The other day I heard a flopping kind of sound from the right rear. Tire pressure was fine so I assumed it was nothing and went on with my day. The car sat all weekend but going to work this morning during a moment of silence on the radio I heard what could only be described as a roar from in the rear. Pulled into the mall lot and it was flat. Put the donut on in the rain and went to work assuming the tire was toast - it was hotter than hell.

Called the dealer parts guy - he never heard of the EcoPlus, couldn't find it in the computer or the book and finally figured he had to order from Ford. I told him I would call back....

On the way home I stopped at Town Fair Tire just for kicks. The salesman looked at it, declared it junk and offered to sell me new tires. Asked him to have a tire mechanic look at it anyway because to me it looked okay, no obvious sidewall damage.

Anyway, to the point, the nail was removed, tire plugged from the inside, remounted and balanced. The mechanic said the inside looked perfect. Total cost? $0.00 They fix flats for free. No matter where you got them.

They must really tuck it to ya on new tires.

That got me scared enough to maybe break down and buy a real EcoPlus for a spare.

 

I've had two tire punctures (both were nails -- lots of construction in my area) but I have the TPMS -- Tire Pressure Monitoring System -- on my FEH so it's always warned me very early on to the issue... loooong before I'm running around on a severely deflated or flat tire.

Both punctures were repaired since the damage was in the center of the tread. I did have to pay (Ford dealership did the work), but I think each patch was $6 and I had my 3000 mile tire rotation done during one of them (can't remember the cost on that; it wasn't much.)

Anyone who tries to sell you new tires just because you've got a puncture = avoid at all costs. Plenty of life on those tires left even after a repaired center-of-tread puncture that's repaired.

 

Shannon - You should submit that to Ford for one of their "Customer testimonials" or something. Let me add some additonal information to what you said though regarding punctures (I used to work at a Goodyear and Sears Auto store repairing punctures and flat tires but am in no means an Expert Witness on this).

• Any tire is deemed unusable if the puncture is in the sidewall of the tire or up near the tread where it is uncertain to be in the tread or the sidewall - just too dangerous on a portion of the tire that has so much flexing.<
• Some shops will not repair a puncture if there is less than, I think, 3/32" of tread at that spot (it might be 2/32" tread as a tire is allowed to be at the limit during inspection here in PA so it can therefore wear down to below spec during the year).<
• Most shops will not repair a tire if there are already 3 (or up to 5 small) repairs already in the tire.<

So don't be surprised if you go back for your 8th visit and they turn you down even with a full tread depth on the tire. Just ask for them to clarify why they aren't allowed to repair it for the exact answer.

Also, ANYONE with TPMS on their car please do the Tire folks a favor and let them know you have a Tire Pressure Monitoring setup on your wheels or it might not work when you get back in your car. When the tire is taken off the rim at the tire machine and the person changing this is not aware there is a good chance that the monitoring devices on the wheel will be rendered useless. Some cars do this by means of radio signals, some by pressure monitoring, etc. Also let them know if you put in Fix-A-Flat or they will hand back your fixed tire with a face that looks like Marcel Marceau ... and they won't want to be a Mime for a day.

 

Also in case anyone needs to know. DON'T USE FIX-A-FLAT if the tire has TPMS devices! It will also render them useless and you don't want to know what they cost... I mean it.

 

I should. In lieu of that, though, I always mention it in related threads here on GreenHybrid, and in my own blog. That's some good PR right there.

Thankfully, my two tire punctures were on two different tires on my FEH. So I've presently got two unadulterated tires, and two center-of-tread puncture repaired tires. And my silly little donut Goodyear Convenience Spare. No Fix-a-Flat or whatnot used on either tire -- both were professionally repaired by certified Ford Motor Co. techs at a licensed Ford dealership.

I always mention it to them just as a precaution, even though one would hope they'd check that since pretty soon (September 2007? I forget the date) ALL new vehicles sold of certain classes/sizes will have TPMS as standard, not optional, equipment. Both times, my Ford dealership's done everything like a charm -- TPMS error cleared (shows when you have a low pressure tire and also when you have a non-TPMS equipped tire on the vehicle, such as the Convenience Spare.) and ready to roll.

Knock on wood, I've finally cleared my first 4 weeks or so in some time without any tire punctures. I've had to alter my routes of travel a bit to avoid some of the most problematic construction areas, since a single nail here or there is basically invisible on the roadway. Hubby picked up a BOLT in his tire a couple years ago... even that was repairable, btw, thanks to where it entered the tire tread.

 

Shannon - Your husband has good aim to get that bolt but as a former Tire guy you would seriously not believe what has been found in tires. Most of the bizarre items are always in the rear tires as the front tires kick them up and they spear into the rear tires while the item is rarely standing on end for the front tires to hit. Sometimes the slice/hole in the tire is very unassuming but man-alive the item inside is astounding. I removed a tire to find one tire that had a muffler hanger inside it and another had something that appeared to be a 6" long piece of 1" or 1/2" angle iron in it. Unfortunately, the customer always wanted it back as their own "Wall of Fame" otherwise I would have a whole drawer full of items.

Glad to know that your Ford place is top notch. Also good to know that the FEH monitoring system is so smart.

 

Hehe... I remember my mom once kicked up a seemingly innocuous piece of wood -- about 4 inches long and less than 1/2 inch thick -- and it managed to puncture the sidewall of one of her back tires. Who'd-a-thunk-it? Both of my nail punctures were on rear tires, by the way. Since you're a former tire guy, do you think there's any truth to the thought that mudflaps on the front tires might reduce the amount of crap kicked up and launched as potential puncture material for the rear tires? I don't have mudflaps but after two flats on the rears I've been beginning to wonder.

My closest Ford dealership, Northside Ford in San Antonio, is horrific and I warn everyone away from them at every opportunity (I took my complaints all the way to Ford HQ, it was so awful. Didn't help, in the end, but sure felt better to air the treatment and dishonesty I experienced all the way to the top.)

Since then, all my tire work and scheduled service have been splendid and handled by Jordan Ford in San Antonio whom I highly recommend... a long drive from where I live, but the customer service, honesty and professionalism makes it worthwhile ten-fold.

 

Shannon - We have similar issues. My local Honda place just 20 miles away (Valley Honda in Monroeville, PA --> HORRIBLE!!) took my order for my car in mid-March of this year and in mid-August they STILL did not have the car on the lot (it arrived the last week of the month I believe). I ended up driving 250 miles to D.C. (Leesburg Honda in Leesburg, VA --> EXCELLENT!!) as they not only had one but went out of their way to GET it for me (as it was on a different lot). Kudos to them ... but I digress.

I would think that actual mudflaps (like on a semi-truck) WILL prevent a lot of things from being kicked up by the front tires but most car/truck/SUV mudflaps just minimize mud and rocks and things that mark up your own car. I will put in a wish to the U.S. car makers to PLEASE put mudflaps on ALL your vehicles. Over in the European countries E-V-E-R-Y car is equipped with mudflaps and this greatly reduces the amount of spray/kick-up of water in rainy conditions ... unless the majority of Europe has altered their layout but I doubt that they have. So if you see any car spraying up water in the rain and a car next to it not kicking up water I bet you 9 times out of 10 the non-spray will be a Subaru, Volvo, Saab, Honda, or Toyota (some). Make it an informal poll and let's get some real-world results.

So I don't know if mudflaps prevent flat tires but I will follow a mudflap-shod car rather than a non-mudflap car anytime or sometimes a truck (like the UPS semi trucks with the bristle-like fringe on their wheelwell area).

 

Thanks for the feedback, Darren. Having driven a little sedan for 14 years before I got my FEH, I did definitely silently sing praises of any vehicle that didn't seem to spit all over my vehicle anytime it so much as got a little damp outside! I guess those big monster semi mudflaps (Yosemite Sam, anyone?) would look goofy on my FEH. Oh well!

 

I carry plug kits in all my vehicles...they only run around $5 a kit and will do around 10 repairs. It's a simple job anyone can do. I once got a puncture on a Jeep YJ out in the woods that I caught early enough so that I was able to seal it up and be back on the road in under 5mins...without evening needing to immediately air up.