Acura used a Tire Plug to repair my tire, is that safe & reliable?

[JayN]

Acura did some work yesterday on my car. I was told they found a nail in one of the tires, and they repaired it for free. Later that day, I noticed the receipt said the part used to repair the tire was a Tire Plug.

Today I called up the Service Rep. who confirmed that they did plug the tire from the outside and did not remove the tire from the rim. He says it should last the lifetime of the tire and they have never had any problems with plugs and he even uses them on his own tires.

Is it true that Tire Plugs are a safe and reliable way to repair a tire?

 

[Flatus Johnson]

Acura did some work yesterday on my car. I was told they found a nail in one of the tires, and they repaired it for free. Later that day, I noticed the receipt said the part used to repair the tire was a Tire Plug.

Today I called up the Service Rep. who confirmed that they did plug the tire from the outside and did not remove the tire from the rim. He says it should last the lifetime of the tire and they have never had any problems with plugs and he even uses them on his own tires.

Is it true that Tire Plugs are a safe and reliable way to repair a tire?

There's a lot of disagreement on this-- some saying you should patch from inside (in addition to or instead of plugging) while others say it's fine to plug.

I've plugged about a dozen nail holes in the last 35 years or so on a variety of passenger and light truck steel belted radial tires(using a plain vanilla retail tire plugging kit)-- and only had one problem. The plug didn't seal properly from the get-go so I pulled it out and replugged it with another plug and all was fine.

YMMV

 

[JayN]

I haven't found the plug yet, so I don't know exactly where it is located, but wondering.... would a plug still work in the case of the hole being on the driving surface of the tire itself as opposed to within the grooves of the tire's driving surface.

Seems to me if the nail hole were not within the grooves of the tire, then the plug would be directly in contact with the road with each spin of the tire, and would wear out relatively quickly, is that true?

 

[L Alpert]

I haven't found the plug yet, so I don't know exactly where it is located, but wondering.... would a plug still work in the case of the hole being on the driving surface of the tire itself as opposed to within the grooves of the tire's driving surface.

Seems to me if the nail hole were not within the grooves of the tire, then the plug would be directly in contact with the road with each spin of the tire, and would wear out relatively quickly, is that true?

 

[Tony Hwang]

Acura did some work yesterday on my car. I was told they found a nail in one of the tires, and they repaired it for free. Later that day, I noticed the receipt said the part used to repair the tire was a Tire Plug.

Today I called up the Service Rep. who confirmed that they did plug the tire from the outside and did not remove the tire from the rim. He says it should last the lifetime of the tire and they have never had any problems with plugs and he even uses them on his own tires.

Is it true that Tire Plugs are a safe and reliable way to repair a tire?

Hi,
So what's wrong with using plug? One more thing you can do is patch it from nside the tire. If you're so concerned, get another new tire. I wouldn't worry about it if it is done properly.

 

[Tegger (2)]

Acura did some work yesterday on my car.

No they didn't. Acura did nothing at all to your car. Zero.

The independent company that sells and services Acura vehicles on the other hand...

I was told they found a nail
in one of the tires, and they repaired it for free.

For FREE!?

FREE? You mean they fixed it for nothing? You got something from a $tealer$hip for FREE? You never said THAT before. At least not in the other group you posted to and which you seem to have abandoned when you didn't get the response you were hoping for.

It seems to me that you were hoping for a response that promised dire and deadly repercussions, such anticipated damage which would aid you in a lawsuit against the guilty $tealer$hip.

Later that day, I
noticed the receipt said the part used to repair the tire was a Tire Plug.

Today I called up the Service Rep. who confirmed that they did plug the tire from the outside and did not remove the tire from the rim. He says it should last the lifetime of the tire and they have never had any problems with plugs and he even uses them on his own tires.

Is it true that Tire Plugs are a safe and reliable way to repair a tire?

You know, if I were the dealer and I knew what you're doing just now, I'd never again ever do anything for you for free, nor would I ever again tell you if I found something minor and fixed it. You might try to cut my head off for my efforts. Or sue me. Or who knows what.

Do you imagine that somebody who would do something for you for free would be trying to rip you off?

 

[Elmo P. Shagnasty]

I was told they found a nail
in one of the tires, and they repaired it for free.

For FREE!?

FREE? You mean they fixed it for nothing? You got something from a $tealer$hip for FREE?[/QUOTE]

Tegger, I get lots of things from my Honda dealer for free.

Just a few months ago, it was the second replacement idle air control valve. Yep. For free. They did the first replacement a year earlier for free, too. Van is an 02 model, currently with 62K on the clock. So both replacements were well out of warranty.

I love it when I hear people make the cry of "stealership!". It shows a stubborn lack of understanding on their part of how the world works. Do I use the dealership? Yep. Do they take care of me? Absolutely. Have done so for 20 years now.

My favorite story is taking my 79 Civic to this same dealership back in 86 or so, with a rusted front beam. I didn't know what was wrong, but they sure did. They wouldn't let me take it home, said to come back tomorrow, all fixed. I did, and it was.

Based on that, I bought a second 79 Civic for my now-wife. It developed the same problem, and we had the same result.

And after that came the rusting gas tanks, due to bad design. Handled.

 

[Tegger (2)]

For FREE!?

FREE? You mean they fixed it for nothing? You got something from a $tealer$hip for FREE?

Tegger, I get lots of things from my Honda dealer for free.[/QUOTE]

I was being (VERY) sarcastic.

Our "JayN" idiot appears to be one of those persons who regard franchised dealers as legal robbers, hence the tone of my response.

Just a few months ago, it was the second replacement idle air control valve. Yep. For free. They did the first replacement a year earlier for free, too. Van is an 02 model, currently with 62K on the clock. So both replacements were well out of warranty.

I love it when I hear people make the cry of "stealership!". It shows a stubborn lack of understanding on their part of how the world works. Do I use the dealership? Yep. Do they take care of me? Absolutely. Have done so for 20 years now.

My favorite story is taking my 79 Civic to this same dealership back in 86 or so, with a rusted front beam. I didn't know what was wrong, but they sure did. They wouldn't let me take it home, said to come back tomorrow, all fixed. I did, and it was.

Based on that, I bought a second 79 Civic for my now-wife. It developed the same problem, and we had the same result.

And after that came the rusting gas tanks, due to bad design. Handled.

My local Acura dealer has always been very fair with me, including admitting when certain work was beyond their abilities or economics.

 

[jim beam]

Acura did some work yesterday on my car. I was told they found a nail in one of the tires, and they repaired it for free. Later that day, I noticed the receipt said the part used to repair the tire was a Tire Plug.

Today I called up the Service Rep. who confirmed that they did plug the tire from the outside and did not remove the tire from the rim. He says it should last the lifetime of the tire and they have never had any problems with plugs and he even uses them on his own tires.

Is it true that Tire Plugs are a safe and reliable way to repair a tire?

yes.

 

[Tony Hwang]

I was being (VERY) sarcastic.

Our "JayN" idiot appears to be one of those persons who regard franchised dealers as legal robbers, hence the tone of my response.

My local Acura dealer has always been very fair with me, including admitting when certain work was beyond their abilities or economics.

Hmmm,
My Honda dealership is very fair, friendly place too. They do good work, their techs are knowledgable, when I leave car for the day to servie it, they of course will give me a ride across town to my work but instead they give me transit token so I can ride light rail saving time. Of course they give me a ride to the station. Dealerships are mode of people, not heartless robots. Remember it's two way street in human relations.

 

[jim beam]

Hmmm,
My Honda dealership is very fair, friendly place too. They do good work, their techs are knowledgable, when I leave car for the day to servie it, they of course will give me a ride across town to my work but instead they give me transit token so I can ride light rail saving time. Of course they give me a ride to the station. Dealerships are mode of people, not heartless robots. Remember it's two way street in human relations.

dealers that rip you off [for example] for whole new braking systems after only 35k miles are neither fair nor friendly.

 

[Howard Lester]

"Tony Hwang" wrote

My Honda dealership is very fair, friendly place too. They do good work, their techs are knowledgable, when I leave car for the day to servie it, they of course will give me a ride across town to my work but instead they give me transit token so I can ride light rail saving time. Of course they give me a ride to the station. Dealerships are mode of people, not heartless robots. Remember it's two way street in human relations.

The last time I took my car in for (40K miles) maintenance at my Honda dealership (3 months ago), the salesman, sales manager, and the service manager all came out to see me, having heard I was going to be soon moving away. They all wished me well, told me they'd miss me, wishing there were more customers like me. The sales manager even offered to help me buy a new car at a Honda-AutoNation place where I'm going. I'll miss them, too, because they've been good and fair to me over the 17 years I've dealt with them, including buying three new cars from them. So yeah -- good dealerships are out there.

 

[Elmo P. Shagnasty]

dealers that rip you off [for example] for whole new braking systems after only 35k miles are neither fair nor friendly.

You know, going back to my dealership story: there's exactly one tech I let touch my Hondas anymore. I don't know any of the others (with one exception, below), which isn't a huge deal, but I *do* know this one guy. We chat while he works on my car, believe it or not. He's very conscientious, and he's very good.

Plus, the service manager is a square guy. Well....to me, anyway.

There is one tech that this same dealership has allowed to continue on for many years. This guy is an out-and-out crook. They just let it happen. *I* know about it, but I know a bit more about the internals of the shop than the average customer. I also know more about cars, so this guy wouldn't get far with me--but as I said, I let one guy touch my Hondas. And it ain't him.

So some of the "stealership" comments are true, to an extent, but believe it or not it's not the dealership per se. It may be one guy.

 

[Tony Hwang]

Hmmm,
My Honda dealership is very fair, friendly place too. They do good work, their techs are knowledgable, when I leave car for the day to servie it, they of course will give me a ride across town to my work but instead they give me transit token so I can ride light rail saving time. Of course they give me a ride to the station. Dealerships are mode of people, not heartless robots. Remember it's two way street in human relations.

dealers that rip you off [for example] for whole new braking systems after only 35k miles are neither fair nor friendly.

Hi,
If you are talking to me, I never did any brake job done after 35K miles. At any rate do you think I am stupid/dumb enough to be ripped off?

 

[JayN]

Looks like we have a mind reader here! Tegger, the psychic!

Hi Tegger, You certainly "appear to be" one of those annoying people who falsely claim to know other people's motives!

I was hoping for a civil response. Thankfully, everyone here isn't as obnoxious and overbearing as you, Tegger! So I dared ask a question about tire plugs, and you, in particular, get all bent out of shape about it and start behaving in an obnoxious manner. Who is the real idiot here, Tegger?! Hint....look in the mirror!

J.

 

[JayN]

Christ! I ask a question, and get attacked for it! God forbid I should ask a question!

Did I accuse the dealer of doing anything wrong? NO! I asked a friggin' questoin! How dare you attack me for it! You are a real and absolute disgrace, Tegger!

 

[jim beam]

dealers that rip you off [for example] for whole new braking systems after only 35k miles are neither fair nor friendly.

You know, going back to my dealership story: there's exactly one tech I let touch my Hondas anymore. I don't know any of the others (with one exception, below), which isn't a huge deal, but I *do* know this one guy. We chat while he works on my car, believe it or not. He's very conscientious, and he's very good.

Plus, the service manager is a square guy. Well....to me, anyway.

There is one tech that this same dealership has allowed to continue on for many years. This guy is an out-and-out crook. They just let it happen. *I* know about it, but I know a bit more about the internals of the shop than the average customer. I also know more about cars, so this guy wouldn't get far with me--but as I said, I let one guy touch my Hondas. And it ain't him.

So some of the "stealership" comments are true, to an extent, but believe it or not it's not the dealership per se. It may be one guy.

of the people i know where i talk about cars, if the person actually knows anything, they tend to have a much more positive experience getting their vehicle repaired. if they don't, it seems they usually get the hose. women especially.

i used to live where there were mandatory vehicle safety inspections so i /had/ to put up with other people touching my cars periodically. it was amazing how the inspection guys /always/ managed to find something wrong that they /had/ to repair at vast expense before passing the vehicle. eg. new shocks allegedly required on a vehicle where they'd been replaced less than 3 months prior. brake calipers that suddenly had fluid leakage literally hours after they'd had seals replaced. screw drivers jammed through underpanels to "detect" rust. it was an ugly business.

eventually, i took to showing up at a shop where i'd had an "i'm going to report you" conversation and they remembered me, wearing dirty mechanic overalls, dirty hands, and with a a few tools scattered in the passenger footwell so the tester got the message that the vehicle was /not/ going to be theirs to repair. strangely my vehicles then used to pass. even to the extent of a girlfriend's vehicle "failing" for her at one test location, and passing with me at mine about an hour later, with nothing done.

bottom line: apart from genuine incompetents, and there are plenty of those, there is a very substantial undercurrent of dealers/repair shops taking advantage of their customers' knowledge vacuum. but short of signing up for evening classes on basic mechanics, something i doubt would hurt /any/ vehicle operator, i don't think there's much the average joe can do about it simply because they don't know enough about what's going on.

 

[jim beam]

Tegger wrote:
:

I was told they found a nail
in one of the tires, and they repaired it for free.

For FREE!?

FREE? You mean they fixed it for nothing? You got something from a $tealer$hip for FREE? Tegger, I get lots of things from my Honda dealer for free.

I was being (VERY) sarcastic.

Our "JayN" idiot appears to be one of those persons who regard franchised dealers as legal robbers, hence the tone of my response.

Just a few months ago, it was the second replacement idle air control valve. Yep. For free. They did the first replacement a year earlier for free, too. Van is an 02 model, currently with 62K on the clock. So both replacements were well out of warranty.

I love it when I hear people make the cry of "stealership!". It shows a stubborn lack of understanding on their part of how the world works. Do I use the dealership? Yep. Do they take care of me? Absolutely. Have done so for 20 years now.

My favorite story is taking my 79 Civic to this same dealership back in 86 or so, with a rusted front beam. I didn't know what was wrong, but they sure did. They wouldn't let me take it home, said to come back tomorrow, all fixed. I did, and it was.

Based on that, I bought a second 79 Civic for my now-wife. It developed the same problem, and we had the same result.

And after that came the rusting gas tanks, due to bad design.
Handled.

My local Acura dealer has always been very fair with me, including admitting when certain work was beyond their abilities or economics.

Hmmm,
My Honda dealership is very fair, friendly place too. They do good work, their techs are knowledgable, when I leave car for the day to servie it, they of course will give me a ride across town to my work but instead they give me transit token so I can ride light rail saving time. Of course they give me a ride to the station. Dealerships are mode of people, not heartless robots. Remember it's two way street in human relations.

dealers that rip you off [for example] for whole new braking systems after only 35k miles are neither fair nor friendly.

Hi,
If you are talking to me, I never did any brake job done after 35K miles. At any rate do you think I am stupid/dumb enough to be ripped off?

nothing personal to you. i'm simply saying that a friend of mine got ripped for a whole new brake system on their civic, not once, but twice in fact. first time at 35k, second about 20k later iirc. honda dealer.

 

[Tony Hwang]

Tony Hwang wrote:
Tegger wrote:
:

I was told they found a nail
in one of the tires, and they repaired it for free.

For FREE!?

FREE? You mean they fixed it for nothing? You got something from a $tealer$hip for FREE? Tegger, I get lots of things from my Honda dealer for free.

I was being (VERY) sarcastic.

Our "JayN" idiot appears to be one of those persons who regard franchised dealers as legal robbers, hence the tone of my response.

Just a few months ago, it was the second replacement idle air control valve. Yep. For free. They did the first replacement a year earlier for free, too. Van is an 02 model, currently with 62K on the clock. So both replacements were well out of warranty.

I love it when I hear people make the cry of "stealership!". It shows a stubborn lack of understanding on their part of how the world works. Do I use the dealership? Yep. Do they take care of me? Absolutely. Have done so for 20 years now.

My favorite story is taking my 79 Civic to this same dealership back in 86 or so, with a rusted front beam. I didn't know what was wrong, but they sure did. They wouldn't let me take it home, said to come back tomorrow, all fixed. I did, and it was.

Based on that, I bought a second 79 Civic for my now-wife. It developed the same problem, and we had the same result.

And after that came the rusting gas tanks, due to bad design.
Handled.

My local Acura dealer has always been very fair with me, including admitting when certain work was beyond their abilities or economics.

Hmmm,
My Honda dealership is very fair, friendly place too. They do good work, their techs are knowledgable, when I leave car for the day to servie it, they of course will give me a ride across town to my work but instead they give me transit token so I can ride light rail saving time. Of course they give me a ride to the station. Dealerships are mode of people, not heartless robots. Remember it's two way street in human relations.

dealers that rip you off [for example] for whole new braking systems after only 35k miles are neither fair nor friendly.

Hi,
If you are talking to me, I never did any brake job done after 35K miles. At any rate do you think I am stupid/dumb enough to be ripped off?

nothing personal to you. i'm simply saying that a friend of mine got ripped for a whole new brake system on their civic, not once, but twice in fact. first time at 35k, second about 20k later iirc. honda dealer.

Hi,
My dealer does not do anything major on thier own. They call to discuss and request permission to go ahead and do the job.

 

[jim beam]

Christ! I ask a question, and get attacked for it! God forbid I should ask a question!

Did I accuse the dealer of doing anything wrong? NO! I asked a friggin' questoin! How dare you attack me for it! You are a real and absolute disgrace, Tegger!

er, the "absolute disgrace" would be you.

1. tegger is easily the most significant asset this group has - you should be grateful for his efforts at tegger.com. and

2. if you could be bothered to read what he said properly, or had the comprehension skills, you'd figure out that while he may be sarcastic, he's dead right. acura didn't repair your car, the franchisee did. and if they didn't charge you for the repair, then you didn't get ripped off.