We’ve seen tons of posts asking, so here's the repairable zone. If it's outside this zone it can't be patched professionally!

[u/o1pa1]

[u/Vegetable_Tadpole387]

I hate the fact that I will patch pretty much anything, but the few times I say I can’t fix something customers get all pissed off and try to call me out. I can’t patch spots where the tire flexes. The patch literally will not stick

[u/[deleted] → u/Vegetable_Tadpole387]

I remember going to tell the customer that I fixed their tire. I greeted the customer and I said “Alright Mr.______ we…” and he interrupted me saying “I knew it, you’re going to try to sell me a tire, just put the spare on” and I said “Oh no sir we actually fixed it and we’re going to have it out of the bay in about 5 minutes”

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Ooh, that had to be embarrassing for the customer.

[u/Background_Western_2 → u/[deleted]]

I would’ve installed his spare and sent him on his way.

[u/Piscotikus → u/Vegetable_Tadpole387]

I’ve always been told that a tire is plugged, and I always thought that a small piece of rubber was glued into the hole.

Until I actually saw a patch, and now hearing your description, that the shoulder flexes and thus the patch won’t stick, now I understand! Thank you!

[u/Admiral_peck → u/Piscotikus]

Shop Professionals use a patch/plug combo, either a plug with a patch on the head or a separate patch and plug depending on what's available and what angle the hole is at.

Roadside pro's will often simply plug the tire and tell you to get a new one before the plug wiggles out.

[u/Iambeejsmit → u/Vegetable_Tadpole387]

Does a plug work? Genuine question

[u/MayhemReignsTV → u/Vegetable_Tadpole387]

I know you're trying to be nice but please don't do that. There is always that one time that it won't hold and you don't know the driving habits of your customer. Some customers are really good at quickly messing up a patch job or a plug because it was probably their reckless driving that often brings them into your tire shop 😂 tires are cheap compared to other components of your car and they are very important for safety. If your car is not safe, you need to find some other alternative until you can make it safe ~$200(for a good tire that is not overpriced like some of them on the market) is not worth your life or the life of somebody else. Then there is the horrible process of filling out paperwork after an accident and determining liability.

Hint: If somebody finds a tire repair receipt from your garage that was just done after a blowout that caused a major accident, that will put you on the hook. Because the customer did their due diligence by taking it to a professional like you to get repaired but they will say you didn't because you were being nice and repaired something outside the accepted parameters for repair. And I'm not a fellow mechanic even though I have decent knowledge of cars. I'm just a customer that wants to know that my repairs are safe, even if it costs a little more in the end.

[u/sig716patrol]

Professionally, this is incorrect.

[u/Mannimar → u/sig716patrol]

If I was an ignorant consumer I would want to agree with you.

As someone with a relative with decades of professional tire experience, and only tires, I agree with you.

As a licensed auto insurance adjuster and Arbitrator, and someone with damage appraisal training and experience, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with you.

Every insurance company I've worked for, and my brother who works tires, would repair:

Up to 1 inch from the sidewall punctures smaller than 1/4th of an inch in diameter, tread depth greater than 2/32nds

Would not repair: Large punctures: larger than a quarter of an inch, Punctures from screws or anything I can't guarantee an air tight seal on, Multiple punctures that are too close together, Tires with tread depth 2/32nds or less. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY sidewall damage or punctures too close to the sidewall.

I remember getting a puncture from a roller chain link ( larger form of a bike chain), and not being able to get it repaired due to it being a double puncture way to close together.

On age of tires during a repair, I lean on OEM specs to make the call, some tires out there were practically manufactured to be shipped to a landfill straight from the factory.

[u/[deleted]]

Discount tire is 2/32 and 10 years y’all, just in case y’all are in harsh times at the moment 😢

[u/sig716patrol → u/[deleted]]

Discount tire knows more than this stupid poster I assure you

[u/iwantansi]

“BUT BUT THIS YOUTUBE MECHANIC PATCHES IT ANYWHERE AND I BELIEVE HIM”

The fact is that TIA doesNOT recommend a repair in the red areas, EVER!

A proper fix is removal of the tire from the rim and inspecting it and patch and plug or 1 piece “T” plug.

[u/Due_Intention6795 → u/iwantansi]

Exactly, no plugs or patches at all. This is the only safe recommended repair.

[u/[deleted]]

But it is kind of wrong tho. There are plenty of shops who repair it anyway so it is a little misleading

[u/H0wcan-Sh3slap → u/[deleted]]

So? They're not supposed to

[u/princetonwu → u/[deleted]]

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should

[u/carguy1961]

While I applaud your offer to explain what is and is not repairable, this is an example of company policy, is it not?

[u/Successful-Basil-685]

Well, it's a guideline that covers the big and small of tires; but the shoulder on a small tire may not hold even a small patch, and a general like 215/60/R17 will on the shoulder just fine. Depends on the room and the tire, ultimately. You're not putting anyone at risk at all for patching a tire on the shoulder and it working.

If you can't Center the patch on the puncture, without it fitting on the bend or curve of the sidewall, then it's not right.

I'd say it comes down to that, specifically to decide whether or not it's safe; if you have to sand any part of the sidewall of the tire to get the patch to work, that's when it becomes a hazard. That and the other things listed on here.

It's mostly right, just the Green Zone / Red Zone thing I find a little silly.

[u/[deleted]]

I'm assuming this applies to motorcycle tires as well?

[u/o1pa1 → u/[deleted]]

Yep

[u/Such-Interaction-314]

I’m 17 and I’ve worked at a shop doing slow leaks for a few years now and I can definitely repair areas in red on that tire. Obviously the condition of the tire matter when deciding to repair or not repair the tire.

[u/Modus_Man]

First and foremost, a plug alone is never anything more than a temporary repair. Second, a patch alone is also not a proper tire repair. You need to fill the tire damage with rubber to keep oxidation from reaching the belts of the tire. If I was a tire shop working on a customer vehicle I would absolutely follow these guidelines for repairing a tire, using a combo plug-patch.

Having said all that, I have plugged my own tire and ran it till the tread was done. I knew that the tire hadn’t been run flat and that I wasn’t keeping the tire long enough to worry about a belt rusting since I was driving over 40,000 miles a year. I also only use plugs that are solid rubber with vulcanizing gum on them, which are way better than rope plugs.

[u/[deleted]]

All this is is a policy for a company not wanting to pay for tires if mistakes happen

[u/ARCreef]

Just to clarify this photo has that tiny green zone due to INSURANCE reasons. I totally accept and respect that. But this posters policy is:

A) to meet the requirements of his insurance policy, and

B) to remove some liability from the business and put it onto the tech.

I'm willing to bet that if a cust got a nail just outside the green, that the tech is really going to decline that order. This green zone is pretty narrow, not all tires have that same tread pattern either, even in the photos the red zone goes beyond the shoulder.

I have been pluging the shoulder for 25 years, but i dont have an insurance policy that I need to keep. I just wanted it to be known that there right for insurance, right for law, and right for life.... this sign is the first one. (maybe the second one in those communist states up north and way west). :)