Flat Tire for a new Tesla
Got flat tire fixed at service center recently. Heard a pop when driving home on generally good road and next day saw the flat tire. The appointments on the Tesla app are all 4-7 days away. There is a service center 1.5 miles away. I called and decide to walk in. I slowly drove the car there. They told me they can not repair but have to replace it since I drove on the flat. They also paid close attention to the rim. The rim was OK since I only drove it for less than 2 miles. The tire was replaced in 2-3 hours and the cost is around $450 including tax, which I think is acceptable considering it is in their service center. They told be they can not find anything obviously wrong with the tire except some black particles inside it.
Lesson learned: I should have used their roadside assistance, which may save the cost of a tire if it turns out to be reuseable. And to prevent possible rim damage.
I did find it strange that the tire popped without reason. The car is around 7month and 3.2kmiles only. The pressure was a little low before, around ~38psi, but within reason.
Don't use tesla for flat tires. Use a tire shop.
Yeah I know but it is less than a year old so I opt for the service center, in case there are some covered items from the warranty.
I had a flat tire on my tesla in month #2. The local tire shop plugged it for $20. You do you though.
Yeah a local goodyear quoted 45$ for repair, 200-450 for replacement depending on tire type and brand. I opt for the service center since it was a fairly new Tesla.
Go to a tire shop. There is no warranty from Tesla on the tires. Tire shops know way more, and are way more capable working on tires than Tesla. Your car is better off at a tire shop for tire things than tesla
What does the Tesla being new have to do with the fact that a tire shop would have fixed it for $45. You received the quote and still decided to take it to Tesla for 10x the price?!?
That is for repair if repairable. They quoted 200-450 for replacement. Since I am also fairly new to Tesla, I opt for the service center.
Why did you drive on a flat tire?
Not the first time I have done it, although not on a Tesla. Are they more fragile? I thought a couple miles on low speed is generally OK. Not aware that they have roadside assistance is another reason. Just want to get it to the shop and fixed.
When you drive on a flat tire, the weight of the car is pushing the rim of the tire into the tire the whole time, creating further damage to the tire, and now the rim because it's on the ground instead of up in an inflated tire.
Model Y is about 2 tons. That's a lot of weight to be putting on a flat tire and rim. Definitely not the same as an ICE car.
That’s absolutely the same as an ICE car. Many midsize ICE SUVs weight 2 tons or more.
2023 Tesla Model Y: 4,363 pounds
2024 Honda Passport: 4,236 pounds
2023 Ford Edge: 4,122 pounds
2024 Mercedes-Benz GLC: 4,277 pounds
Oh. I never really looked into it. I guess you're right.
So driving on a flat with any of these cars is not a good idea.
I would say driving on a flat tire in any car is not a good idea.
Most of those cars have run flat tires. Tesla (EV) don’t have that.
That seems unlikely. The luxury brands (Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, etc…) might include them as standard more frequently, but I doubt Honda and Ford (or Chevy, Hyundai, etc…) are putting run flats as standard equipment.
Also, there’s nothing stopping someone from putting run flats on any EV if they wanted to.
You're meant to drive at high speed so you're not on the flat very long. /s
If it’s a small leak you can limp a little bit and refill it with air from a tire air compressor and then limp it a little bit further but I wouldn’t just drive for miles with no air in it. I always carry a tire air compressor with me and a plug kit to help me get to a proper tire repair place.
Or be a cheap ass like me and invest in a pump, jack and crank. You can do the tire rotation, changing seasonal wheels and fix plats yourself. The cost of 3 service visits should cover all the material.
My back says no.
Keep an air pump in the car. Many leaks can be inflated enough to drive to a nearby tire shop. I prefer Discount Tire.
Tires will pop, rip, damage etc. for many reasons. Most often its owner neglect as many of us do not check tires before and after every drive. That's fine but, this is not a new Tesla thing, follow general tire guidance, check your tires often, make sure to inflate them properly. Try your best to manage against road conditions. Get your wheels and tire maintenance when suggested (balancing, rotation etc). It's almost always more beneficial to buy common wear parts from places other than the OEM as the price will often be less. Value Tire company/shops can get you a better deal and many like Discount Tire, have great insurance programs where, for a small fee, they can offer free replacements. Look for value in advance of an issue so when the issue eventually occurs, you have a game plan and can execute accordingly.
Issues like this are often framed as somehow a unique issue with Tesla, this is no different on any car for the most part.
I had a nail in my tire that was causing air to leak. finally realized the issue and called roadside so they dispatched someone to fix. they were able to patch but in the process they over extended the tire when putting it back on the rim, which resulted in the air continuing to escape. B/c this was now a 2nd flat, Tesla said they had to replace the tire (and the patch had popped out as well). All that was fine but makes sense. I did have to drive the car out of my building garage on a flat so they could replace. Tech said it's fine to drive it super slow on a flat for short distance and not to worry about damaging the rim.
However, I am now noticing the car leans towards the direction of the tire replacement. OP did you have to get tire alignment after you got the tire replaced? I have an appointment later this week for Tesla to check it out but that's the only weird part to me that I would now need to pay for a tire alignment b/c they replaced the tire.
This sub blows my mind sometimes.
Lmaooooo exactly
I have the Tesla air pump and for the life of me, I can’t figure out how to get it to work. I plug it into the car and nothing happens.
Literally just had a blow out on my factory set last night Discount tire was one block over. So I just parked the car there and had them replace all the tires this morning.
I had a flat last time, when the car was just over a month old with 3k miles on it. I brought it to the local Sunoco and they replaced it for $380.
I would say any competent local repair shop can help you with tires.
A tire shop my dude.
And no, it won’t be covered under warranty.