What Kind of Damage to a Tire Can and Cannot Be Repaired? FAQs about How Close To Sidewall Can A Tire Be Patched.How Close To Sidewall Can A Tire Be Patched?.What Kind of Damage to a Tire Can and Cannot Be Repaired?.I know my non-reparable puncture was from a 1/32' pneumatic trim “nail” (really a stiff wire) I was surprised it made it through the the shoulder. Restricting the zone of repair to the shoulder area of the tread surface makes even less sense in a time when low pressure warning is almost universal unless manufacturers have been cutting corners on the “corners” of the tires they make. Plugs are a different matter because they have a direct impact on the structure of the tire.

That’s primary hazard of any tire patch failure. The only potential for a blowout was if you ran at very low pressure for an extended time and this had nothing to with the patch. Most shops would put on interior patch for a small puncture and you could drive on it until it worn out unless the didn’t prep it right or you ran on it really low for an extended distance. When I was younger, only sidewall punctures weren’t “reparable”. It was only after extensive bad press and lawsuits that each company recalled the vehicles. Explorers that kill people because it was cheaper to under inflate the tires than lower the center of gravity to and GM pickup trucks with gas tanks that got gushed fuel in a side impact leading to fires and explosions years later to avoid similarly low costs. That’s how we got exploding Pintos that would have cost $11 per car to fix. Manufacturers regularly ignore know safety issues all the time when it costs them more fix than the anticipated liability. It’s a big financial win for them while claiming they are making us “safer”. I expect that they’ve lobbied for legislation that dramatically increases liability for any shop that doesn’t comply with their guidelines.

The tire manufacturer’s get to make more money while reducing their liability and risk while restricting tire repairs. There would be consumer class action lawsuits if they restricted repairs any further. The tire manufacture’s have repair guidelines provide instructions for repairing some damage because there is a clear line that manufacturers can’t cross and that’s the central tread zone. Manufacturers restricted repairs as much as they can get away with. From my viewpoint as a 60 year old engineer is that it’s profit and not safety that’s driving this.

Fixing a flat tire near sidewall