tiny hole in sidewall

[Adam14]

Good morning....I hope everyone had a very nice Christmas.

I have a tire issue that I wanted some opinions on. I have a 2011 Explorer Limited, with the 255/50R20 tires (Hankook). I noticed a slow leak in the rear passenger tire and long story short, finally found that there is an extremely small hole, invisible without submerging in water, on the inner "sidewall". I use " "s because it's way up on the outside "ring" of tread for lack of better terms. So it's not in the middle of the sidewall, it's on tread but far enough to exceed the dealerships liability, etc....which is totally understandable so I don't blame them for not patching it.

My question is, would fix-a-flat be okay for a temporary fix in this case? I know repairing sidewalls is a no-no but this one is in that gray area in my opinion. I'd rather not replace that one tire because my dad works for Michelin and I plan on using the discount to put all Michelins on there. But I don't want to do that while there's still plenty of life on the OE tires, not counting the one with the leak.

If it's a safety issue, then it's a no-brainer, I'll replace the tire. But in this case, would fix-a-flat SAFELY buy me some time on the Hankooks until I replace them all? I hate wasting things and I would rather get as much use out of the OE tires before replacing them.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance and happy new year!

Adam

 

[Maniak]

As I understand it, fix-a-flat is already frowned upon because it makes a mess on the inside of the tire and rim which needs to be cleaned up before mounting the new tires.

On top of that, I've "read" that fix-a-flat is extremely bad for TPMS sensors which you have.

I have no first hand experience with TPMS and fix-a-flat but I have cleaned off a rim covered it that goop before. I don't want to ever do it again.

~Mark

 

[sport97]

I never recommend fix a flat. We used it in 2 chrome wheels on our old 98 pontiac bonneville, and it ruined the wheels. The wheels corroded from the inside, from what could only be the fix a flat.

Smart thing would be all new tires.... but my buddy did manage to find a tire shop that patched a pretty nice gash on the side wall, near the tread of a brand new tire. At first they said no, but they ended up talking for a bit and they were going to show him how to do it himself, then they just decided to patch it. He used those tires until they were bald and needed replaced.

 

[Adam14]

Thanks for the input, gentlemen. I'm leaning away from the fix-a-flat idea...I didn't even consider the wheels getting damaged....thanks for the heads up. I might go to a tire shop and see if they'd be willing to repair it but if not, I'll just go ahead and replace it. I hate to spend over $200 for a tire that isn't Michelin, Good Year, etc....but I'll live. Thanks again