Euro Illegal Tyre Repair

[Adagio]

Illegal Repair on Euro Tyre.

A week ago I punctured my front LH tyre on my Euro I took it to Bowral TyrePower who showed me a previous repair which they said was illegal. Someone has repaired a puncture on this tyre with a stick plug. These plugs are good for about 10kmh so you use them in lawn mower tyres etc. not on a performance tyre with a W rating. This was the first time I had the tyre off the rim since buying the car new so I took the ruined tyre back to the Honda dealer. It seems my Euro Lux manual came straight off the ship and straight to the dealer. The dealer swears they knew nothing of this matter, so who did this utterly stupid repair??
For almost a week now I have been waiting for a call from Honda Melbourne to discuss the situation. Is there another illegal repair to another of the Bridgestone RE040s?? It is unlikely but how does anyone know? It is not a pleasant experience and an ongoing one it seems. This is my first Honda and I find it hard to believe the lack of interest from Honda Australia.

[avid]

What do you mean a stick plug? There's is a very good plug repair that is done from inside the tyre casing where a stick of rubber with an umbrella of rubber is glued to the inside of the case and the stick section pulled through to the outside of the case.I undertook the training for this "type" of repair once and the quality (if done correctly was "best practice" in the industry).It might not be the same type that was done with yours, but if it was ,and if it was done correctly,it should be good for the life of the tyre.

[benthx]

Illegal Repair on Euro Tyre.

For almost a week now I have been waiting for a call from Honda Melbourne to discuss the situation. Is there another illegal repair to another of the Bridgestone RE040s?? It is unlikely but how does anyone know? It is not a pleasant experience and an ongoing one it seems. This is my first Honda and I find it hard to believe the lack of interest from Honda Australia.

Probably they are going into damage control and trying to investigate the issue. I wouldnt be surprised if HA didnt get back to you. They will say its a dealer issue and to take it up with the dealer you purchased the car from. All dealerships are separate business entities and are not part of HA. They are essentially franchises that have operating guidelines set forth from HA. They conduct their business any way they see fit within reason. I would go back to the dealer and DEMAND a new tyre and have a independant vehcile check to see what other oddities there may be. I would expect there to be no other.

Good Luck

[yfin]

I would be pissed off and would demand the dealer give you a new tyre to replace the patched one. It is never pleasant to hear of rectification work done on a car pre-delivery.

BUT - it could be worse, oh so worse. Look at this - a dealer did a bodgy paint job on a "new" car pre-delivery and didn't tell the buyer. Look at what the dealer told him...

http://www.motorsm.com/AUS/cars/complaints_corner_e.htm#89

SUBJECT: FORD ESCAPE, 2005
...
The vehicle was involved in an accident prior to delivery and was resprayed completely down one side. I thought I was getting a new vehicle not a vehicle that had been resprayed. I would not have purchased this vehicle had I been notified of this prior to purchase. After having the vehicle for a few months and many people, including a qualified spray painter and panel beater questioning if indeed the car was new. I asked # Ford why the bumper appeared to have paint peeling off it. Only at this time I was informed of the respray. “That happens all the time and very rarely do vehicles reach us without needing some kind of touch up”. I would hardly call completely respraying the car from the rear to front bumper a touch up. I would call that a major problem. I Believe the transport company should be and probably was held responsible for the damage and probably had to pay for it, not me. I am paying for this now because I was not informed and have what I consider a second hand vehicle. This car was sold to me as a new vehicle not at a discounted rate of a resprayed one. I am a sixty year old widower and I thought a little old fashion upfront honesty could have been called for here, especially since my children have purchase a F250, Falcon XR6 and a Ute all from # Ford # in the last two years ........

[MiSloVic]

hi, to put ur safety concern at ease, while the 'plug' type of tyre repair is illegal here, it is actually, not illegal in many other countries. and they are actually quite safe and hardy..

my tyre punctures were repaired in this way, in a country where there are strict car regulations.. and they can easily last the whole life of the tyre, including prolonged driving at speeds of over 110km/h.

I reckon, the puncture could have been repaired in japan as well.

[EGB18CT]

mushroom plug type are legal, the only illegal bit about it is that they can put them on the side/shoulder of the tread/tyre.... know this cos ive had them done before plus dad works for dunlop....

[sivic]

yeah if its in the tread then its perfectly legal and safe. as mentioned though you cant use these for tyre wall damage. i lost a brand new Dunlop FM901 to tyre wall damage.
i can see the reasoning in not throwing out a new tyre that can be fixed to be as good as new.
if this did happen before the car was exported then theres no way the dealer could have picked it up.
still worth looking into though, but even then the dealer can just claim ignorance

[msnealo]

I had a 17" performance tyre repaired this way with no problem about legality. Unfortunately I got another puncture about 1cm from the first and they said they can't put another one any closer than 2cm from the first, I had to get a whole new tyre.

[SpeedBird]

Honda Australia Head Office, give then a ring on 1 800 804 954.

Tell then you want to speak to a techincal rep in regards to a technical issue. Write notes in point form before you ring so you wont miss out on things, tell then the whole issue from the very start with your fault.

Ring then, nothing to lose just a new tyre to gain.

[Adagio]

Thanks everyone for your responses the only one I haven't got is from Honda Australia. My Tyrepower people told me the plug, yes like an umbrella, was now illegal so I accepted that as a fact. The thing is I didn't buy the car and expect repaired tyre/s. The repair is on the tread. Now when I commit to a corner guess what I am thinking about. I will be calling HA direct as it appears they cannot be bothered to call me. As the vehicle came straight from the ship to the dealer one wonders what and where this repair happened as the car was stored by the dealer for about a week until I could collect it.
Adagio

[SINISTR]

Can I ask how the TyrePower place repaired your most recent puncture?

It sounds to me like the TyrePower people are trying to blame others while perhaps doing something so called 'illegal' themselves.

Perhaps call the RAC NSW or whoever in your state, speak to their technical section about 'mushroom plug' repairs and legalities - they might tbe able to confirm if they are in actual fact illegal or not. I find that a bit hard to believe - maybe on a PERFORMANCE tyre like a semi slick YES - but not on a street tyre.

[Adagio]

How I knew the tyre had a previous repair was when I had a blowout caused by a deep pot hole and I took the tyre into Bowral Tyrepower for an assessment of damage. They found it unrepairable due to a puncture caused by the rim pinching the tyre wall (see attachment photo) so the tyre is useless now. This does not explain the original umbrella type puncture. Irrespective I should not have been sold a repaired tyre on a new car.
Honda left me a message on the phone yesterday advising that no repairs were effected while my car was in Honda Australia's care. Which means that the dealer has made a repair or Honda are just making safe sounds. I shall be chatting with the dealer today. I imagine the line the dealer will take that the repair was carried out during my ownership which it absolutely was not.
Adagio