tire bubble after fix for air leak. (home, shop)

[bbnetworking]

so i went to an autoshop today and have them fix my tire which has a slow air leak, (I need to fill up the pressure once a week, it loses about 15 psi in a week).

They found out it's not my tire, it was around the rim. So they re-sealed and balanced the tire.

Afterward, the owner of the shop told me I need a new tire. I just said okay. I didn't know he mean there's a bubble on the tire.

I went home and saw a bubble on the tire. They won't admit it's their fault, and kept on saying it's because my tire was already bad.

It's not new tire, maybe 25- 30k miles old. Now to fix this new tire, I will have to get 4 new tires, because it's an AWD.

What do you think? Can I get the an used tire from ebay (same brand) and put it on my car.

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by bbnetworking

so i went to an autoshop today and have them fix my tire which has a slow air leak, (I need to fill up the pressure once a week, it loses about 15 psi in a week).

They found out it's not my tire, it was around the rim. So they re-sealed and balanced the tire.

Afterward, the owner of the shop told me I need a new tire. I just said okay. I didn't know he mean there's a bubble on the tire.

I went home and saw a bubble on the tire. They won't admit it's their fault, and kept on saying it's because my tire was already bad.

It's not new tire, maybe 30k miles old. Now to fix this new tire, I will have to get 4 new tires, because it's an AWD.

What do you think? Can I get the same used tire from ebay (same brand) and put it on my car.

Perhaps you should post this in the automotive forum.

[bbnetworking]

can mod move this please?

[DFBonnett]

Originally Posted by bbnetworking

They won't admit it's their fault, and kept on saying it's because my tire was already bad.

They won't admit it because it's not their fault. You got the damaged sidewall when you hit that curb. That caused both the rim leak and the "bubble" as you refer to it. You should be OK getting two new tires as long as they are on the same axle.
A used tire of unknown history from Ebay? Not on any car of mine.

[typeslone]

Originally Posted by DFBonnett

They won't admit it because it's not their fault. You got the damaged sidewall when you hit that curb. That caused both the rim leak and the "bubble" as you refer to it. You should be OK getting two new tires as long as they are on the same axle.
A used tire of unknown history from Ebay? Not on any car of mine.

Yep, that's the truth (I've been in auto repair business for many years). It isn't the fault of the repair shop. When a tire sidewall bubbles, it's either from a defective tire or impact with something. That spot becomes weaker and that is partially why it bubbles out. You said they had to reseal the tire around the rim, so I can imagine there is a slight bend/gouge on the lip of the wheel where the tire bead seats. That only happens from impact damage.

As for having awd and having to put 4 new tires on. That isn't entirely true. All the tires on an awd/4x4 vehicle need to be within a certain diameter of each other to not cause damage to the drivetrain. It may say it in your owners manual, I'm not sure.

So say you had 10k miles on your tires and you just needed one tire. Odds are you would be able to get away with one as long as the diameters were within the acceptable range. In your situation with the mileage you have, its either a used tire or a set of new tires unfortunately.

[rscalzo]

I will have to get 4 new tires, because it's an AWD.

I've replaced only one tire on a AWD/4WD vehicle. Where did you hear all needed replacement? someone is trying to screw with you. I'm guessing you do not have a full size spare.

[Retriever]

Originally Posted by rscalzo

Where did you hear all needed replacement?

Perhaps from his Owner's Manual...
Several mfrs of AWD vehicles specify that the tires cannot have more than a 2/32 of an inch difference from one to another, lest you damage the center differential or viscous coupler.