1 tire or all 4?

...I have questions....

 

Take it to a tire shop so they can put a patch on the inside. On my second vehicle I have two tires patched with 20k miles on them since being patched and they hold air just fine

 

That's unnecessary unless the plug is leaking. Plugged tires can be considered permanent repairs.

Patched tires can leak too. It's all about the skill used to either plug or patch a tire.

 

Actually its the complete opposite. A "compromised" tire should always be placed on the front of the vehicle so that if for some reason it self destructs you can control the vehicle with the steering wheel. A rear tire that self destructs could send the vehicle into a spin or rollover.

And no I'm not saying a properly plugged tire is compromised, although tire shops will try to convince you of that so they can sell you a new tire(s).

 

I picked up a bolt about the size of my thumb on the freeway (middle of the tread). Pulled over because I could feel the streering wheel thump while driving. I was concerned too because of the large size, but the plug was fine for 2 more years until it was time for new tires. I did move the plugged tire to the back for the rest of its life to be safer. Replaced the stock Toyos with Michelin Defender LTXs. I love the Defenders so much I kind of wish I got new tires sooner.

 

So the reason for placing a plugged tire on the rear axles of a wheel, is to reduce its lateral tread wide stresses that a front tire experiences during steerage.

You lose a tire to a catastrophic failure on either front or rear axle, it’s going to be a butt puckering moment.

 

Buddy of mine that operates his repair garage doesn't even recommend patching tires....says a plug is fool proof, but takes a lot of strength to get a plug properly in place so it'll never leak.