So I have a screw in my left rear tire.

It's been in there at least 8 hours, possibly days.

The only reason I noticed it was because I had my windows open and heard the sound of the metal hitting the pavement.

It's possible that I'm not even loosing tire pressure (either because the screw is holding tight or it's a really short one that didn't penetrate all the way through the tread).

It's obviously too late at night to take care of this now, but my question is, what precisely should I do? Should I take it to my dealer? Any mazda dealer? Do i need a new tire? How much will a new tire cost (I have the Sport package so i have the 18" stock rims)? Can I just get it patched up?

I've only had this car for 2 weeks and I already need a repair that isn't covered in the warrenty

Thanks for the help.

We need more emoticons for the posting options, a purple frowning face seems to extreme considering that this is a unfortunate, but minor annoyance.

 

at the dealership i work at we don't plug tires for legal reasons. there have been incidents where a tire has blown up b/c of a plugged tire. although it's pretty rare, it COULD happen. you don't necessarily have to take it to a mazda dealership, anywhere that deals with tires is totally capable in plugging a tire.

what i would do is spray some water over the screw to see if there are any bubbles (air leaks). if bubbles are visible, you have a puncture. if not, either the screw is holding in the air or the screw MIGHT NOT have gone all the way through.

also, if the screw is anywhere near the side walls of the tire, you need a new tire. usually those fix-a-flat kits work, but i don't like to use them. liquid causes imbalancing of tires. if you have to buy a tire, i DO NOT recommend buying from the dealership. they charge way too much. you're better off going somewhere else...like NTB.

 

Thanks for the information. I've never actually had this problem before, always been lucky I guess.

The screw is almost dead center in the tire, no where near the edges. I'll try the water thing tomorrow if it isn't already flat (I do have the spare kit just in case).

 

i'd save that spare kit for the big emergencies. replacing that kit might be a hefty price. if it really is leaking, you could just go to Autozone and buy a tire plug kit and DIY. but if you don't feel comfortable with that, there is always the other choice of buying a brand new tire.

 

Any idea what the price would be on a new tire? I of course just spent all of my money on the car itself.

 

Here you go, did a quick search on TireRack Dunlops are $221 and the Bridgestones are $216. Hey I have the Dunlops they cost more :p

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/OETire...cleSearch=true

 

This happened to me (also a philips head, and also after about 2 weeks of owning the car. Weird.) -- the screw was in one of the tread blocks and had been bent over and had about 1/2 its head ground off from driving on it. I noticed it when I was washing the car, so I did the bubble test with some soapy water. No leaks, so out came the pliers...

Turned out that the screw had just gone in to barely the depth of the tread block (soft winter compound) but no farther, so as far as I can tell the tire wasn't compromised. Good luck with yours.

 

take it to uhmm american discount tire company. they fix flats for free. i had a nail in my tire and they took it out and patched it up for free, since they nail was not on the side of the tire, but along the tread.

 

Yes, you can get it patched from the inside as long as the screw is nowhere near the sidewalls. I did this several times with my last few cars... most tire places will patch for $10-$20, plus dismount/mount/balance fees. I've also had screws that didn't penetrate the tire completely, (and since your tires are brand new you might be in the same boat) and have successfully removed them and when on with my life. If you have another car, I would recommend removing the screw and check for air leaking with soapy water... if so, take the wheel off, and transport it to a tire shop to get patched. I don't think shops do it any more, but what you want to avoid is a plug-type repair. Those are great for emergency situations, but not a permanent fix for a high performance tire.

 

so, if the screw has not penetrated all the way through, I can pull it out and everything will be fine? I don't have to worry about that tire being weakend or anything?

Thanks everyone for the replies btw

 

Well, be careful. I don't think anyone here is saying pull it for sure. It just depends on how deep the screw really is and if you pull it out, you may find yourself with a flat in no time. I would suggest what the others have and take it to a tire specialty place other than the dealership.

 

Im_DANomite's post about Fix-a-Flat has me wondering how bad it would damage the tire pressure sensors? I am assuming that Mazda tested the snot that comes with the car to make sure it doesn't damage the sensors. Of course, we all know what happens when you assume.

 

I would not use the flat-goo that Mazda gives you in the emergency kit- according to them, you have to replace the tire if you choose use their gunk, so I can't imagine it's very good for the TPMS either. For those looking for a good emergency option, look into buying a tire plugger kit to use in conjunction with the air compressor we get (which is a very good one btw).

 

Well, I unscrewed the screw and it came out easy, used soap and water before and after and saw no bubbles.

The screw is maybe 1 centimeter at most in length. Anything I should know before I go on my marry way?

Thanks for the tips everyone!

 

I would over-pressure the tire and then recheck the spot - put 45 PSI into the tire to be sure that it isn't leaking. If the screw was stopped by the steel belts (which it sounds like it was ...) you're fine. Then just bleed the excess back off to 32 PSI and motor away

 

Yeah, what Stew said. Good advice.

Bill

 

Is that something I can do with the tire kit that came with the car or do I have to take it to a gas station? (either one is fine, I just think it would be cool to use that kit).

 

The compressor it came with will work, just slowly... probably be good for you to get acquainted with it anyway. If I remember correctly, it's measurements are in Kilopascals, so you might want to use a US-spec gauge to check the pressure when you're done.