My first Mini roadside service experience
- Thread starter GvilleGuy
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e22mini
Member
Costco offers free nitrogen tire refills (recently via self-service station). I’ve been using it for few years now and very happy with having consistent tire pressure across summer and winter seasons.
e22mini
Member
It seems 4 years of roadside assistance is included. In fact, MINI garage shows exact date under warranty & service section.
CuriousGeorge
Well-Known Member
Sadly, 'tis true...by nearly 1/3rd, as a matter of fact.
Did you try the tire goop kit that came with the car? I had a piece of gravel puncture my tire (250 miles, Pirelli Cinturato summer), it was bad enough that the TPMS was showing about 2 PSI/min loss on the highway & it was hissing when I got to the gas station for air (they're still useful!!). I was 120 miles from home so I decided to chance the kit rather than seeing if Roadside Assistance would give me a long ride home.
It worked like a charm, even though I probably spent more time staring at the TPMS screen than the road. The rock dislodged somewhere along the way but the sealant did it's job, & the dealer got a new one ordered, shipped, installed, washed & vacuumed in under 7 hours the next day.
GvilleGuy
Well-Known Member
I did not try the tire repair kit.
AndysComputer
Well-Known Member
Most of the benefits of nitrogen are overstated.
Ignore most of what they claim, however it can help reduce the amount of pressure lost when going from summer to winter if the temperature swing is wide enough. So if you set your tyre pressures on fairly hot day, then have a cold winter night you might trigger the low pressure warning. But with nitrogen that is less likely to happen.
That said…
There does seem to be a difference in the size and type of tyres, in terms of how much passes through naturally over time.
For example my wife’s previous car had 16” wheels also and some at best mid grade Korean tyres. While the nitrogen fill had some effect they still gradually lost pressure over time and between the summer when we bought it vs winter. I had to add maybe 10-12psi over the time we had it.
However the Land Rover we bought at the same time also had nitrogen but in much larger 20” tyres and which were frankly a high end brand. That lost only 3psi between summer and winter and didn’t r”need anything adding in the same 2.5 years as the little Kia.
If all things are equal and some places offers nitrogen for no extra fee then I’ll take it, otherwise I don’t really care and just use my own 12v pump to add some air when the warning light goes on to bring them back up to spec. Which is like once per year so…
Ignore most of what they claim, however it can help reduce the amount of pressure lost when going from summer to winter if the temperature swing is wide enough. So if you set your tyre pressures on fairly hot day, then have a cold winter night you might trigger the low pressure warning. But with nitrogen that is less likely to happen.
That said…
There does seem to be a difference in the size and type of tyres, in terms of how much passes through naturally over time.
For example my wife’s previous car had 16” wheels also and some at best mid grade Korean tyres. While the nitrogen fill had some effect they still gradually lost pressure over time and between the summer when we bought it vs winter. I had to add maybe 10-12psi over the time we had it.
However the Land Rover we bought at the same time also had nitrogen but in much larger 20” tyres and which were frankly a high end brand. That lost only 3psi between summer and winter and didn’t r”need anything adding in the same 2.5 years as the little Kia.
If all things are equal and some places offers nitrogen for no extra fee then I’ll take it, otherwise I don’t really care and just use my own 12v pump to add some air when the warning light goes on to bring them back up to spec. Which is like once per year so…
Texas22Step
Well-Known Member
You might want to check your local Costco -- many have free (for members, although I have no idea how they can enforce that) nitrogen tire inflation stations near their auto center parking. (I know there are at least two Costco centers in Plano.) FYI.
azausa
Active Member
Just curious, do SE that have run flats, also have the tyre repair kit? Reason I ask, here in NZ, our SE came with run flats, but we were not given a tyre repair kit.
GvilleGuy
Well-Known Member
In the US, SEs are shipped without run flats, without a spare tire, and they include the tire repair kit.
azausa
Active Member
Thanks. My assumption is correct that when you have run flats, no tyre kit is provided.
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
Argh, I have a puncture in one of my Hakkapeliitta R3 tires, in the sidewall. Unrepairable, and there are no more tires available anywhere. It's a slow leak, about 2 psi per day (I get a low tire warning about every five days). Since the tread is so good I'm thinking maybe some sort of tire sealant goo to see if it'll stop the leak. Or tough it out for a couple months until I can go back to my summer wheels.
Anyone have recommendations on sealant?
Anyone have recommendations on sealant?
The sealant in the tire kit in your trunk worked great.
Found out the sealant on mini's site is not the same as the one in the kit. The kit's can plugs into the compressor & gets pumped into the tire, the spare bottle just squeezes into the valve - which means you'd have to flatten the tire first. Hopefully I won't have to find out if the spare sealant is as good as the original.
Found out the sealant on mini's site is not the same as the one in the kit. The kit's can plugs into the compressor & gets pumped into the tire, the spare bottle just squeezes into the valve - which means you'd have to flatten the tire first. Hopefully I won't have to find out if the spare sealant is as good as the original.
Sadly, winter tires are tough to find in the winter. The closest size R3 I could find on ebay was 205/50R17.
F14Scott
Well-Known Member
How about a patch kit, like for a bicycle tire? Even a 2" circle of rubber or vinyl with a bunch of rubber cement should hold air long enough to get a new tire ordered. Of course, you'll have to have a shop dismount and re-mount to tire on the rim to get the patch on the inside, and major chains might not put a customer repaired tire on a wheel for liability reasons, but you could probably find a local shop with a tire machine.
teslarati97
Well-Known Member
If you can hold out until summer you can order from Canada's exclusive Nokian dealer, Kal-Tire. Ship the tire to the Thunder Bay, Ontario store. Alternatively you can do Detroit-Windsor or Sault St. Marie in Michigan. Summer roadtrip!!
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
I want to save that for a roadside emergency.
Seems like too much tomfoolery. If I had my own mounting rig I'd consider it. It sounds like Fix-A-Flat is a good choice, and it's easy to just inject into the tire.
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
Michelin Man says proper repairs are internal patches, but won't work on sidewalls. Since my summers are on their own wheels I'll probably give the goo a try. If it works I won't have to replace the tire with perfectly good tread, and if not I won't have to worry until fall.