# A 'Fix a Flat' question **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [September 24, 2017, 12:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-fix-a-flat-question/108041 "2017-09-24T12:58:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-fix-a-flat-question/108041/21 "2017-09-24T20:54:20Z")
> [@Triedaq](#): > > the basketball was terribly off balance and dribbled like a bowling ball. Imagine a mechanic trying to balance a rim, perhaps initially not knowing that junk is sloshing around inside 😠 As far as I’m concerned, the disadvantages handily outweigh the advantages. Sure, it may get you out of a jam, but there may very well be consequences down the road And one of the disadvantages is that it can be time-consuming to clean it off the rims, when it comes time for that next set of new tires. I’m speaking from experience here, not hearsay. Same thing goes for ruining sensors. Experience, not hearsay ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-fix-a-flat-question/108041/22 "2017-09-24T21:03:08Z")
It appears some people aren’t up to date with tire repair technology. > **[Spare Tires in New Cars: What You Need to Know | Edmunds](https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/the-disappearing-spare-tire.html)** > > Some automakers are ditching the spare tire to save weight on new cars. Here's a guide to what you might find in the trunk now. Tester ---
**Author:** ![Triedaq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Triedaq](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Triedaq)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-fix-a-flat-question/108041/23 "2017-09-24T22:26:18Z")
My first choice is a full size spare tire. My second choice is a compact spare. Twelve years ago, I had a rear tire blowout on the interstate. Fortunately, our 4Runner had a full size spare. A young fellow in a truck was following me and saw the right rear tire blow. He pulled off right behind me and offered to change the tire. I took him up on his offer since the tire was on the right rear and we were well out of the way of traffic. He didn’t want to be paid, but I made him take $20 for his service. There is no way the tire repair in a can could have worked. A year later, I had the left front tire deflate on the Interstate on the 4Runner. I have AAA so I called them. There was no way I was going to change a left front tire with traffic whizzing past. AAA said that they would arrive in 45 minutes, but arrived in 10 minutes. The driver turned on the emergency lights on the wrecker. He had a pneumatic impact wrench driven apparently from a compressor on the truck. He had the tire replaced in 5 minutes. There is no way I would have exposed myself to the dangers of traffic to used fix a flat even though it might have worked for this puncture. I know tire technology has improved, but flat tires are still a possibility. I recently noticed a tire that looked low on one of our vehicles as it was sitting in our garage and a check with my tire gauge confirmed my suspicion. I have a Black and Decker air station pump and inflated the tire and then took it to my tire store. A widowed friend asked me to change a tire on her car that was sitting in her garage. I inflated the tire with my air station pump and we took the car to the tire shop. The tire was leaking around the rim. I won’t use the fix a flat sealant. There are better ways IMHO to handle flat tires. In fact, at my age, I’ll do anything to get out of changing a tire. The last time I changed a tire was on my 1990 Ford Aerostar. The tire was flat when I came out one morning. I jacked the van up, removed the tire, put it in the trunk of our car and took it to my tire shop. I had the trunk open and was starting to remove the tire when one of the employees said, “Here, let me get that”. I already had my hands under the wheel and to prove I wasn’t a Geezer, I said that I had it. I turned wrong lifting out the wheel and pulled a muscle in my leg. I limped around and took muscle relaxers for a week. I have now accepted the fact that I am a Geezer and let someone else handle tire problems. However, I’ll change a tire if I have to before I’ll use tire repair in a can. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-fix-a-flat-question/108041/24 "2017-09-24T22:46:36Z")
You don’t want to have a shredded tire in a bad part of town, hoping the auto club guy shows up REALLY soon, because your factory can of fix-a-flat won’t cut it ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2017, 11:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-fix-a-flat-question/108041/25 "2017-09-24T23:01:53Z")
Some people seem to forget. It’s called **FIX A FLAT!** Not FIX-A-BLOWOUT nor FIX-A-SHRED ![STRUT SPRING TIRE DAMAGE](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/2X/6/68741cbc03d27577b2897308ff4a07fc1706ea11.jpg) Tester ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-fix-a-flat-question/108041/26 "2017-09-24T23:15:27Z")
I just talked to the wife. And she said she had to stop filling the tire with FIX A FLAT because her thumb got tired. So it appears you can pause for a moment and then resume filling the tire without an issue. But she said she used the entire content of the can, and it filled the tire and was able to drive home. Oh! And won’t say what she calls those who condemn FIX A FLAT. Tester ---
**Author:** ![markg2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@markg2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/markg2)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-fix-a-flat-question/108041/27 "2017-09-25T00:32:05Z")
Thanks for the follow-up Tester. Btw, as a clarification, as the OP all I asked was ‘does the button need to be pressed continuously’. And look what it spawned ;-). As a further clarification of my thinking, very little in life is black and white. Both our vehicles have spare tires. IMO, there’s a time/circumstance for the spare and times that the canister is appropriate (and, in our case, times that AAA is even better)! Thank you all for your thorough thinking and input. Mark [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/a-fix-a-flat-question/108041.md?page=1)