On a trip yesterday, my TPMS light came on. I stopped at a service station and noticed that there was a huge sheet-metal screw in the rear passenger tire. Damnit anyway. It was Sunday and I was in a pretty remote area, so I aired it up and tried to limp home. About 2 hours later, the pressure was low enough to trigger the light. I grabbed a can of Fix-A-Flat and that got me the next 60 miles home. (I have Conti Procontact SRs - runfalts)

Here comes the stupid question...

On my 2011 R57, purchased in Sept 2011 and slathered in warranties, do I just schedule service with the local dealer? Or do I call the MINI roadside assistance line and go through them? This is covered, right?

 

I'd just pick up a plug kit, and DIY. The kit won't cost you $10.00, and it's not worth my time to hang around a service department for that. And I think it would only be covered if you had the extra cost tire insurance. Plus the fix-a-flat might void the warranty. I don't know about that. I just know tire people hate dealing with that mess. Good luck.

 

If this is under warranty, I'll happily sacrifice my time vs. a home-brew solution.

 

Umm... First, run flats can be run without air hence the name. By putting fix a flat in there you gunked up the tire really for no reason. Flats are generally not covered by warranty but you might be able to get it repaired provided you didn't drive on it too long otherwise you will be buying a new tire.

 

I would encourage you to replace the tire. Run flats are designed to run without air, for a limited amount of distance before they start to stress the sidewalls enough so that they compromise the integrity of the tire. Has the tire been compromised as you describe what happened? I have no idea and chances are you cannot really tell by looking at tire. I would just think it would be wise to err on the side of caution. Or, you can always take it to a reputable tire shop and have them give you their "professional" opinion about the condition of the tire.

 

You might have messed up the TPMS sensor, when you put Fix-A-Flat in the tire, that stuff is the worst!

Slime is more sensor friendly.

Dave

 

 

Dave, I totally agree! I actually did use Slime, but said "Fix A Flat" euphemistically. presuming it was a more commonly-known solution.

 

Everybody, thank you for all the replies, especially the informed and on-topic ones! :D

FWIW, I have no intentions (and least not at this point) of NOT replacing the tire. However, my original questions still stand.

Thanks!

 

Tires are typically a non dealer warrantied item. If there is a defect then it is up to the tire manufacturer to make good on the warranty. Sometimes a dealer will go to bat for you and take care of the problem, usually when the defect is quite new to the purchase date. I would say in your situation that a foreign object impaled in the tire is not a warrantied item, unless, as mentioned above, you have optional tire insurance of some type that covers repair or replacement costs.

Having typed the above, I have heard on NAM of pretty outrageous prices by some dealers when it comes to replacing tires with new ones at a dealership. If you need a replacement I would certainly price shop in the traditional ways.

 

That's a question for your dealer. It wouldn't be covered by the new car warranty, but there is an extra cost (as in upwards of a grand or more, as I understand) tire insurance which MINI offers during the sale of new run-flat equipped cars. If you've got that, you are golden. If not, I'd plug it. It sounds to me like you were diligent about maintaining pressure, so the tire should be in good shape. Most shops will not take your word for that, due to liability reasons, and want to replace the tire, although some smaller shops will patch or plug the runflat. I've personally plugged many a tire with zero issues. I'd definitely go that route versus shelling out for a new one. On my old Jetta, I actually had a plug in for 80k miles. They work.

 

You were the one that dumped Fix A Flat into a tire that didn't need it, hence my reply.

Even slime is pointless in a run flat.

Lastly, your question was answered. No, it will likely not be covered as road damage has nothing to do with a warranty (manufacturer defect) and you will have to pay. However, the only people that can really answer this is your dealer, so why not call them rather than asking here?

 

My wifes Cooper S got a tire puncture a few moths ago.
Took it to a Goodyear dealer.They were going to repair it with a plug patch but the damage was out of the repair zone.They were able to replace the tire with the same Conti model.

This would have not been covered by the dealer.

If this happens again,going to buy a set of non run-flats!

 

If you do not have the extra tire warranty, don't do tire work at the dealer. It will cost you both an arm and a leg. If you ask them to take a look at it, their clock will be running for the inspection as well since this is generally not a warranty item.

The only way they will cover this is out of goodwill. And that rarely happens for tires because they will find it hard to get reimbursed themselves.