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Anyone have experience with tire repair kit?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by MitchR, Oct 7, 2016.

  1. MitchR

    MitchR Junior Member

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    Since the no trim levels of the Prime have a spare tire, I'm thinking through the utility of the tire repair kit. Does anyone have experience using it?
     
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I've plug repaired three tires since getting our 2010. One with our OEM tires, one with the snow tires, and one on another car. I decided not to cheap out, wanted a solid kit with a proper case, got the kt-330 or kt-340:

    Passenger Vehicle Repair Kits - BlackJack Tire Repair

    (Not 100% sure which, they look very similar. Mine's in the underfloor tray, lazy to dig it out.)

    I've always done the repair with the wheel off the car. I would think even without a temp spare that's the way to go: chock the diagonally opposite tire, raise the flat corner with scissor jack, remove the flat tire for repair. Just finding the puncture is much easier, and then to push the tools in: much easier while straddling the tire, with all your weight.

    There's two sizes of plugs with the kit. One our punctures was a small finishing nail; I opted for the smaller diameter plugs with that one.

    All the repairs have held up. I appreciate it's not the same quality as a repair with the added gasket on the inside. My problem with the first flat was the repair shop said the puncture was too close to tread edge, refused to repair it. The second puncture on snow tires was similar location.
     
  3. alexgrigori

    alexgrigori Active Member

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    I have ordered Prius w/o spare tire and wondering what is the total cost to fix a flat tire with Toyota repair kit.
    1. The hermetic canister can be used one time only and a new canister must be purchased imitatively. Anyone knows the price?
    2. The tire must be brought to service for final fixing and it is going to be more expensive then regular one because injected hermetic must be removed from inside the tire.
    3. Ordinary tire place most likely will not be able to do the job due to Toyota proprietary components and premium payment is expected.
    Should anyone has experience with this please share your feelings and expenses.
     
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  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I'm guessing the labour cost of cleaning the tire would push people to just replace. And if the tires are half worn, maybe you're tipped to replacing them all? All in all more tires going needlessly into the recycle stream. And does the TPMS sensor survive?
     
    #4 Mendel Leisk, Oct 7, 2016
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2016
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  5. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Tire patch is the way to go. Like Mendel, I have a BlackJack kit. Expensive but it's what professionals use. You also need a pump -- they sell little 12V cigarette lighter pumps -- pliers for removing the nail, and I keep a pair of latex gloves to keep my hands clean.

    I also have a AAA membership
     
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  6. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    If the tire is repairable it can be pumped up long enough to get to a tire dealer. Use the inflator and let the experts repair it. It you try to plug the tire yourself and fail you'll most likely leave the tire in an unrepairable state.
     
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  7. krmcg

    krmcg Lowered Blizzard Pearl Beauty

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    Based on this thread and the constant pinging of NO SPARE, I just purchased a 12 volt inflator and a tire repair kit from Amazon. Both are "Slime" branded items. Hope that they get here before I get that flat!


    Fortunately, I raised the cargo floor of my four so I have room to store these items.
     
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  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Floor standing manual bicycle pumps will work too. It's a bit of a workout with a completely flat tire, but not onerous. It helps also to minimize the time air's escaping: have your plug ready to go, and the roughening awl at the ready, before you pull out the puncture item.

    I keep a pair of side-nipping pliers in with the kit, good at grabbing embedded nails. Not sure if that's the proper name, they look like kinda like this:


    IMG_5666.jpg

    (The ones I'm using were my dads I think.)
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Oct 7, 2016
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2016
  9. MrMischief

    MrMischief Active Member

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    My Prius has a spare so I have no experience with the Toyota branded repair kit / goop. Have Dodge's version in the Charger though and I have used that one. Middle of Montana, woke up one Sunday to a completely flat tire and a need to be in Denver Monday morning. Pulled out the pump w/ goop, filled the tire and went to the nearest tire shop to find it closed. Drove down to Sheridan WY, tire shop closed. Stopped in Casper WY, tire shop closed. At that point I said screw it and drove the rest of the way to Denver. The tire saw speeds of up to 85, total distance driven on tire with goop was about around 600 miles. Took it into Discount Tire the next day, they unmounted the tire, hosed out the goop, did their patch work, checked that wheels balance and sent me on my way at no charge. I had not purchased those tires from them.

    I do carry a tire plug kit but nothing as fancy as that blackjack kit. Mine was maybe $10 came with the two t-handles you'll want and something like 30 plugs. Similar to:

    http://amzn.to/2dLZ0hX

    I've used it on a sidewall of a buddy's Jeep that got nicked on rocks. Caught it before the tire was flat so just plugged the holes, used my pocket knife to cut off the excess plug, re inflated with the air compressor I carry as well (connects to the battery terminals, some Chinese brand) and went on we went on our way. He drove the rest of that summer on the tire with the plugs in it, I know because I plugged the same tire later after he caught rocks again (different holes, the old plugs were still in it).

    In the Prius I've thought about throwing plugs in, but really it never leaves the pavement and I don't want to have a compressor taking up space and I have a spare, even if I didn't I would just rely on my roadside assistance if it was something the pump and goop couldn't fix.
     
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  10. MrMischief

    MrMischief Active Member

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    Looks like diagonal cutters, aka diags aka dikes. You might be better off with a set of linesman's pliers which are designed for gripping, twisting, bending and cutting. They just have more uses than a set of dikes.
     
  11. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    Pictures please.
     
  12. Kenny94945

    Kenny94945 Active Member

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    also see post # 7.

    No experience with a Toyota OEM repair kit....but

    I have never had luck with those "can of sealants" products.

    IMO Best is a motorcycle flat tire repair kit (folds to a small container) plus the 12V inflator.
    (Sometimes a knife blade, rubber glovers, needle nose pliers etc can be of value in an emergency tool kit...plus duct tape, wire and a flash light!)

    Then have the plug kit repair professionally repaired once the emergency is over.
     
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  13. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    IIRC, the Toyota supplied inflator has to have the gunk bottle attached to inflate the tyre.
     
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  14. KrPtNk

    KrPtNk Active Member

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    Couldn't a person just plug in the inflator, pump out and discard the sealant? Then you could use it just as you would any compressor keeping the bottle attached.
     
  15. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    Well that's just crazy. Could an adapter be had to make it inflate tires without the can? Throw it out and get a normal inflator.
     
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  16. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    I sorta went belt and braces, junked the Toyota gunge kit, got a spacesaver tyre and bought an aftermarket inflator and a tyre (plug) repair kit.
     
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  17. Gen 2 Tom

    Gen 2 Tom Active Member

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    I think the kit is a horrible replacement for a spare tire. What ever they say, a spare fits in any car. About all you may fix and may even to make worse is a slow leak.

    That review said I have a kit and compressor in my motorcycle.
     
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  18. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    Carrying a spare tyre on any of my bikes was just too difficult for my skill set.
     
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  19. MrMischief

    MrMischief Active Member

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    Well I don't know about that.... way back when I backed into a telephone pole that was laying down hidden in some weeds. Ended up putting a huge bolt right through the tread of a set of mud terrain tires. I lost all tire pressure within a few seconds. I was able to use some large plugs I had to close up the hole and drive the 30+ miles to a tire shop. They looked it over, said the plugs seemed to be fine but pulled them anyways to put in their own and I kept it as a spare for years. Was still holding air when I sold it a few years later. If you have a catastrophic failure, yeah you're screwed, but you can probably plug holes from most road debris without much difficulty. I don't recommend driving on plugs for any extended length of time, but it'll get you to a tire shop.
     
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  20. Gen 2 Tom

    Gen 2 Tom Active Member

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    On the occasion you come out and find the tire not completely flat you have a chance a plug and a can of sealant works. But a real flat that the tire bead is broken, your done. The time and what that cost, you could have a pile of spares.
     
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