Michael Su
New Member
Recently got a nasty puncture from a big nail into the tread part of the tire. The hole was too big for the supplied tire inflator sealant to work. With only 20K miles on it, I attempted a quick tire fix using a $7 repair kit from Home Depot (Slime-Deluxe-Reamer-Plugger-Kit). Similar ones can be purchsed from any auto supply store or online.
Since the Clarity does not come with a wheel wrench or a car jack, I had to "borrow" from my other car. The successful repair involved jacking up the car, taking down the wheel and patching the tire using the plug and glue from the repair kit. Once repair done, inflate the tire, mount the tire back on and then lower the jack. Last time I repair a tire using this method was may be 20 years ago, pretty amazing how effective the plug works.
Luckily I was at a friend's house when this happened so getting to Home Depot and the necessary tools was not an issue. To prepare for future occurrence, I have since purchased a 2.5 ton car jack, a wheel torque wrench and additional glue for the patch kit. They all fit nicely in the trunk hole where the charging cable rests. If this ever happens outside of urban area, I will have no problem fixing a nail puncture. The 12 volt tire pump supplied with the Clarity is usable but pretty flimsy. I plan on keeping a second one in the trunk as a back up.
Since the Clarity does not come with a wheel wrench or a car jack, I had to "borrow" from my other car. The successful repair involved jacking up the car, taking down the wheel and patching the tire using the plug and glue from the repair kit. Once repair done, inflate the tire, mount the tire back on and then lower the jack. Last time I repair a tire using this method was may be 20 years ago, pretty amazing how effective the plug works.
Luckily I was at a friend's house when this happened so getting to Home Depot and the necessary tools was not an issue. To prepare for future occurrence, I have since purchased a 2.5 ton car jack, a wheel torque wrench and additional glue for the patch kit. They all fit nicely in the trunk hole where the charging cable rests. If this ever happens outside of urban area, I will have no problem fixing a nail puncture. The 12 volt tire pump supplied with the Clarity is usable but pretty flimsy. I plan on keeping a second one in the trunk as a back up.
I've had bad luck with powered inflators. The PSI gauge on three different ones has failed, but the PSI gauge on my nice Park Tools bike pump has been functioning just fine for over a decade.