vg247

So as I'm away from town on business, my GF called to tell me my rear wheel is fully deflated and that she saw a nail right somewhere in the middle of the wheel..as you all can imagine it's bothersome since I can't do anything about it until I get back Weds. Feels like having a child at home that got injured....

What are your thoughts since the car is parked in my garage and these tires are new and the nail as described is in a repairable area: should I call AAA or Porsche ( car still under warranty ) to tow the car to a wheel shop and fix the tire OR should I just call either and have them jack up the car and remove only the wheel, then take it to the shop for repair?

Wanted everyone's thoughts on what the best course of action for this is where my car is "least" handled as I have been having the worst streak of experiences with dealers, and wheel shops where they have done more harm than good ..

USMC_DS1

Do you have the tools to remove the tire yourself? I don't trust my local tire shops to properly raise my p-car so I intend to remove my wheels and bring them to Discount Tire/Costco/NTB/etc when I need new tires to have them just mount/balance new tires on the wheels. To DIY you'll need a floor jack, jack stands, torque wrench rated up to 100 lb-ft, anti-seize grease, and an 19mm lug socket(preferably with plastic shield) to remove the wheel. To remount torque the lug bolts to 96 ft-lbs.

Since the car is under original warranty I believe you access to emergency road service from Porsche... at least that's what they sold me on except I've never utilized it. Make sure they send a flat bed truck to tow it to the p-dealer. You can also try plugging it yourself to get by for now and then take the car to a tire shop or the p-dealer at a later point to patch it properly from the inside of the tire. I recall from your prior postings that you had some issues with p-dealer closest to you. This may be the job to give them another chance to prove themselves to you - a simple tire patch. You may want to email them with concise instructions, which tire to service/repair, do you want the car washed (I don't even though it's part of my p-dealers SOP... my p-dealer does a poor job - leaving water spots everywhere), if you want the tire balanced, etc. Be concise so there is no chance of miscommunication on their part. I've always wondered about the effectiveness of the Porsche emergency road service and if it's truly free of charge. GL and let us know how it goes...

sandwedge

Before flat bedding it to the dealer I would ask if patching a punctured tire is an option for them or if they'll insist the tire has to be replaced.

okbarnett

if you have full warrantee, I think they will send roadside assistance and tow it to the dealer

Macster

Unless the car's tire needs to be fixed right now it can wait until you get home and handle this directly.

Once home you have a couple of options. Maybe the car tires came with a road hazard warranty? I've had several sets of replacement tires fitted with this coverage (around $7/tire) and have had one flattened rear tire - the tire picked up a small screw close enough to the sidewall the tire's ability to hold air was compromised even though the screw hole was fixed -- this rear tire worn to within 3mm of worn out replaced. (The tire had over 23K miles on it too which was amazing.)

Or maybe the dealer will patch/fix the tire?

Yeah right and pigs fly.

My experience over the last couple of years is the number of Porsche dealers (and other car dealers) that will fix a tire is down to zero. A few Porsche dealers did fix tires but no longer. One that no longer fixes tires sent to me to another (non-Porsche) dealer that still fixed flats, but this dealer stopped that. In fact I talked to the head of the service department managers who is over all the various dealer service managers of every dealer in the parent holding company and he told me he had all tire repair kits/hardware thrown out and issued a standing order from now on no tires fixed.

This includes car brands: Porsche, Subaru, Jaguar, Rover, Honda and Audi and the many and varied used cars that come in as trade ins.

Now close to me I have an indy tire store that fixes flats but I remove the wheel/tire and haul it over and get the tire fixed -- if it is fixable -- and haul the thing back and put it back on the car.

If you are handy you might try to fix the hole yourself. Plug kits are available and as long as the tire has a small (less than 1/4" is the usual upper limit of hole size) and confined to the tread portion of the tire (at least an inch or two in from the tread edge) and the tire was not driven underinflated it can be fixed, unless the tire maker cautions against this.

Sincerely,

Macster.

yemenmocha

I'd be really cautious with the patching option. Just something unsettling about taking corners fast and knowing that I have a rear patched tire.

997, esq

I had this happen prior to the expiration of my cpo ... Had the car flatbedded to dealer and paid for a new set of rears, since the tires were due for replacement. I wouldn't hassle with removing the wheel, etc. if it's under cpo

Devil Boy

I was fortunate one day when I came back to work from my lunch break, I heard hissing from my right front tire and discovered that the valve stem had cracked. Not sure how it happened but I'm glad it waited until I got back to work. Since I'm an aircraft mechanic by trade, I grabbed some tools and a jack, removed the front wheel and had a co-worker drive me to America's Tire (this was in Victorville, CA at the time) and the shift manager came out, took the tire, and replaced the valve stem himself for free.

jhbrennan

I'd wait until I got home to see it all and make your decision what to do then. Unusual for a tire to completely deflat while siting with a nail in it. Did GF remove the nail or did you see a decrease in pressure when you parked it?

911Steve

+1 on Americas tires I use them all the time...BTW Porsche will not fix a flat you need to buy their tire which is double the price

vg247

Many thanks USMC and everyone for your feedback and thoughts on this (I totally agree to all your points above USMC..dealer car washes are awful btw).

The car is under CPO and new tires were installed when I got the car from dealer. Unfortunately I do not have the tools to take the wheel off and take it to get repaired.

The TPMS came on when I left Friday (showing 10psi drop) and GF reported the almost total deflation on Saturday. I did see the nail on the center of the tire towards the medial'-inner side (closest to car brakes) and figure it was a slow leak..GF didnt remove it,etc.

I think what I'm going to do once back is to call Porsche or AAA and have it towed flatbed to my local America's Tire (Santa Clara) for repair or assess if it's a bigger issue than noticed and replace if needed. That would suck though as the tires have no more than 800miles on them

I'll keep everyone updated on my experience, as always-thanks so much.

Macster

You can have the car towed where you like but I'd use Stevens Creek Porsche before I'd let my Porsches be handled by America's Tire Stores. The one in Livermore didn't even know how to jack up my Boxster right. Scary.

Sincerely,

Macster.

beden1

Why can't you just use the flat tire kit that comes with the 911? Use the goo which seals the tire and then fill it with air. Then drive it to the dealer or tire store to have it fixed.

The tire stores and dealers (including the Audi & BMW dealer we use) will plug (their preference) or patch a tire that has like a nail puncture through the bottom treads. They will not attempt to repair a tire that has been punctured through the sidewall. I just had tires with nail punctures in our Audi and BMW last month.

Neither of the dealers will attempt to repair a run-flat tire. I have another BMW with run-flats and got a nail in the bottom treads of it 2 months ago.

I hope my tire repairs are behind me for a while!

Devil Boy

If it was just a nail with a clean puncture I'd opt for one of those tire plug kits where you stick the gooey rubber band up into the hole and trim off the excess. You'd need an air compressor to air up your tire though.

I think it is worth having just the simplest of tools handy to remove a wheel. All you need is a breaker bar (1/2in drive IIRC), a 6 inch extension just to clear the wheel and fender, and a jack. The wheel lug socket should be in your frunk tool kit. Plus a decent torque wrench to put it all back together. It a task most anyone could handle. No different than changing a tire on a "normal" car.

brad@tirerack.com

There is a right way to patch, and a wrong way. Using a goo plug plug from the outside is absolutely NOT the way to do it. Fastest sure, but they won't hold over time. If you will find a shop who will do a mushroom plug from the inside it will likely never bother you again. There's nothing wrong with patching a small hole in the middle of the tire as long as it is done correctly with a good quality patch.