With how many cars that my shop works on, it’s not that uncommon for cars to come in with a flat tire. Most of the time it’s caused by a puncture from a stray screw or nail, but sometimes it’s sidewall damage from a pothole, or a leak from a corroded rim or tire pressure monitor seal.

When this car came in, it was running on the spare tire. I pulled the flat tire out of the trunk and started looking for the cause. I found it pretty quickly. There was a bolt or stud sticking out of the tire, at least 3/8 inch in diameter. I tried to pull it out but it wouldn’t budge.

I ended up dismounting the tire, and found why I couldn’t pull it from the outside. There was a nut on the stud that had gotten pushed all the way into the tire. With the holes caused by regular screws and nails, it’s small enough that a plug will fix it. This stud was pretty big, so it was not something I would feel good about repairing. It would probably take a couple plugs to fill that hole properly, which is not safe. One new tire and the customer was on the road again.

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-Dan