull a patch off.

Now if her tires were of the new very short sidewall design those I don't know about as they came into vogue long after I quit dealing with tires.
 
I've had the same experience, a couple of times. I've plugged tires with a kit from auto parts houses many times and never had one leak. And, I've plugged them all the way out to the edge of the tread and never worried one second about it.

A screw or nail hole is easily fixed but a cut from a piece of metal is a different story. Once you've plugged a tire a couple of times, you'll get the hang of it. Use plenty of glue on the plug and run the reamer thing in there a few times as it makes it easier to get the plug in a radial tire.

Murray
 
I picked up a nail in one of my gooseneck trailer tires that actually went through the edge of the sidewall, which is a definite no-no for a repair. I know the guys at the shop, and talked them into patching it so I could make a quick 10 mile journey with it. They said to change the tire as soon as I could.

I changed it a few weeks ago. 9 years later.
 
We had a copy of an article in the breakroom last week about some Ford dealership losing a $22M lawsuit over a questionable tire repair, so I can see where the corporate powers that be would prefer to sell you a new tire, with all the add ons, that patch one and get hung out to dry...

"Judgment in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

A San Diego Court jury awarded the three young sons of a San Diego couple who died in a 2006 vehicle accident a $14.4 million judgment against a San Diego dealership. Casey and Melanie Barber lost their lives in Arizona when their Ford E350 Sportsmobile van experienced a tire-tread separation. Casey Barber lost control of the vehicle, which rolled.

The couple’s three children were eight, five and three at the time of the accident.

The children were plaintiffs in a wrongful death lawsuit brought against Mossy Ford, alleging the dealership performed a faulty tire repair that lead to the accident. The plaintiffs argued the damage to the tire was severe and it required replacement, not repair.

Other co-defendants faced a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the children, but a confidential settlement was reached where the co-defendants’ names could not be published. In this settlement, the children received $8.3 million, and the co-defendants performed repairs on the family’s van. "

That being said, I plug my tires on the vehicle using the $5.00 DIY kit with the rubber cement and the gooey fiber plugs....
 
I keep a plug kit in my truck. You'll need a pump/ compressor of some kind. Even a cheap bicycle pump will do. If you want to plug 10 plys hit the weight room.

Sorry PV I was reading the last post first. Not really your question was it. Pretty much up to the tire repair guy as to their level of comfort I'd guess.
 
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Andyman said:
We had a copy of an article in the breakroom last week about some Ford dealership losing a $22M lawsuit over a questionable tire repair, so I can see where the corporate powers that be would prefer to sell you a new tire, with all the add ons, that patch one and get hung out to dry...

"Judgment in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

A San Diego Court jury awarded the three young sons of a San Diego couple who died in a 2006 vehicle accident a $14.4 million judgment against a San Diego dealership. Casey and Melanie Barber lost their lives in Arizona when their Ford E350 Sportsmobile van experienced a tire-tread separation. Casey Barber lost control of the vehicle, which rolled.

The couple’s three children were eight, five and three at the time of the accident.

The children were plaintiffs in a wrongful death lawsuit brought against Mossy Ford, alleging the dealership performed a faulty tire repair that lead to the accident. The plaintiffs argued the damage to the tire was severe and it required replacement, not repair.

Other co-defendants faced a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the children, but a confidential settlement was reached where the co-defendants’ names could not be published. In this settlement, the children received $8.3 million, and the co-defendants performed repairs on the family’s van. "

That being said, I plug my tires on the vehicle using the $5.00 DIY kit with the rubber cement and the gooey fiber plugs....
Click to expand...
I'm sorry that those folks were killed but what happens when the tread separates - a kaboom! and maybe some nasty banging but the vehicle will keep going right down the road. Slam on the brakes and/or jerk the steering wheel and you may end up in the weeds, upside down.

I have seen the tread separate from the cord around a plug but it's noisy when driving and easily spotted.

Murray
 
A screw in the tread is about the easiest thing in the world to fix with a plug. I've done it many times, never had a problem.
 
Everybody's happy with a cheap/questionable repair until something happens, then the "expert" should have known better and refused to do it. So, I say the driving force is liability. It's fairly unwise these days, IMO, to stick ones neck out too far in such matters.
 
Tires are the most important thing on a car. They are the only physical connection between you and the road, and directly influence your ability to steer, accelerate, and brake.

If your tire is damaged, replace it. It's costly, but the funeral, hospital bills, or wrongful death lawsuit cost a hell of a lot more.

That being said, a small nail or screw hole being plugged likely won't be a risk.
 
Well I am usually one that cautions on the side of safety but this was a screw that caused the flat and it being my daughter and the car she drives I would never take a chance on something I know or suspect as being suspect or risky. Their is at least 70% or more tread life on the tire and I just couldn't see the tire in question as a candidate for replacement. Add to the fact that he couldn't back up his claim (I think he should have been able to as they should keep such documents on their premise) by offering me anything but his "diagnostic assessment".

I just don't think tires should all be in need of replacement because of a flat caused by a nail or screw. Surely, if a significant part of the tire was damaged I would not even question its replacement. I have had to do that before.
 
Ausjoe said:
..........Pretty much up to the tire repair guy as to their level of comfort I'd guess.
Click to expand...

I used to work in Hell........uh, I mean Wal-Mart, and had a similar situation happen with me. That guy gets a low hourly rate, not commission and doesn't give a crap if you buy a new tire or not, but he will lose his job if he is caught doing a repair outside of the parameters he's been given.

No one ever came out and said it, but I'm sure it is a liability issue. There isn't an ambulance chaser in the country that doesn't have an erection with Wal-mart tattooed on the end of it.

When it happened to me, I drove across the street and had it patched at the garage there and they didn't even charge me anything. They have gotten all my car repair business in the seven or so years since.
 
I work for Wal-mart, not in the store where you took your tire, but in the truck shop repairing their over-the-road trucks and trailers. Wal-mart is not the one making the decision, it's the tire manufacturer. To avoid and pass on the liability to someone else, they go by the manufacturer's recommended repair procedures. If the manufacturer says that you can't repair it that way, they simply will not do it.

On the other hand.. I've plugged dozens of my personal tires on my personal vehicles and never had a problem. Like someone else said, make sure the hole is clean and use plenty of glue. Trim of the excess string stuff too. Most of the time it will last the life of the tire.
 
Can't even get a tube for a tire around here anymore .


Glad the place I get my tires are open seven days a week and offer a life time road hazard , balance and repair . (seven years is a life on a tire I was told )

Barney
 
"There isn't an ambulance chaser in the country that doesn't have an erection with Wal-mart tattooed on the end of it."

Got that right, them bastards are always looking for a reason to sue the pants off of the company. It's pretty frustrating sometimes because they're so worried about getting sued that we have to take huge precautions that normal truck shops would laugh about.
 
90% of the tire repairs I perform are plugs....with no glue....remove screw/nail ream hole to remove debris, lube plug and insert, cut off end and good to go for life. The only time I have had issues is when the tire got sliced, then I use a patch. From what I understand the reason not to plug on the sidewall is because of the flexing of the tire while stopping, turning etc. Maybe it sounds bogus, but I don't plug my own tires, let alone my daughters, if there is a doubt

And the blow-out/rollover issue.....most people can and would be able to handle that, but you never know the situation........anything can happen
 
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Think this is bad?

Try getting a motorcycle tire repaired.
Many motorcycle shops repair shops, will NOT touch a flat tire with a ten foot pole!?
Either you have to plug/patch them yourselves, or buy an inner tube.
A GOOD motorcycle tire ain't cheap, and you will not get more than 10-15K miles out of one, due to the soft rubber compound.
I picked up a nail in a motorcycle tire that was 2 weeks old.....bummer!

Steve
 
Liability IS the issue. Unfortunatley the Lawyers have made it unsafe to even look at a tire repair for most places. I have plugged more tires radial and non than I can count over the years and if you use the "good" Quality plugs (not) the ones that come in thos cheapie kits they will last pretty much the life of the tire.
 
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