Need quick help repairing a run flat!
 

Just notice my wifes M roadster has a very small leak on the right rear tire. There is a very small diameter nail in the tread about an inch from the sidewall. Its too small to remove and plug. I think that may make it worse. Fix a flat sealant? Need ideas, quick. Replacing one used tire for a new one seems stupid. Besides, no one around here will have one in stock. Everything has to be ordered. Need help quick, tis the season for my wife to be a b@#t%h. I pray for Jan. 2nd. She doesnt like driving my 4.8is, and she tells me she isnt high maintenance. Good God, help me.

If the hole is far enough away from the sidewall, a tire repair shop will apply an inside patch that is a combination patch and plug. You can't safely use a simple plug, you need the combination patch and plug. It looks a little like a mushroom, and is drawn through the tire from the inside to the outside. The tire shop will want to know how far you drove on it with low pressure, and how low it got, to ensure that the tire hasn't been compromised from overheating, before they will repair it.

If the puncture is only 1" from the outer edge, you may have to replace the tire as it is usually classified as unrepairable. This happened to me in our M5. Picked up a screw about an inch from the edge as well. My indy said he wouldn't trust a plug or patch. I don't think I'd chance a tire blowout at triple digits. My problem is they no longer make that tire. So, it was either replace the two rears or all four (staggered setup). I just bit the bullet and bought a set. I didn't like the idea of non matching tires on the beast. Good Luck, but I'd just replace the tire and be done with it and not worry. There was some mention of some sort of warranty on runflats posted by Ard on the M5board.com under the E39 M5 forum.

Are you talking about run-flat tire here? (the one you can drive even when puncture that comes in all newer BMW cars now) or just having a flat tire. The RFT is not supposed to be patch in any way, it's illegal I think. as far as patching regular tires, all other previous comments are dead on.

Your information isn't correct. This urban myth is often used by car dealers in order to sell tire insurance policies. Apparently Bridgestone did issue such an instruction with the first shipments of RFTs, but it was updated in 2005 with published repair procedures.


The RFT can be repaired under certain circumstances:

• A puncture, not a long cut
• In the tread, not the sidewall
• With a combination inside patch/plug, not with a plug applied by the exterior
• If it wasn't driven on for an extended period of time, or at too low a pressure. This is because doing so will damage the tire structurally, even if the damage isn't visible. A reputable tire repair facility will satisfy themselves that repairing it is safe, and if they are not satisfied will refuse to repair the tire.

Various tire manufacturers have issued different instructions for repairing their own tires. They all vary slightly. Some won't allow it, others are very similar to the above. The tire dealer instructions are available on the web, and have been reprinted here before if you would like to search for them. The above is a synopsis.

I am not familiar with laws forbidding the above. There very well may be some, somewhere. I would go by the tire manufacturer's recommendation, and the opinion of a reputable tire dealer.

Edit: added recent link

CanadianDriver Feature Articles Feature: Can you repair run-flat tires?