I wrote this last nite on the 300cforums. I thought it would be good to post here too for the magnum crowd.


I come out of work today to find my rear passenger side tire flat. Not a happy sight. I proceed to change the tire to the tiny spare. FYI, one tidbit that took me a few minutes to figure out is to get the crow bar off the scissors jack, you need to crank the jack by hand a few turns to flatten it.

I drive my car to my tire shop on the home and ask them if they can patch a self sealing tire. The guy behind the counter said no, they can only be replaced. So I take the tire home and pull out this three inch nail out of the tread with pliers. I can see the nail has this sticky residue on it FROM the self sealing stuff.

I read the owners manual and it states that up to 5 mm holes should can be sealed. I measure the nail with my caliper and its 3.8 mm. I go ahead and pump up the tire figuring it will seal itself. No such luck, I can hear the air whooshing right out of the hole FROM the nail. So I call my Chysler service department and ask them about it. They say the can patch tires, but have not dealt with the self sealing ones as of yet. They suggest I CHECK the tire booklet with the owners manual. I get the generic tire booklet and it states that any cuts or punctures are not covered under warranty.

I then go online to continental's website and can not find anything on patching self sealing tires. I call the 800 number and I am told that sometimes the self sealing stuff will not cover the hole and you need to take the tire off the rim and push the sealing stuff over the hole. She stated that if the tire does not hold the leak, it will be replaced under warranty. I ask her again and she confirms it will be replaced under warranty.

I go back to my tire place, which is right around the corner. I EXPLAIN it to the guy behind the counter and he's like "I don't know what you are talking about, I don't want to be liable for damaging the tire." I convince him just to take the tire off the rim. We get the tech to break the bead on the tire, he sticks his hand in there and seals the hole with this tarlike sealant stuff. Pumps it back up, rebalances it and puts in on my car. So far so good, we'll see if it has air in the morning.

So I get home, I am putting my manuals away, and I find a special booklet just for the self sealing tires. It states that they are under warranty for not going flat and continental will reimburse you if you get a flat for towing and repairs. DOH, now I read that. Anyway my tire store didn't charge me, the guy behind the counter told me just give some cash to the tech, so I gave him 10 bucks and I'm not gonna try to get reimbursed for that.