Hello,

I'd like to know where do you guys bring your RX to have it serviced for flat tire? I have nail on one of the tire, but want to make sure I bring to the good place so they won't scratch the wheel. Any recommendation? How about "wheel work"? Any experience with this? Or any other places you recommend?

Mine is not completely flat yet, but the tire pressure sensor has turned on occasionally. Do you think I have to fix it asap?

Thanks,
-bdar

 

Discount Tires (or America's Tires in CA) should fix the flat for free, if it is safe to do so. I've never had a problem with them messing up my wheels, but I guess it'll depend on the individual store.

 

Or Costco or anyone of your tire places...for free.

 

I prefer the tire manufacturer. This way the warranty isn't voided. But after my recent experience with a slow leak, I went back to the guy who sold the tires to me. It's worth the $25 to know it was done and done right.

 

+1, I always use the store that sold me the tire

 

Well when i bought my RX, i had new bridgestone tires on them. My friend works for Firestone who sells those tires and I bought the road hazard insurance for like $20 per tire. Its the best investment you can buy for your tires, because flat tires are fixed for free, you get free rotation and if a tire is beyond repairable you pay only a fraction of what the tire might cost new for a replacement.

 

I don't know if there's a Kauffman Tire in your area, but they fixed one of my OE tires for free. They removed the nail and patched. The dealer wanted to charge me $50 and they already had the tires off the car because they were rotating them.

 

I hear your concern. Just like me, I did not want my wheel scratched as I could see that could be a problem. I picked up a nail which developed a slow leak. I took it to my Lexus dealer for repair and they scratched the entire outside edge of the wheel, but they replaced it with a new one without hesitation. I wonder if a local tire dealer would have replaced it as easily. The tire patch was 20 bucks, so it might have cost a little more but I think it was worth it.

 

Let me be the contrarian and tell you a little story. I have been driving for 41 years and have had the occasional flat, of course. My wife has an 05 RX330 and I have an 07 BMW 3 series with run flat tires. I have always taken the car to the nearest tire shop when I get a flat. However, three weeks ago, I had a nail in one of my run flat tires and I had one of those "sewing kit" repair kits with the giant awl and the giant needle that threads a sticky rope into the hole. I decided to do the "what the heck, it can't hurt anything" route and did this myself. I couldn't be happier! Don't get me wrong here. My tires are at the end of their life and will be getting replaced in the next 3-4000 miles so I had nothing to lose. To date, the tire has not lost one pound of pressure.

This is similar to the product I used -
http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...LAID=109359017

Don't get me wrong here - I take no compromises when it comes to safety! I did this as a test and I can tell you that I would do it again. I would trust this in my wife's car and we haul the grandkids occasionally.