I am planning a long driving trip, and kinda worry about about various situations with MY. One is the lack of a spare tire. Do you all feel that a tire repair kit and an air pump are essential? I personally have not had a flat tire in my entire driving life. There were some close calls, but I was able to get them repaired since the nails did not cause enough air pressure loss. Thanks!
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Tire repair kit?
- Thread starter WADan
- Start date
A portable air pump and a plug kit are two items I would definitely pack for a road trip. The air pump and sealant kit that Tesla sells on their site is another option. The better alternative, a spare tire kit, is both expensive and takes up luggage space. See Modern Spare.
Teslas kit is a good option. I used it once (tire shop who mounted tires on my Arachnids apparently did not properly tighten/secure the valve stem on one tire, causing a total flat. Fortunately it was gradual in a residential area and no tire damage. Used the air-only portion of the kit (it has two options, turn the switch one way and it releases the sealant with the air into the tire, turn the switch the other way and it just airs up the tire. And it was actually pretty fast to get the tire from about 10 psi to 40psi.
Also, check your car insurance policy as you may have roadside repair included already. Same for your credit card companies..
Also, check your car insurance policy as you may have roadside repair included already. Same for your credit card companies..
OP: Welcome to the club. There are a few discussions ongoing about the lack of a spare tire. There's just no space to install it w/o taking up a large portion of the storage.
Info on sealant varies. I've used it (Conti kit), which is water soluble, and caused zero issues with the TPMS valve. It's been 3 years since the usage, and no TPMS problems. I don't know the chemical makeup of the Tesla kit, but I purchased one and carry it in the car.
There's also conflicting info on the ContiProContact noise suppressing foam, which is a band of foam glued under the entire perimeter and width of the tread. Some sources say the sealant doesn't work with the foam, as the foam prevents the sealant from reaching the actual puncture.
I see no reason why a plug kit wouldn't work. Not easy, on the side of the road, but in an emergency it might be useful.
Info on sealant varies. I've used it (Conti kit), which is water soluble, and caused zero issues with the TPMS valve. It's been 3 years since the usage, and no TPMS problems. I don't know the chemical makeup of the Tesla kit, but I purchased one and carry it in the car.
There's also conflicting info on the ContiProContact noise suppressing foam, which is a band of foam glued under the entire perimeter and width of the tread. Some sources say the sealant doesn't work with the foam, as the foam prevents the sealant from reaching the actual puncture.
I see no reason why a plug kit wouldn't work. Not easy, on the side of the road, but in an emergency it might be useful.
I got the Tesla pump back in 2018. mine works great when I change my summer tires to winter and back. Only one flat tire in the past 20 years but it was with my tesla with kayaks loaded on roof and people waiting at the launch site. fortunately happened in front of tire place and they fixed it in 20 minutes. since then I've got the great little 1990's Porsche jack to keep with me and I'm awaiting the compact spare from eBay as well. Atlantic Canada has ONE ranger for all of us east of Quebec and the AAA equivalent here doesn't get to remote kayaking places very quickly either. The model 3 tires are not always in stock either. hope I never need to use the compact spare but happy to have it (soon).
I revived this with my M3 in 2018 and never used it. I just transferred it to my MY and finally removed the plastic.
Do you think the pump is strong enough to routinely reinflate tires from completely flat or should only really be used to top-up flats? I want to install some AlloyGators and will need to deflate all the tires completely to get them on.
The small 12V and battery operated tire inflator pumps get quite warm very quickly. While you should rarely have to fully inflate a tire using one of the inflators you should let the pump cool off between tires. Also, the sealant canister that comes in the Tesla tire repair kit has an expiration date. You need to periodically replace the sealant. Tesla sells replacement sealant canisters.
Thank you for this! One last question. Do you know if the sealant is supposed to work on the tires with the foam lining? I thought I read that sealant wouldn't really penetrate through the foam and therefore wasn't useful for newer(?) Teslas? Thanks!
I have no personal experience with using the Tesla tire repair kit or repairing the OE tires on my Model Y. Some have stated that the foam liner interferes with the sealant being able to seal a puncture. While I have the Tesla tire repair kit (it came with my Model Y because in my state new vehicles must include either a spare tire or a tire repair kit and inflator pump.) I do carry the Tesla kit but I also carry a tire plug kit.
The tire plug kit I use is not the usual rope plug. I carry the Victor Plug & Go Tire Repair Kit. When I have a punctured tire, if I can find the puncture hole and the screw etc is still in the tire I leave it there and inflate the tire so I can drive to where I can get the tire repaired. The Victor plug is a threaded plastic plug that is intended as a temporary plug to seal the puncture hole so you can inflate the tire and drive to get the tire repaired
Plugging a tire using a conventional rope tire plug and a plug installation tool requires a lot of force to install the plug. Rear tires are much more difficult to plug while the wheel is mounted on the vehicle than are the front tires. When the puncture is on a front tire you can turn the tire outward. Otherwise it can be difficult, near impossible to apply enough force to insert the plug without first removing the wheel. There are spring loaded tire plug tools that might work but these may not be able to fit between the tire and the fender liner when the tire is on the vehicle.
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Hippo25
Member
Bought the Tesla Tire Repair Kit in December (a couple months after receiving our Y). Hit a road hazard in Wyoming on a long trip. Out in the middle of nowhere. Was losing pressure so pulled over into a deserted off ramp 25 miles from the nearest town. Pulled out our previously unused Tesla Tire Repair Kit. The air pump on this unit worked, but the sealer did NOT WORK. No sealer came out of the unit. We followed the instructions (simple). When that did not work we tried every variation of power cycling, button sequencing, etc for 10 minutes. It is difficult to describe the degree of frustration when you are miles from help in 95 degree heat. When we needed this unit to work it FAILED. I cannot recommend this unit. Thankfully I carry a traditional rope style repair kit. That allowed us to get to the SLC Tesla shop (150 miles). They fixed everything the next morning and we were on our way.
"rope style"? Are you referring to a type of plug I take it? I always carry a plug kit and compressor along with needle nose pliers, coveralls, and gloves just in case - can fix the usual nail/screw wound without removing the tire. I've never been a slime fan...
Paul02474
Member
I had a Volvo with no spare tire, but a pump and that goop you spray into the tire. Not only is it not very effective, my tire guy (honest, trustworthy) says the goop just craps up the tire and makes it difficult (if not impossible) to use again.
Anyone know why Teslas don't come with run-flats if they don't have a spare?
Anyone know why Teslas don't come with run-flats if they don't have a spare?
Had a major road trip related issue last weekend, more details about which can be found on this: Post in thread 'Model Y Snow Chains'
Model Y Snow Chains.
Anyway, it reminded me about the virtues of being more prepared.
Thanks to everyone's suggestions I bought a Slime Repair Kit which I plan to keep in the vehicle year round with the pump in the Tesla Tire Repair Kit, and a set of narrow nose pliers. I have yet to commit to a jack but I am going to get something that helps me easily release and gauge tire pressure since most of my trips are to the mountain year round for camping/backpacking, etc. I feel more likely to need to air down for traction.
I also recommend the Roadside Safety Kit. Of course all the components can be purchased separately for a lower price but it provides peace of mind in certain situations. I used triangle very sucessfully in my fiasco.
Model Y Snow Chains.
Anyway, it reminded me about the virtues of being more prepared.
Thanks to everyone's suggestions I bought a Slime Repair Kit which I plan to keep in the vehicle year round with the pump in the Tesla Tire Repair Kit, and a set of narrow nose pliers. I have yet to commit to a jack but I am going to get something that helps me easily release and gauge tire pressure since most of my trips are to the mountain year round for camping/backpacking, etc. I feel more likely to need to air down for traction.
I also recommend the Roadside Safety Kit. Of course all the components can be purchased separately for a lower price but it provides peace of mind in certain situations. I used triangle very sucessfully in my fiasco.
I've had a half dozen flats over the last decade of cars without spares (two at once in one case--even a spare doesn't help then). None of them were fixable with the "tire repair kit" I've also carried around for the same period of time. I see pictures of neat little puncture wounds that could be plugged, but my tire failures always seem to involve sidewall damage (and often a bent rim) where the little plugs and glop in a can are cute, but hopeless. I still carry one around, being ever the optimist. I guess if you drive around construction sites a lot they might be more useful, but pothole-induced flats seem to be my principal failure mode.
How much of a milage hit do you take from tying a spare to the roof?
How much of a milage hit do you take from tying a spare to the roof?
