txdriver

Sometime in the past few weeks I picked up a nail in one my tires (unknown to me until two days ago). I had noticed that the tire with the nail had been dropping a couple of pounds of pressure every week and I'd promptly fill it back up, but this weekend I finally got the chance to take the car to a tire shop. They told me what I thought, there was a slow leak because of a nail, and they fixed it, or so I thought. Overnight on Saturday the tire dropped to 21 psi. I filled it back up to 30 and took it to Costco, because Discount Tire is closed on Sunday. Costco won't even work on tires that weren't purchased from them, but the guys were helpful and said that they usually don't repair run-flat tires anyways. I was surprised by this and posted a note in another thread about it. Someone replied that I need to take it to a Goodyear dealer certified in repairing and installing these run-flat tires. I looked up on the Goodyear site for a place in San Antonio and there is only one who is certified to repair these tires! Needless to say I'm going to be there first thing Monday morning.

It's safe to assume that Discount Tire did not repair the tire correctly (after they said they did, they spent about 20 minutes trying to reset the tire pressure sensors, to no avail). What's surprising to me is that they didn't tell me anything about these tires not being able to be repaired by traditional means. As large of a tire and wheel chain as this place is, it's also surprising to me that they aren't certified to repair these tires. My third surprise is that these tires are such a pain to deal with! If it weren't for this forum, I never would have known that I needed to find a Goodyear dealer certified with the EMT. Hopefully they'll be able to repair the tire when I take it tomorrow. What happens when I need a new tire(s)? Am I going to be limited in the places I can go for this? With the tire pressure sensors being in the valve stem, and the valve stems getting replaced with a new tire, am I forced to going to the dealer for new tires? I hope not, because I purchased road hazard insurance from Discount Tire, which may have been a complete waste of money if they can't even install a new tire in the future.

Anyways, that's my rant. Nails are never fun, but I've learned more about the EMT than I ever thought possible. Wish me luck with the tire repair!

C7 BOB

Runflat tires can be repaired, just like normal tires.

I go to America's Tire Company. They fix runflats, and sell them.

The only problem is the runflats have stiff sidewalls, and some places can't or won't deal with them.

Hurricane

I had one of my EMTs patched and went another 10k miles on it.

Lee6

yes, but only with the new way.....not the old way.....

Another Yellow

When replacement time comes, if you want the same Goodyear tire, you can buy from Tire Rack and have one of their qualified recommended installers put them on.

schilitj

My C6 is at the dealer right now for the same problem. There is a special machine they use to repair the run-flats that most tire repair places don't have. Be careful with who you leave your car for the repair.

bangbgC6

LEAVE?

I don't think so.

Scissors

Easily done yourself with magnets.

No, because they shouldn't replace them. I've had my tires on my C5 replaced twice and still have the original sensors.

Hurricane

HELOPILOT14Y

i HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. I CHECKED THE GOODYEAR WARRANTY INFO THAT CAME WITH THE CAR. IT HAD A 800 NUMBER TO CALL AND THEY SAID GOODYEAR WOULD REPAIR THE TIRE FOR FREE AND TOLD ME WHERE TO TAKE IT.

jschindler

Does anybody know what is actually different about the repair? This is a surprise to me - I don't know what would be different about it, but would like to know.

Also, I think that there are tire dealers who just have a fear of the unknown. I know the sidewalls are stiffer and may make the tire a little harder to take off and put on. But I have seen it done, and there is no magic, and no special equipment involved.

Good post, hopefully we can all learn from it.

txdriver

But wait, there's more!

I just got back from the "certified" Goodyear dealer. They took a look at the tire and found NO EVIDENCE OF ANY REPAIR. They even looked at the passenger side tire to make sure they weren't swapped out and they found nothing there also. They checked both tires for leaks and found nothing.

At this point I'm going to have to check the tire pressure every time I get into the car, both with the computer and manually. The Goodyear folks said it could be a defective tire or rim. I'll see how the tire does over the next day or two and if there is still a leak then it's going to the dealer.

Scissors

Tighten the valve stem. One of my wheels leaks and I know it's not the tire. I tightened the valve stem and it leaks a lot less now.

S22C6

[QUOTE=Scissors]Easily done yourself with magnets.



Scissors

I thought the magnet trick would not work on the C6 tire sensors. I have read a few posts saying a GM rf tool was needed?
Do you know that the magnets will still work as they did on a C5??

KISSfn

I took my 01 C5 to a Goodyear for a nail repair and they scratched the heck out of my polished wheel. Just because it says Goodyear on the sign, doesn't mean the person trying to fix your tire knows what they're doing. Make sure they have the equipment, an experienced EMT person, and have them put it in writing that they will repair any damage. Luckily, the Goodyear I went too didn't give me any hassle about repairing my wheel.

Gearhead Jim

For those who asked what is different about run-flat repairs, the technical answer is "nothing". You can use the old cheapo plug that is inserted from the outside, but that should be considered a temporary fix at best and you should avoid high speeds until getting the proper fix. The proper fix is a "mushroom" patch that is installed from the inside, and the head of the mushroom prevents the patch from ever coming out of the tire. If the glue bond fails the patch might leak, but you should not get a sudden dangerous deflation.

Because of the head on the mushroom can not follow the "corner" inside where the tread turns into sidewall, this kind of patch can not be installed as close to the edge of the tread as a plug.

The big issue with runflats is getting the dang tire off and back on the rim. That can require special equipment and training to avoid damaging both the tire and the rim, or smashing the pressure sensor. As posted above, even "approved" shops can mess up the job.

After the repair, it's best to have any tire given a Road Force Variation test on a Hunter balancing machine. That's your best chance of a vibration-free car.

Locally, my Chevy dealer does not do runflat repairs, and the runflat shop (actually, a Firestone dealer) does not have a Hunter balancer. So I get the tire work done at Firestone and take the wheel/tire to Chevy for balancing. Kind of a pain, but I DO like the security of runflats.

shopdog

That worked for the sensors used on the C5. It will not work for the sensors used on the C6. They're different, and require a special RF tool to train them.

JoesC5

I think the RunFlat concept is good but they failed in the execution. They are great except when you have a flat. When I purchased my C5 I was planning a trip to Phoenix. At that time, 1997/1998, Goodyear allowed you to look up their authorized runflat dealers on their website. Even though the website listed two local Goodyear dealers, both of them said they were not qualified(I had purchased chrome wheels from WCC and was trying to get them mounted).
The next closest dealer they listed was in Joplin, 75 miles to the west. He said he could mount them but not balance them as his balancer would not do 18" wheels. Anyway, while planning my trip, I found the next dealer was in OK City and then the next dealer was in Phoenix. 1020 miles of highway with no dealer to service a flat tire. And thats on a major Interstate highway with several large cities enroute. What about a flat in western CO or Utah. A lot of good a AAA card and a cell phone is going to do you if there are no dealers around. Can you imagine what it would cost to have flat bed pickup your car out in the middle of nowhere, North Dakota and truck topu car 4-500 miles to a Goodyear dealer that was qualified on RunFlats. What if your tire was not repairable, and they don't have a replacement tire in stock. Paying for a Motel for 5 days while UPS delivers a tire from some warehouse a thousand or more miles away. At least with non run flat tires and a space saver spare you can drive to a regular tire dealer who can repair a regular tire. I notice now that you can not lookup a runflat qualified dealer on Goodyears website anymore. I guess RunFlats are Ok if you live in a major City with plenty of dealers within 50 miles and you just drive on weekends and never leave the city.

Corvette Junkie

And you already had this through Goodyear if you would have looked at the Goodyear warranty pamphlet that came with your C6.

Corvette Junkie

When Goodyear does a repair they use a plug patch combo. It's all one piece applied from the inside. A tire can be repaired twice like this and still retain it's speed rating.