Some jerk of a kid stuck a small nail or ice pick in one of my car tires in the driveway on Halloween. I know it was that night, and I found the leak with a spray bottle of soap and water. And I had not driven that car for over a month, so I know it did not happen on the road.

I have been told they are unable to fix large leaks on a side wall, but what about a very small leak ?

What sucks, is the tire is almost new. Not sure why they picked me, as I gave out candy that night.

Sorry but no. You can't patch the sidewall - only the tread.

Can't repair sidewalls

X3. Sidewall leaks FTL.

Damn those brats ! No candy for them next year !

rub some tussin on it

action.publicbroadcastin… - I found the final word.

I guess I will see what Costco can do, possibly the guy will feel sorry for me. There is only about 3000 miles on those tires. I guess I should be happy it was only 1 and not all 4. I did see that the guy next door had 1 flat too :(

Blaktino, what is Tussin ?  urbandictionary.com/defi… - How is caugh syrup coing to help ?

Depends on who's at the tire counter at Costco.

If it's in the side of the tire, it won't be safe to drive, no matter who fixes it.

Go to a reputable dealer or a mechanic & they'll give you an honest answer (I like Fukuda on Post Street -the most honest mechanics ever, they specialize in Japanese cars however they'll check out your tire and give you the yes or no if it's safe to repair or if you need to replace).

My take on it, is that the leak is very small, and even if the patch inside failed, there would only be a very slow leak, that takes 2 days of so. So it is not like I would have a Blowout if the patch failed. But I am guessing I will not be able to get anyone to fix it so I am out of luck.

You can also go to Costco and cry. Dress to impress and think your very saddest thought and let the tear roll down your cheek.

This worked for me when I insisted that a tire place replace all 4 of my tires - and they did. I'd stupidly refused to have my car aligned when I bought the tires & a few months later, the tread was worn badly.

But I insisted they didn't do a convincing job of telling me how important it was to align the car when I bought 4 new tires from them.  And then when all else failed, I burst into tears, sobbing.

Yeah, it was manipulative but I was young, cute and really broke. And there were a lot of customers there and I think one chimed in and said, "Help the little lady" (it was in the South, after all).

I needed 4 new tires and they needed me to stop crying and get out of their store. Hey, it worked.

You do not want to drive that car on the freeway. If you do, call me first so I can stay off the 580, just sayin'

Ha Ha Jennifer, a guy my size is just not a sight you want to see when I cry. Most likely I will be of the same age of the father of the guy at the counter.

What store was that at ? Was that after you got new struts ? How can all 4 be so far out of alignment ?

I know of a lady that ran over a 4X4 board on the freeway, and all 4 of her Honda tires were tweaked. The Camber angle is not able to be adjusted on some cars.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ca…

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ca…

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To…

If you bought the Road Hazard with your tires it would be covered and you would get a new tire.

What I'm sure everyone else says :NO.

to hell with Costco...

Go to Orozco Tires on San Pablo in Berkeley... ULTIMATE.inexpensive.tire.service.

alex speaks the truth
never repair a sidewall hole
never.....if you value your life and your car

try Hanlon Tires in San Bruno, $15 for patch and they even will mount the tire back on for you, no appointment needed.  I had someone stick a screwdriver in my sidewall and they repaired it with a patch, was fine for 2 yrs with no leak.

yelp.com/biz/hanlons-tir…

I purchased the tires at Costco, and they sell them with the warranty, if you have a defective tire, or blow it up on the road. I am not even sure if some punk stuck an ice pick in it, as you can not see any damage looking at it, but it goes flat in a day or so, and I sprayed soapy water on it, and saw bubbles coming out of the side wall. And it was the day after Halloween. Also the guy next door had a flat. I did not go up and down the street to see how many others did, but I have never had a flat on a car that is just sitting in the drive way.

If you replace only one tire, but the other three are still reasonably new, you can have the new tire shaved down to match tread depth with the other three. This is especially important for AWD.  I've had good luck with Big O (the one in West Oakland is better than the one in Berkeley).

Otherwise, you're on the hook for a pair, at least.  I wonder--if you have a road hazard warranty, do they replace the pair, or just one--and do they match diameters?

Sammy D S..

I think you just spoke Venutian.. I have no idea what those words mean. "Struts" rings a far away bell.. but I have no earthly idea otherwise.

(See, that's why I resort to tears.. turns mere mortal men into teddy bears).

I did run over a ladder once. It feel off a truck on the approach to the Bay Bridge toll plaza. It was either "run over it" or get rear-ended.

For you Jen...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma…  An alignment is often needed after new struts are installed.

damage to the sidewall can result in catastrophic tire failure, even if right now it is just a "small leak"

One time I was at a party and afterwards I walked out to my car and someone poked all my tires. I couldn't drive at all.

I just wish I had caught the ass hole who did it.