Should I Change a Flat Tire Before Coming In for Tire Repair?

To ensure a safe drive that doesn’t damage your rims or create more expensive repairs, change your flat tire with your spare tire before coming into your local Firestone Complete Auto Care center for flat tire repair.

What If I Replace Just One Tire?

It’s tempting to replace just the tire that's damaged, but replacing one tire at a time can present challenges down the road since the one tire will have a different tread depth and thus different accelerating, braking, and cornering abilities than all of the others.

Why Do I Keep Getting Flat Tires?

Few things are more inconvenient than a flat tire —except back-to-back flat tires. Learn the reasons why you keep getting flat tires and what you can do to help prevent flat tires from deflating your spirits!

What Is Pothole Damage?

If your vehicle hits a pothole in the road, you may experience steering and suspension system misalignment and/or damage, tire punctures, bent rims, and more. When your vehicle experiences a sudden jolt from a pothole run-in, timely inspection is highly recommended.

Pothole damage may not be obvious right away, but it can wreak havoc on your entire car if it’s not addressed quickly and fixed right the first time. If you've had a recent run-in with a pothole, head to your local Firestone Complete Auto Care for a Complete Vehicle Inspection to check for any issues.

What Is a Tire Plug vs a Tire Patch?

A tire plug is a quick fix for a tire that's leaking air from a nail or similar object that has punctured the tire. A tire plug fills the hole of the tire but is not reliable without a tire patch and not recommended to use alone. A patch is applied to the inside of the tire to further prevent an air leak and helps hold the plug in place. This allows a tire with ample useful life left in it to hold air reliably and keep you on the road for longer. 

Can You Repair a Run Flat Tire?

Run flat tires allow you to drive on a flat tire for a limited time with lesser risk than non-run flat tires. A Run Flat tire could be repaired if a nail or object is caught before tire damage occurs. However, if the tire is permanently damaged, it is required to replace a Run Flat tire with a new one.

Why Is My TPMS Light On?

The Tire Pressure Monitoring System light will illuminate if tire pressure is too low or part of the TPMS system has malfunctioned. Important TPMS warning light behavior:

• Solid — A solid indicator light means one or more tires is operating at an unsafe pressure. Tire air pressure has dropped below the 25% OEM recommendation placard pressure. The recommended tire pressure is most commonly listed on a sticker inside the driver's door. If there's no sticker on the door, you can usually find the specs in the owner's manual.
• Blinking — A blinking indicator light means the TPMS has malfunctioned. One or more sensors may have failed or lost communication with the vehicle's onboard diagnostics.