Tire pressure monitor showed low tire, I checked and found the left rear down to 25 psi..
Called dealer said they didn't have the time today, called the Goodyear dealer nearby. Went in all fixed for warranty from goodyear.
Very pleased.
Reset TPMS..
Back on Road..

 

Some sort of tire warranty?

My assumption was that any puncture in runflats is an automatic $200+ expense for the owner since they are not repairable.

 

Runflats CAN be repaired just like any other tire as long as its not a sidewall puncture. The shops with old tire machines who know it's a royal PIA to remove and mount them are the ones who say they can't be repaired.

 

There is also this whole issue of the tire de-treading when you are doing 75 on the highway just because you are have a fixed runflat that wasn't supposed to be repaired. (Gotta do more research on this possibility).

And time to revamp my search for a donut.

 

The big issue is whether the tire is run for a significant distance on zero (or very low) air pressure - this can destroy the structural integrity of the tire - it's why they say things like "drive up to 100 miles at 50 miles per hour" or whatever, instead of "drive forever on it if you want".

If the tire has been truly run flat for many miles, and is then plugged or patched, refilled and driven at highway speeds, it runs an increased risk of catastrophic failure.

In the case of the OP, nail in tire, tire still holding most pressure, pull nail and fix puncture, then no problem. But in many cases, the tire store has no way of knowing how far the tire has been driven flat...

 

This is not an issue unless, as BlimeyCabrio notes, you drive on the "flattened" tire for a significant period of time.

The manufacturers expressly state that punctured runflats can be repaired, no doubt about it, as long as they haven't been driven flat for a significant amount of time...

And you can easily avoid driving on them flat, because generally speaking, nails/screws and punctures cause slow leaks, there is still a lot of pressure left, and you can top it off over and over and keep the pressure high, so the air pressure (and not the sidewall) is taking the load.

If you get TPMS warning, check it ASAP...if it is a nail, and you have a loss of pressure, top the tire off and get it repaired ASAP.

There shouldn't be any BS warnings about tires falling apart, catastrophically failing, being unrepairable etc....because that's just not true.

 

The tire repair man stated run flats could take two patches and in the tread area only. Also stated they were as good as new once the patch is applied.
They had no difficulty removing or remounting the tire.
It was a Goodyear tire store in the SanFernando Valley.

 

Well, his "two patches" guideline is a little arbitrary and silly, but at least he was willing to fix it for you.

 

Not so sure about "arbitrary and silly"
That is goodyear's position on repairs to Runflats.
I felt I was treated well and on my way in no time.

 

I believe Scott's point is that the number of patches has virtually nothing to do with the safety, integrity, or remaining life of the tire... and I agree with that point.

But, like Scott, am HAPPY they took care of you!

 

I understand Scott's points as well, very happy they took care of the tire and was merely stating what I was told by the Manufacturer's representative(agent)
I myself think the two patch rule is reasonable and probably safe.

I only posted the info so others won't feel they need to purchase a new tire if they get a puncture.

 

Yes - don't get me wrong, I think it's great that Goodyear is erring on the side of caution while still giving customers a chance to have runflats repaired once or twice. I just think that the "two patch maximum" rule itself doesn't make much sense.

Patches and plugs don't affect the integrity of the tire except in the area immediately surrounding them. As long as a new patch isn't too close to any prior patch jobs, the actual *number* of previous patches is irrelevant. I'd much rather have a tire with a dozen patches spread evenly around the tire's circumference than a tire with two patches within an inch of each other.

 

Discount Tire said they would repair the runflat, but when I arrived down there they then stated that they would not repair Continental runflats.

They showed me a fancy PDF file with all the major brand logos and stated that some association they belong to does not allow runflat repair on those brands (the only brands that made runflats). They then proceeded to try and sell me a new $200 runflat tire! A bit deceiving...

90% of the other shops I called said all runflats are un-repairable, but I eventually found a family-owned shop that said it was no problem. $12 later I was back on the road...

FWIW, I ordered a MINI donut spare and will be dumping these crap-flats this summer...

 

I carry a "Slime" brand air compressor and a set of "sticky" rope tire plugs. I have used them in the past to fix flats on my motorcycle with good results. I would use them only if I wasn't close enough to a tire store or tire shop.

When I bought my clubbie a couple of weeks ago, the MA told me that the TPMS did not track tire pressure, but tire speed. When a tire loses tire pressure, the diameter of the tire is reduced thus the tire spins faster. What say you?

 

Your MA sounds misinformed. There used to be an ABS-based TPMS system several years back, not sure if it was used by BMW/MINI, but it didn't even need wheel-mounted sensors - ABS sensors are enough for that.

The sensors we have in the wheels actually transmit pressure (and theoretically can transmit temperature) of the air in the tires. I wouldn't be green sliming these.

 

Yep, 1st Gen MINIs use the ABS-sensor based flat tire monitoring system.
When mine started going off at random, I ended up needing an ABS-sensor
replaced, and it fixed the problem.

 

Pretty much, although it wasn't exactly a 1st gen/2nd gen difference - many of the 2007 MINIs still had the old ABS-based TPMS. The cutoff was in September of 2007.

 

Read post #5 please.............

 

I don't carry the green slime stuff you squirt into the tire. I carry the Slime brand air compressor, just in case I'm FAR from a tire repair/replacement shop.

 

Yes - this was after I explained that the tire deflated overnight in the garage (NOT driven on at all), and was replaced in the morning with a spare snow wheel/tire. Still no go...

 

You still don't get it..........most franchised shops WILL NOT REPAIR A RUNFLAT ! !

For the reason's stated in post 5. So your experience was justified, the mom and pop shop took a chance by repairing it.