Yesterday the tire pressure indicator went on in my car (new to us car last April.) Since just the day before, The Husband had mentioned that he needed to check the tire pressure, I assumed that the indicator light had gone on for him, too. And he had told me when we first got the car that the tires were "run flat." So I didn't worry.
My sister and I ran a few errands together. The tire looked lower and lower, so I finally stopped at a gas station and had The Husband meet me there to check the tire.
Results:
-not "run flat" tires
-husband had been looking at a different tire, thinking it had looked low... hadn't seen tire indicator light
-tire has a hole in the side wall
He filled the tire enough to get it to my sister's house. Today he'll take the wheel off, and and he and BIL will try to get the tire repaired. I hopehopehopehope that the tire can be repaired and we don't have to replace it. It's a fairly new tire.
Bleh. Money out.
Flat Tire
January 1st, 2013 at 06:10 pm
January 1st, 2013 at 06:28 pm 1357064905
January 1st, 2013 at 08:41 pm 1357072903
January 2nd, 2013 at 02:04 am 1357092266
After a ton of planning, thinking, calling, investigating...
The Husband and the BIL found a replacement tire. Because the leak was in a sidewall, it wasn't recommended that we repair it. The Husband ended up buying a pump ($30) to inflate the tire enough to drive it to the tire place. When he got there, tire was normally $220... ugh. But they are discontinuing the particular model. Clearance-priced at $110. Score!
The Husband and BIL just went to pick up the tire. Whew! I was afraid it was going to be triple that!
January 2nd, 2013 at 02:51 am 1357095094
January 2nd, 2013 at 05:25 am 1357104353
January 2nd, 2013 at 06:13 am 1357107227
(1) It was New Year's Day, and lots of places were closed!
(2) This was our nicest, rather high-performance car. The tire size apparently isn't super common. He found places like Walmart and Costco that had the tire we needed online, but when he called the store, it wasn't in stock. Still, we're THRILLED with the deal! It could have been so much worse. I think one of the cars we just sold (SUV) needed ridiculously expensive tires. This was a deal... and the $110 included the installation, balance, etc.
(3) We commute in that car. A lot. A LOT. And considering the miles we put on it (mostly freeway, in a very high-traffic part of CA) we wanted a new, very safe tire. If the car were mostly driven around town, I'd feel differently. But I have to admit, when I drive that car, I mostly drive too fast!
January 6th, 2013 at 01:31 am 1357435918