I went in to get my yearly inspection and drove out with new rear rotors & break pads and front struts. I drove twenty blocks (not all in one go) and a screw broke off on one of the breaks, making a grinding noise. I immediately had that fixed and then started on a 400 mile drive north. 120 miles in I got a flat on the front driver’s side tire. This has never happened before. Replaced it, hit the road again. At mile 300, the front passenger’s side tire went flat also.
Both tires have been replaced, but now I have to make the return 400 mile trip back, should I expect to have two more flat tires? Do you think they are coincidental or related to the breaks?
Coincidental.
That’s the breaks.
From the little information you have supplied all we can do is assume it was bad luck.
I agree that the repair of your BRAKES most likely had nothing to do with the flat tires that you experienced.
I had a similar coincidence. My wife and I were driving up the interstate in our 2003 Toyota 4Runner about 15 miles to eat at a Cracker Barrel. We had a tire blow out. About a year later, we decided to go out and eat at a Cracker Barrel, but went the other direction about 15 miles. We had a tire suddenly lose its air on the same vehicle. Before the first incident, I hadn’t had a flat tire or a blow-out for years.
That’s the breaks. But not the brakes! 
I’d look into getting a tire gauge and a portable air tank that fits in your car, or a can or two of Fix-A-Flat(on some brand new cars this is basically what they give you instead of a spare). You might want to have your alignment checked out as well, there could be an underlying problem with how they did the work on your car.
Look around on your trip back. Do you see any major construction going on? My son services some of the Minnesota Highway Patrol vehicles. And he can tell which vehicles are patrolling in high construction areas. Because these are the vehicles that require the most tire repairs.
Tester
yeah…if someone is building houses adjacent to your route, there are probably nails in the road.
I’d look into getting a can or two of Fix-A-Flat
Remember that Fix-A-Flat and like products are best for emergency use only. They can mess up the tyre balance and create a real mess for the mechanic to clean out before putting on a new tyre. They may be OK for an emergency, especially for someone who does not have the strength to change a tyre safely, but I would suggest a cell phone first.
One clue that seems to be missing from this post is the year of the vehicle and how old the tires are. If these are the original tires and they a more than 8 years old, that could be the reason for the failures. Also, describe how the tires failed. Did the tire just go down slowly? Was there a sudden blowout? Did you notice a problem i.e. wandering, shaking, thumping, etc. before a tire finally failed. Did some debris actually puncture the tire through the tread or sidewall?
Give us a little information and we can make a more pointed response.
TNX
I think there’s not enough information given to make any determination. You say that you got a flat on the driver’s side tire and replaced it. Why did you replace it versus having it fixed? How was the passenger tire flat resolved, did you also replace that one? What was the cause of the flat tires? Surely the place that did the work was able to pinpoint the cause.
You passed the inspection after some significant work was done and yet, no mention of tires so they must have been acceptable at that time. One thing that can wear down tires faster than you can believe is a messed up alignment. I burned up a brand new tire in less than 300 miles once due to alignment problems. They replaced your struts, did they do an alignment? Did the tires show signs of excessive wear?