An $80 lesson for free: fix-a-flat and TPMS sensors don't mix

[Mathew Hennessy]

One of my tires ate a large sharp piece of steel and promptly deflated. I was in a parking garage at the time and the flatbed couldn't get in to get me, so I tried using the fix-a-flat inflator to get it pumped up enough to drive out, to no avail. I ended up slowly crawling out on the deflated tire, about 60 yards.

Given that you only get fix-a-flat for a 'spare tire', a warning that actually using it would damage or destroy that wheel's TPMS sensor would be nice.

[Steverino]

Sorry to hear that. You may also need a new tire. "Driving on a flat tire will cause permanent damage to the tire. Re-inflating a tire after it has been driven on while severely underinflated or flat may cause a blowout and a serious crash."

I think avoiding the goo if at all possible is the best choice. If the hole is small enough to be fixed by the goo, it's likely small enough to be fixed by a tire plug kit you can get at Walmart for $5. If it's larger, then neither will work and the spare in my garage would be my next choice. If I'm out of town, I'd use the OnStar roadside assistance.

I keep a $10 junkyard donut spare in my garage just in case we get a flat locally one of us can drive it out to the other, together with the $10 scissors jack also from the junk yard.

How large was your large sharp piece of metal? The owners manual says, "The tire sealant and compressor can be used to temporarily seal punctures up to 6 mm (1⁄4 in) in the tread area of the tire." Larger than that and the goo is useless.

Why do you say the fix a flat goo and TPMS don't mix? It seems from what I can find that tire shops hate cleaning it up, but the TPMS is a sealed unit and unaffected.

"In the demo the contents of the aerosol can turns into foam and then, after about two hours, returns to a liquid. They state that in either condition it cannot hurt the tire or the TPMS sensor and does not create false readings. They do admit that there will be some liquid remaining in the tire which will have to be cleaned out.

Chat traffic about fix-a-flat’s compatibility with TPMS systems is a mixed bag. Some entries indicate that it is not a problem if the sensor is cleaned properly, while others cite owner’s manuals that specifically recommend against using “tire sealant products”. Some of the problem may be aggressive sales tactics by service facilities, which are using evidence of fix-a-flat as an excuse to sell a sensor, but the owners’ manual may be a good place to start before you buy that can for use in an emergency.
The SOPUS product (Fix-A-Flat) does prominently display in all of its advertising and on the can itself “Tire Sensor Safe”.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news...e-over-its-use

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...ix-a-flat.html

[Mathew Hennessy]

Mine was much bigger than that, I was just hoping that it would inflate the tire enough to avoid running on the rim, but luckily the bead held long enough to get out of the parking garage.

Still, at least the trailering was covered, and it didn't happen at high speed or out in the middle of nowhere, so there's that.

[Mike McG]

I'm sorry to hear the flatbed could not get to you, luckily you did not have to drive too far.

[Bob_Livonia]

One of my tires ate a large sharp piece of steel and promptly deflated. I was in a parking garage at the time and the flatbed couldn't get in to get me, so I tried using the fix-a-flat inflator to get it pumped up enough to drive out, to no avail. I ended up slowly crawling out on the deflated tire, about 60 yards.

Given that you only get fix-a-flat for a 'spare tire', a warning that actually using it would damage or destroy that wheel's TPMS sensor would be nice.

To clarify, did you use the sealer integral with the inflater, or did you use an aftermarket product called "Fix-a-Flat"?

[BAZINGA]

I hope by the time I need new tires there are some run-flat options for Volt owners. At our age my wife and I really don't want to have to deal with attempting to fix a flat on the side of the road.

I'll gladly take a mile or two hit on my all electric range for the safety/security of run-flats.

[swlee]

I'm still in the "research stage", but hope to be ordering a 2013 soon. I'm surprised to hear that it doesn't come with a "donut spare"; does anyone know if there's any reason that would not work with a Volt (other than taking up space and adding a bit of weight)? Does the Volt include a jack, so changing out a tire is even an option (assuming you actually have access to a spare)? I guess I'm having a hard time shaking the old school feeling that every car should carry a spare tire!

[slickbrave]

I understand the unusual circumstances of being in a garage where a flatbed can't get to you, but I have no intentions of fixing a flat on the side of the road. Having never had OnStar before, have other owners had bad experiences when calling them for flats?

[Steverino]

I'm surprised to hear that it doesn't come with a "donut spare"; does anyone know if there's any reason that would not work with a Volt (other than taking up space and adding a bit of weight)? Does the Volt include a jack,

Many new cars do not have spares (or jacks). Volt is one of them. But it does come with three years free roadside assistance via OnStar. So if you need, they will have a flatbed come and the car will be taken to the nearest dealer for repair (the repair is not free). I'd rather just put on a spare and ride on that while the tire is repaired (anywhere), or if the tire's shot, order a new tire from TireRack and have it installed. Meanwhile, I can keep driving the Volt. That's why I spent $20 on a spare and jack. But I don't keep them in the car.

[RScott]

Given that you only get fix-a-flat for a 'spare tire', a warning that actually using it would damage or destroy that wheel's TPMS sensor would be nice.

That should be covered under warranty. I cannot imagine that if you use the car properly and it becomes damaged, that the warranty would not cover it.

If, say, it got bent when you drove when it was flat, they could try to attribute that to you. But if simply using the "goo" as directed damages/destroys part of the car, that should be covered by the warranty.