Dealer said this screw was not pluggable - skeptical?

Heard a ticking while driving with the window down, pulled over, and sure enough I had a screw in the rear driver's side tire. Stopped by the dealer and he said they couldn't plug it because it was too close to the sidewall.

I'm a bit skeptical and the tire isn't leaking air so I'd told him I'd bring it back on my day off. What do you guys think based on the picture?

https://imgur.com/a/x9foYUN

 

easy fix. most tire places/dealers don't want to plug anything close to the sidewall

 

If you have a tire repair kit, use the strips and some glue and drive a bigger screw with a fat head. That’s what we do on job sites.

 

If you have a local fire stone they'll do it for free.

 

Put soapy water on it before going to the trouble of taking it anywhere. If no leak, pull it out. Check with water again.

That's patch-able and plug-able. Most places wont patch it because if the nail/screw is long enough, it could have rubbed/poked a hole somewhere inside on the sidewall. They just don't want to be responsible. But someone who knows how to patch can make that last as long as the tire.

Dont keep driving on it. It might be just barely long enough to not puncture the inside layer of rubber. If you keep driving, it will work it deeper, then causing a leak. Looks like small machine screw. betting to short to go through.

 

Really?

I had a tire with a similar nail placement as the OP, and Firestone would not patch it for liability reasons, and insisted on purchasing a new tire.

 

I have not personally done it myself. But my buddy has.

 

Same with Discount Tire

 

find a mom and pop independent tire shop. They'll patch it up without hesitating for $20 or less.

big chains and dealerships no longer touch anything except for the middle area. Here's a pic for reference (some places it is even narrower)

 

There is zero upside for them to repair your tire. Meanwhile there's about 120 reasons for you to patch it yourself. A 'nicer' tire repair kit at your local auto parts store is super cheap and it'll take a few minutes to repair.

 

Thanks for the replies, fellas. Stopped at a Firestone and he said it was right on the edge of it being too far to the outside of the tire for them to repair. It was too late in the day for them to try to work on it today so I'll deal with it when I'm off shift in a couple days. Not putting more than 5-10 miles on it before then. Might be a good time to upgrade to some KO2s

 

I just plugged one in the same spot on my RAM, didn’t want to bother with the tire shop so I plugged with the arb kit I keep in the recovery bag. Patches work well but a plug is fine.

 

Pretty easy fix I bought this a few years ago and it works awesome, used to plug my four wheeler tire too.

Mushroom Style Tire Plug Kit

https://www.amazon.com/X-TRA-SEAL-1...e+repair+kit+with+plugs&qid=1589236200&sr=8-3

 

I have the similar Stop & Go 1075, which has successfully patched everything I've thrown at it.

Stop & Go 1075 30 Piece Tubeless Tire Plugger Repair Kit for Punctures and Flats on Car, Motorcycle, ATV, Jeep, Truck, & Tractor (25 Mushroom Plugs)

https://www.amazon.com/Stop-Go-1075-Standard-Plugger/dp/B0018EUDHW

I like yours, because it has 2 plug sizes, and includes cement.

 

Plug by itself doesn't seal the inner liner.
Patch by itself doesn't fill the void.
Firestone uses a patch-plug combo requiring <1" be ground off the tire for proper adhesion. Patch-plug should not be exposed to deflection forces.

 

I have plugged dozens of tires with just the goopy string and rubber cement plug kit and never had one fail.

 

I don't know if that's directed toward me or not; but I'll take the opportunity to explain why I said, what I said.
There are reasons 'they' won't patch near the sidewall, beyond liability or a new tire sale.
Nothing I posted is factually incorrect, nor did I claim failure is imminent with a plug kit. I'm just trying to take the edge off of some of the skepticism.

 

If it was me, I would just plug it and be done

 

I’ve also plugged many tires with success. If it were mine, I’d plug it and keep rolling. Tire shops don’t want to do it because they are worried about liability in the sue happy society we live in now.

 

That is borderline. A lot of independent tire stores would do it. A lot of bigger chains won't.

I keep a set pf plugs, tools, and an air compressor in all of my vehicles and plug them myself. I've done many over the years. There have been several times when the tire couldn't be saved, but the plug held air long enough to get to a tire store and I let them do the dirty work.

At that location I'd plug it myself and go with it.