First Flat in my Model S Plaid: Lessons Learned

[PR0FESSOR]

Hi,

I had my first flat in my Tesla Model S Plaid today at 7,200 miles. The dash indicator went from a low tire pressure indication to pull over immediately in about 15 seconds. Let’s just say it was a big flat. I used the Tesla app and reported a flat tire, and Tesla came back with $121 if the tire could be repaired and $660.50 if I needed a new tire. It would take about two hours for them to arrive since I live in a very rural area. I told Tesla to hold off that I would try and repair it.

Lesson 1: Check critical hardware when you get it, before you need it: my NEW Tesla inflator with built-in fix-a-flat did not work. The compressor would not turn on when the switch was in the fix-a-flat position (I made sure the knob was fully engaged multiple times).

Lesson 2: Carry tire plugs. In my case, the hole was large enough that the a separate can of fix-a-flat did not fix it. I had to send my wife to purchase both the can of fix-a-flat and some heavy duty radial tire plugs.

Lesson 3: Carry a 3-ton scissor jack. I needed to have my wife pull forward in the Tesla until the hole was in the right position so I could plug it without removing the tire.

Lesson 4: Carry a blanket to lay on while you are working on repairing the flat. I was in a suit and kneeling on a floor mat to avoid messing up my suit was tedious.

Lesson 5: Carry a 1/2 drive socket and breaker bar/ratchet so you can remove the tire if necessary. The tire would have been easier to plug if I could have removed the tire.

Start to finish, including having my wife pick up the items I needed but did not have, it took me about 75 minutes to repair the tire and be on my way. I will take it easy on this tire (no high speed runs) until I have it repaired properly or replaced if Discount Tire doesn’t want to patch the inside of the tire.

As soon as I can, I will log in to my Tesla account and get this non-functioning Tesla air pump sent back. In addition to the fix-a-flat not working, the air pressure gauge did not work.

By this Saturday, I will have all of the items I need so that I do not have to bother my wife if/when I get another flat. For the record, I did not think that Tesla’s price for a tire replacement was too bad considering it included delivery and installation at the location where I was stuck. I wonder how they balance everything when they do a roadside tire replacement. Mobile road-force balancer?

If you are reading this and you are even remotely handy at plugging a tire, you should, at a minimum, carry the items I have listed above so that you can repair your own flat tire.

Joe

"Tesla Plaid" by Chris Yarzab is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail

 

[Plaidness]

Do you have pics of the tire? Usually when this happens at around this mileage and with a quick drop off in pressure, it's the inner edge of the tire wearing down and coming apart and it isn't fixable. In that case, there's really no choice but to replace the tire. If that hasn't happened yet, it will soon, so the items in question won't help you. Just be aware it's a common problem and it's why people use camber plates/arms to fix the alignment problem.

 

[PR0FESSOR]

It was a hole almost dead center of the tire. I am aware of the rear toe issues, the sides of the tire are perfect.

Joe

 

[Plaidness]

It was a hole almost dead center of the tire. I am aware of the rear toe issues, the sides of the tire are perfect.

Joe

Yeah it's really a camber issue, hence the inner edge wear...the toe can also be off, but it's mainly a camber problem. The tires are fine until they're not, and it happens quickly. Mine went to 0 in minutes and the entire inner edge was coming apart, and the car had to be towed in. Just be aware. Mobile repair was not recommended in my case, although I have done that previously on other cars through TireRack. They have al the equipment to mount and balance in a van. And agreed, a self-plug in a 1020 hp car may be enough to get you to a tire shop if you take it easy, but you're probably looking at a new tire.

 

[dwbv]

Do what I did and see if you can find one of these for your model year: Complete Compact Spare Tire Kit W/Carrying Case - Fits 2012-2016 Tesla Model S - Modern Spare

Never needed it yet but good to have.

 

[Darmie]

Good info Joe.
I will say that plugging a tire on the side of the road or even in a parking lot is not the easiest thing to do. It take great muscle power and a lot of might to insert the plug tool.

 

[PR0FESSOR]

I am farmstrong... when I am not teaching at the university, I run a 23-acre ranch with horses, goats, chickens, etc. It is amazing how working on a ranch will keep you fit.

Good info Joe.
I will say that plugging a tire on the side of the road or even in a parking lot is not the easiest thing to do. It take great muscle power and a lot of might to insert the plug tool.

 

[vcor]

My friend's Model Y, had a dead flat in a parking lot when she came back to her car. I came over and attempted to fill it, but it would only go to 4 psi! I found a big leak in the tread.

She called Roadside assistance and they said it would take 90 minutes to get to her. She didn't want to wait that long and called AAA. They had a 2-hour wait! Ok back to Tesla. They actually arrived in an hour, had a temporary tire with them, and did a swap. They came to her home the next day and replaced the tire with a new one. Overall, good service. Likely more expensive than cheap tire places, but more convenient. Most tire places around here have a multi-hour wait to get in without an appointment and it's unclear if they would have the tire in stock - which would be a 1-2 day wait.

 

[PassingLane]

Hi,

I had my first flat in my Tesla Model S Plaid today at 7,200 miles. The dash indicator went from a low tire pressure indication to pull over immediately in about 15 seconds. Let’s just say it was a big flat. I used the Tesla app and reported a flat tire, and Tesla came back with $121 if the tire could be repaired and $660.50 if I needed a new tire. It would take about two hours for them to arrive since I live in a very rural area. I told Tesla to hold off that I would try and repair it.

Lesson 1: Check critical hardware when you get it, before you need it: my NEW Tesla inflator with built-in fix-a-flat did not work. The compressor would not turn on when the switch was in the fix-a-flat position (I made sure the knob was fully engaged multiple times).

Lesson 2: Carry tire plugs. In my case, the hole was large enough that the a separate can of fix-a-flat did not fix it. I had to send my wife to purchase both the can of fix-a-flat and some heavy duty radial tire plugs.

Lesson 3: Carry a 3-ton scissor jack. I needed to have my wife pull forward in the Tesla until the hole was in the right position so I could plug it without removing the tire.

Lesson 4: Carry a blanket to lay on while you are working on repairing the flat. I was in a suit and kneeling on a floor mat to avoid messing up my suit was tedious.

Lesson 5: Carry a 1/2 drive socket and breaker bar/ratchet so you can remove the tire if necessary. The tire would have been easier to plug if I could have removed the tire.

Start to finish, including having my wife pick up the items I needed but did not have, it took me about 75 minutes to repair the tire and be on my way. I will take it easy on this tire (no high speed runs) until I have it repaired properly or replaced if Discount Tire doesn’t want to patch the inside of the tire.

As soon as I can, I will log in to my Tesla account and get this non-functioning Tesla air pump sent back. In addition to the fix-a-flat not working, the air pressure gauge did not work.

By this Saturday, I will have all of the items I need so that I do not have to bother my wife if/when I get another flat. For the record, I did not think that Tesla’s price for a tire replacement was too bad considering it included delivery and installation at the location where I was stuck. I wonder how they balance everything when they do a roadside tire replacement. Mobile road-force balancer?

If you are reading this and you are even remotely handy at plugging a tire, you should, at a minimum, carry the items I have listed above so that you can repair your own flat tire.

Joe

Funny. We just got a flat too. A sharp stone punctured the tire. Our lesson learned? We bought a pouch of those four jack pads as many tow truck drivers won’t have them. Same with tire repair shops. Now, they can just use the set we keep in the frunk.

 

[mark02115]

you have a special wife - jumping in to get the tools / patches you needed. I did put a emergency kit together, jack, jack pucks, 21m socket / wrench, tire repair kit and Tesla pump / goo. I did not test the pump, but will do that this weekend - thanks for the heads up.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

I am farmstrong... when I am not teaching at the university, I run a 23-acre ranch with horses, goats, chickens, etc. It is amazing how working on a ranch will keep you fit.

I am citysmart. I no longer use those traditional tire plugs that are a pain to install on the side of the road. One of these screw-style plugs worked perfectly the last time we got a nail in the tire:

Amazon.com

 

[TLLMRRJ]

I am citysmart. I no longer use those traditional tire plugs that are a pain to install on the side of the road. One of these screw-style plugs worked perfectly the last time we got a nail in the tire:

Amazon.com

Forgot to mention the huge extra benefit of these screw-style plugs is that you can remove them before taking the tire for repair so the tire shop doesn't deny repairing the tire if you used the normal plug style. These screw plugs can literally save you over $500 from having to get a new tire.

 

[livesmith]

Forgot to mention the huge extra benefit of these screw-style plugs is that you can remove them before taking the tire for repair so the tire shop doesn't deny repairing the tire if you used the normal plug style.

So can you just unscrew the screw plug and then use a normal plug without an issue later when it's more convenient?

 

[TLLMRRJ]

So can you just unscrew the screw plug and then use a normal plug without an issue later when it's more convenient?

If by normal plug you mean a proper patch/plug, yes. I wouldn't bother to replace these with the parts store plugs because they are just as good as those plugs.

A lot of tire shops won't put their plug/patch if you used your own plug kit.

 

[livesmith]

If by normal plug you mean a proper patch/plug, yes. I wouldn't bother to replace these with the parts store plugs because they are just as good as those plugs.

A lot of tire shops won't put their plug/patch if you used your own plug kit.

Hmm... I've used the regular plugs from auto stores/walmart etc a number of times without ever having a problem. But I've never tried to place one while the wheel is still on the car... These screw ones look easier, but it looks like the screw is some sort of harder material compared to the rubber strips of the "normal" plugs and I'd question if that harder screw material might end up either wearing out itself, or moving around in the tire and wearing the tire itself more somehow long term...

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Hmm... I've used the regular plugs from auto stores/walmart etc a number of times without ever having a problem. But I've never tried to place one while the wheel is still on the car... These screw ones look easier, but it looks like the screw is some sort of harder material compared to the rubber strips of the "normal" plugs and I'd question if that harder screw material might end up either wearing out itself, or moving around in the tire and wearing the tire itself more somehow long term...

Nah

 

[vapor trail]

Do what I did and see if you can find one of these for your model year: Complete Compact Spare Tire Kit W/Carrying Case - Fits 2012-2016 Tesla Model S - Modern Spare

Never needed it yet but good to have.

Interesting kit. does this fit in frunk?

 

[calikid]

I would have definitely went with the service option. You have a Plaid, you can afford the $650

 

[dwbv]

Interesting kit. does this fit in frunk?

Unfortunately not.

 

[Pecos Bill]

Hi,

I had my first flat in my Tesla Model S Plaid today at 7,200 miles. The dash indicator went from a low tire pressure indication to pull over immediately in about 15 seconds. Let’s just say it was a big flat. I used the Tesla app and reported a flat tire, and Tesla came back with $121 if the tire could be repaired and $660.50 if I needed a new tire. It would take about two hours for them to arrive since I live in a very rural area. I told Tesla to hold off that I would try and repair it.

Lesson 1: Check critical hardware when you get it, before you need it: my NEW Tesla inflator with built-in fix-a-flat did not work. The compressor would not turn on when the switch was in the fix-a-flat position (I made sure the knob was fully engaged multiple times).

Why didn't you use Emergency Roadside Help?