# Tire Safety Question

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-safety-question/163474>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** mercury, grand-marquis\
**Created:** [April 27, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-safety-question/163474 "2020-04-27T19:21:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![tess.m.sewell\_166796](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@tess.m.sewell\_166796](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tess.m.sewell_166796)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-safety-question/163474/1 "2020-04-27T19:21:44Z")

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Hi there - I have a question for all of you people who know something about cars/tires!

The other day, I arrived at the store and noticed my passenger side rear tire was almost completely flat. No idea if the damage happened on the way, or if I set off with fairly low pressure. I had just been driving on the interstate (!) although I didn’t feel/hear anything strange while driving. I refilled the tire and the pressure gauge on my little pump read VERY low, \<10 psi.

From everything I read online, I was certain the tire was destroyed and afraid for the rims. I took it to the tire shop, explained what had happened, and - to my very great shock - after inspection they said they could repair the puncture and I’d be good to go. Great! But I was halfway-watching them while they were working, and I never saw them remove the tire from the rim…which made me a bit paranoid that maybe they didn’t fully check for the sidewall damage I read about online…

So my concern: can I really be sure there’s no sidewall damage from driving on the almost-flat? Should I be worried, or drive along on my merry way?

Edited to add: to my knowledge, these are definitely NOT run-flat tires. Regular old Firestones on a RWD sedan.

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**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-safety-question/163474/2 "2020-04-27T19:28:03Z")

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Very few tire shops will repair a tire if they even suspect it is marginal . The liability is too great . I guess your vehicle does not have the tire pressure monitor system so it might be a good practice to just look at your tires and check the pressure more often . As for not removing the tire they can be plugged while still on rim .

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**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-safety-question/163474/3 "2020-04-27T19:33:36Z")

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Yes, sounds like it was plugged. I’d prefer they also put in a patch. You might take it to a tire shop to have it dismounted, inspected, and patched.

How many miles on this tire? How old is it?

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**Author:** ![tess.m.sewell\_166796](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@tess.m.sewell\_166796](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tess.m.sewell_166796)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-safety-question/163474/4 "2020-04-27T19:37:53Z")

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Thanks guys! Absolutely correct that my car has no tire pressure monitor system and that I should check them more often than I do. It’s a good wake-up call.

I would say the tire has around 25-30k miles on it and is under 2 years old. It wouldn’t kill me to replace it, but it’s definitely got some life in it yet - assuming the sidewall is safe, that is!

Also, I may just not have been watching closely enough, because I looked on the shop’s website (Discount Tire) and allegedly patching is always part of their repairs. If that’s the case, I take it the tire did come off the rim and they would have seen any damage?

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**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:** [April 27, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-safety-question/163474/5 "2020-04-27T19:41:47Z")

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The tire should have been removed from the wheel to repair it properly.

Tester

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**Author:** ![CapriRacer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/capriracer/32/22_2.png) [@CapriRacer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/CapriRacer)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 8:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-safety-question/163474/6 "2020-04-27T20:00:28Z")

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To answer the original question, there is a small chance that the tire was damaged enough that it could fail at a later date. What you want to look for is a vibration that gradually gets worse over several hundred miles. If that happens, go directly to the tire shop and get it replaced. Don’t wait!!

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**Author:** ![tess.m.sewell\_166796](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@tess.m.sewell\_166796](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tess.m.sewell_166796)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-safety-question/163474/7 "2020-04-27T23:22:49Z")

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Thanks everyone for your input and advice! I’ll definitely keep a lookout for any unusual vibration.