I thought that I read somewhere that you can not or should not put a patch in energy tires? If someone could please let me know I would appreciate it big time.

 

Sorry, I can't tell you whether you should patch or not....but I can tell you that I had a nail hole PLUGGED (by the dealer) in the original Bridgestones that came with the car. Eventually, the plug leaked and had to be re-plugged at a service station. I was surprised that it had been plugged by the dealer, I thought they would have patched it. I took it back to the dealer and he said they always plug. Unfortunately, they thought that the new, larger plugged hole was a safety issue and recommended a new tire. I ended up getting an entirely new set of Michelins (which I much prefer - quieter, better ride) at a great price from Tirerack based on a tip from someone on this board. So, I guess that, in most cases, they will plug, not patch holes.

 

I've plugged a lot of tires over the years. I've never had one leak. I've also had a lot of tires patched and still haven't had any problems. I guess I've been lucky.

I was getting nails in my tires pretty frequently for a while there several years ago. I picked up a tire plug kit from AutoZone and now do all my plugs myself. Saves me the trip (and cash) of going to a tire shop and waiting around for them to do it. It's acutally pretty easy. And if you have any inclination to do your own maintenance, I recommend learning how to do it and just do it on your own. I keep the plug kit in the trunk so I can make a repair on the road if I have to.

The next step is to learn how to repair chips in windshields...

 

According to Michelin, their tires can be repaired if the damage is not too severe. They note in their warranty terms: "Repairs of all tires must be of the combined plug and inside patch type. Plug only repairs are improper." There is nothing that says things are any different for the Energy tires.

 

I can't tell you what the official word is but I plugged my Michelin MXV4 energy tires by myself at least once, no problem whatsoever, run them down to the wires with over 90k. I don't see any reason why would they blow up after repair and if they slowly leak , the sensor should tell you, you have a problem and you go back to square one. Even regular tires sometimes can't be repaired properly and there are always risks in this type of repairs, but the best place would be to ask the dealer or have him do it, on the other hand he could make more profit by selling you new tires, so I would think it's your call. BTW, if anybody tells me you can't or shouldn't do something, my first question would be why?, otherwise I wouldn't accept the answer, but it's just me.

 

My car came with the Michelins and not the Bridgestones, and I have since replaced them with BF Goodrich anyway, but I have one tire that currently has 5 plugs in it and it is still holding the pressure with no problem. I am a very easy driver and do not put a lot of stress on my tires. My tire guy told me that usually they consider a tire to be not repairable after 3 plugs, but he knows me well so he keeps plugging it anyway.

FlopShot