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Fix a Flat can be cleaned out of a tire in literally 2 minutes. There is no reason Costco should tell people they need to buy a new tire because Fix a Flat was used. I believe the reason tire shops say this is a throwback to when Fix a Flat first came out, many, many years ago, when it was not water soluble and it made a sticky mess. If it was the original compound, I would agree. I tried to clean the original stuff out of tire once. The stuff had only been out about a year and it was like an oil based paint.
I don't recall Fix a Flat causing a tire to be out of balance, but it slings outward inside the tire. I believe it could cause a tire to be out of balance in the winter if it froze up inside the tire.
Well correction. If my wife was stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and couldn't get help, i'd then use it. But for the most part i'll try to avoid it's use in general if I can. I'd rather swap a spare on and then go repair the tire with a plug or patch kit.
It's really only a temp fix, and you should dismount the tire ASAP and clean it all out. It's pretty acidic stuff and reacts with Oxygen and water. It contains Ammonia, which does react with aluminum rims and will corrode it.
It also tends to freeze in the can. So if you park your car outside on a 0 degree day, then get in and go for a drive and get a flat, you might find your can of fix-a-flat frozen solid.
Debatable if it harms TPMS sensors. OEM manufactures say they do, while the sealant manufacturers say they don't.
At least they changed over to using R-134A as a propellent and not the explosive gas they used to use.
Last resort, go ahead and use it. But if you have a spare, and are capable, or AAA, i'd opt for that over the fix-a-flat.
Don't know what brands specifically, but there have been flammable 'fixaflat' formulations sold. So in the past it's been a safety issue. And even *if* such formulations are no longer sold (do we really KNOW that?), a shop has no way of knowing that you didn't use a 20-year-old can of Napalm-brand fixaflat. Why would a company take on that risk for a tire repair where they'll make *very* little money?
And yes, fixaflat moves around. A tire with liquid sloshing around will never be properly balanced.
If you do shoddy repairs on your vehicle, nobody is under any *obligation* to clean up your mess. Play stupid games... win stupid prizes.
They just don't want to deal with it cause it's messy. I've seen people toss a bicycle tire with that goo in them rather than get dirty patching it. Fix a flat drains out on the floor creating a mess when they pop the bead on the machine.
Costco ripoff. They'd rather sell you 2 or 4 tires at $100 apiece than take 30 seconds to wipe out the inside of the tire.
If you don't mind going to a dirty tire shop in the ghetto, there are plenty of places that will take care of your cobbled-up tire with fixaflat in it.
But why would a multi-billion dollar company bother with that? Why would they take on extra liability for very little payoff? I wouldn't.
If you want ghetto-repairs, take your car down to Billy-Bob or Jose's garage where they don't understand concepts like legal exposure and profit margin. No successful company would want anything to do with this kind of repair.
Well correction. If my wife was stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and couldn't get help, i'd then use it. But for the most part i'll try to avoid it's use in general if I can. I'd rather swap a spare on and then go repair the tire with a plug or patch kit.
It's really only a temp fix, and you should dismount the tire ASAP and clean it all out. It's pretty acidic stuff and reacts with Oxygen and water. It contains Ammonia, which does react with aluminum rims and will corrode it.
It also tends to freeze in the can. So if you park your car outside on a 0 degree day, then get in and go for a drive and get a flat, you might find your can of fix-a-flat frozen solid.
Debatable if it harms TPMS sensors. OEM manufactures say they do, while the sealant manufacturers say they don't.
At least they changed over to using R-134A as a propellent and not the explosive gas they used to use.
Last resort, go ahead and use it. But if you have a spare, and are capable, or AAA, i'd opt for that over the fix-a-flat.
I do have a can of the stuff...somewhere.
I don't think the manufacturers can claim it harms TPMS sensors when they include a can of the stuff with most cars nowadays.
I just came back from Discount Tire for the 3rd time to get an unbalanced tire fixed. It was unbalanced due to my using Fix a Flat on it, however, I never told them the first two times that I did that, as it never occurred to me that caused the unbalanced issue.
So, the first time, they simply rotated the tires. I started driving home, and when I got on the expressway and up to 60mph, it was HORRIBLE! Like I was driving on a flat tire. Really scary. So, I turned around in one of the cop turnarounds, and went back. This time, they checked it again, and said it was: "1/2 ounce out". They reset the weight, and it was MUCH better. That was on this past Monday.
So today, Wednesday, I had to go to town. Got on the expressway (tires still a bit cold) and though it was better than before I took it there to be fixed the very first time, it felt "off", and I could feel a slight rumble. So, I took it back a 3rd time, and this time I mentioned that it never occurred to me to tell them I had used Fix a Flat in it months ago to fix a slight rim leak. I asked them if it could be the cause of this issue, and mentioned I was fully willing to PAY to have them dismount, clean it out, and see if that worked.
Well, they took the car back into the back, and it was about 10 minutes later he came back and said he cleaned it all out, and remounted it. No issues doing so, and the car is back to driving perfectly before I was ever stupid enough to use Fix a Flat...
NO charge!
So YES, it certainly can cause tire unbalance issues, to the point where the Fix a Flat will continue to "chase the weight" and keep the tire slightly off balance, no matter how slightly.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roboteer
Which one(s)?
Hmm, those car companies and Costco need to get together and have a talk.
My F150 has a full sized spare. Yes, there are many products sold at auto parts and major retailers like Walmart that can cause problems, or even invalidate a new car warranty. There are "miracle engine" products, radiator leak sealers, exhaust systems, even the wrong grade of oil, brake or transmission fluid.
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