Ok...I know this probably belongs in the tire/wheel forum, but as a new owner, I felt I needed to share my first (still raw) experience with my run-flats.

Yes, I must be the unluckiest person on the planet. Barely 3 weeks old and I've gotten my first flat.

The good:
-Tire Pressure Monitor responded great and let me know the tire pressure was off before I started driving
-Run flat tires got me home through 40 miles of traffic in the SF Bay Area
-Sears actually helped me find the hole - even though they couldn't help me otherwise (see bad below)

The bad:
-Don't get a flat at 5:30pm in the SF South Bay if you have run flats on your car. You won't find a place to fix your tire or even sell you a new tire.
-Sears, Costco, Firestone would not fix the flat. They said they were not authorized to fix a run flat tire, but also didn't have a run-flat tire to replace it with. I would have to buy 1 conventional tire.
-A certain MINI dealership who will remain nameless but is based in Mountain View would not help me either. They told me to come back in the morning. ARE YOU KIDDING ME????? HOW AM I GOING TO GET HOME AND BACK HERE AGAIN (did I mention that I live in SF - 40 miles away?)
-My 2009 MCS had no jack, no tire iron, nothing in the way of helping me to replace the tire (but I've been told that I can get a kit for free if I come back to my home dealership at East Bay MINI)

Resolution?
I had to go to a local auto supply store that was thankfully open late and I was able to buy a tire plug. I came home, took the jack out of my wife's car, jacked up the car, took off the wheel, put the plug in and put it all together again.

I need to search the forum for a better solution. I think I saw that people are carrying a mini-compressor and a plug kit. However, until I get my jack and tire iron, they won't help me too much.

Sorry for the rant. Clearly I'm still raw on the whole affair.

I guess I've popped my "cherry". My MINI is no longer "pristine".

I still love it. I just don't exactly love my tires (although they did get me home). I guess I really don't love not being able to get a run-flat tire fixed at 5:30pm in the SF South Bay.

So to tie this into the 1st Gear thread. To all you first time run-flat owners like myself. Get prepared. Figure out a flat solution that will work for you independent of any external help. Assume you won't get any.

Thanks for reading...

 

Why didn't you call MINI roadside assistance?

 

I suppose I should have. But what would they have done? Driven me to MINI of Mountain View who would have probably told me to leave my car overnight?

What type of service have people received from the roadside assistance folks?

 

No help to you in California, but Les Schwab Tires in the PNW will fix a run flat. My car had 2400 miles on it when it developed a slow leak in one of the run flats. Kept putting air in it (compressor in the garage) till I could get in to Les Schwab's. They fixed it for no charge.

 

That's interesting. The NTB tire-chain-store near me (in Mass) will fix a runflat without issue. Sorry about the lack of dealer help. When I bought my 2003 used and got a flat not realizing that the tires weren't runflats I was stranded. Nobody in the Boston area had a tire in the correct size and was SOL. The lack of availability isn't just a run-flat issue. Thankfully my dealership made a few calls and had a tire overnighted and brought it to me. I'm sorry your dealer wasn't as receptive, but MINI Roadside Assistance should have at least been able to send someone with a spare to get you to the dealership. The dealership should have had a replacement tire or at the least a repair/plug kit. It was an oversight that your dealership didn't recommended that you call MINI Roadside Assistance or called for you.

Your car should have come with a jack, tire iron, etc. There's no excuse for that. I purchased a mobility kit with compressor and slime just in case and will probably get a plug kit soon.

 

Just a FYI, if you would have taken it to any MINI Dealership they will not "fix" the tire. They will make you buy a new one. Even if it is just a nail or something; MINI/BMW Dealerships do not plug run flats. The run flat tires cost about $250-350 per tire depending on what size was put on and if they are all season or performance.

 

Too late to help you out now, but for the future consider something like this.

http://www.slime.com/index.php?p=vie...product_id=281

Slime makes similar products that are cheaper, and more of a one shot affair also. I have trucks, horse trailers and tractors to take care of, so this one suits my needs. You may not need all of the stuff that comes with this one.
You will need that emergency kit from Mini though. Getting the weight off of the tire is kind of a neccessity.
I just switched to my winter wheel/tires with our new Mini, and used the Mini supplied jack for the first tire. It worked, but I switched to a floor jack for the rest of them. (I'm going to throw a scrap of 1/4" plate in with the jack for use on the road.)

Getting stuck on the side of the road sucks. It can be dangerous too.

 

Thanks for all your comments.

I live in SF. I work in Sunnyvale. My home dealership is in Pleasanton. All 3 sites are about 30-40 miles from each other. Welcome to living in the SF Bay Area.

MiniSF said $389 to replace the tire and I would get my car back at 12pm if I was first in line at 7am - or I could use their Enterprise car rental service.

I'm going to a fabulous local place I found on Yelp.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/pauls-batter...:tire%20repair

Paul's Battery and Tire Company.
-Don't stock the tire, but will have it delivered this afternoon
-Will call me when it arrives - I don't have to leave the car
-30 minutes to install
-$289 installed for Goodyear Excellence run flat

 

I've heard of these kits. I've also heard about the Conti Kit.

Unfortunately, I'm concerned about the tire pressure monitor (TPM) if I spray that stuff inside.

A poster from Tire Rack said that it would definitely ruin your TPM.

As an alternative, I found this in a different thread:

I saw this on a different thread:

http://www.advdesigns.net/mitipukitwit.html

 

There are some Les Schwab locations in the SF Bay Area.

It's the whole point of runflats, that you can just keep driving. A problem with Slime is that you can't use it with TPMS sensors (or maybe you can but you'll have to replace the sensor $$$).

If the puncture is repairable, the problem with plugging is that you probably won't be able to follow up with a proper repair (most shops will not deal with a plugged tire for liability reasons). The best bet is to continue searching for a place that will repair a runflat, until you absolutely have to give up.

 

From the FAQ's, concerning the use of slime on tires/wheels with TPMS sensors, on Slime's website.

http://www.slime.com/index.php?p=faq#answer_1111_loc

Having had my Mini for < 2weeks I haven't used Slime on it yet. Has anyone used Slime on a wheel with direct TPMS sensors?

 

I have run flats, but also a spare (I have an MC). When I found a nail in one of my tires last spring, I simply plugged it like you did and it has been fine ever since. I say leave the plug in and you will likely be fine. If for some reason the plug does not hold and you can't maintain proper pressure in the tire, then look at getting a new tire, but I wouldn't waste the money on a new tire until you know you need it. I would bet that the plug will hold just fine. ....and from what I hear about the treadlife of some of these runflats, you'll need new tires because of wear soon anyway.

Just my opinion. Good luck.

 

Yeah, if you get a flat after 6 pm in the South Bay with run flats, you're pretty much screwed as stores like Sears, COstco, and Walmart which are still open don't work on runflats. If you get stuck again here, you might want to take your car to Discount Tires off of 101 and Brokaw right next to the Fry's Electronics. They should be able to help you out with run flat tires but they close at 6pm I believe.

 

Thanks for the info Darmog.

I took the tire in and the folks at Paul's Battery and Tire in SF looked at it and said it was patchable. They're a great place - ordered the tire, but when I got there, inspected my current tire and said it was safe to be patched.