Flat Tire =(

O

Olestra

Member
:
06 Mazda3s GT
Last night, I got a flat tire on my front passenger side of my 3...
I hit a pothole in my neighborhood straight on and it took the tire out. Worst part is I knew it was there but had forgotten about it.

I jacked the car up and removed the nuts. The nuts were impossible to get off, they were either tight or corroded b/c I had to stand on the wrench just to get them off.......

Then I tried to pull the tire off and it wouldn't even budge a millimetre! Argh, frustrated, I put the nuts back on and had to go home (luckily I was practically home already).

So I have to get it towed just to get a spare tire on and then go to my tire shop to get my winter tire fixed.
Anybody know why I couldn't have gotten the tire off? My guess is b/c it was corroded to the rotors... It was -15C outside, so I was getting cold pretty fast.
Any tips as to how to make it easier next time?
 
go buy a rubber mallet to help "persuade" the tire off.. i keep mine in my car beside the jack. :)
 
Where should I be hitting it. I didn't want to boot my rims. =D

Possibly two hours before AMA can get a truck to get my car. Wtf.
 
the rubber mallet wont damage the rims if you hit them.. I use it while my rims are on.. no problem. :)
 
the trick i use...

loosen all nuts while its on the ground about 1/4-1/2 of the way off, then raise the tire in the air with the jack until it just comes off the ground, then slowly lower it until the tire breaks free... it will break free its worked every time...
 
Good trick, sounds like it would work. So lowering the car onto the tire and putting weight on it will loosen it.
 
Pouring hot tap water on the mating surface between the wheels and the rotor hub will do it too. Before you put them back on get some anti-seize on there (I've never remembered to do this but theoretically it'll do the job).
 
Olestra said:
Good trick, sounds like it would work. So lowering the car onto the tire and putting weight on it will loosen it.
Click to expand...


yeah just go slowly when you get close so you don't scar up the studs but i have done it for years and its always worked and never had a problem with it...
 
Don't have hotwater on the side of the road. =) And it was also -15C. Was a bad day to choose to wash my car.

Anyways, I finally got a new tire on it. It was covered under warranty. They said it had 84% tread left, so I used about 15% on 6000 kms. The tire still looked brand new, I could barely see any wear so I wonder if they overestimated. In any case, the new tire only cost $25. The labour was more for balance/mount/tax. After all was said and done, it was 75 bucks.

With my spare tire on, it was hard to tell if my alignment was off but now that my regular tire's back on, it's off for sure... :'( It pulls to the right. My steering is also less responsive and stiffer. It's just not as smooth. I noticed it immediately so it was obvious.

Does this sound like only alignment or does anyone think I bent something? (I hit the pothole dead on, changing lanes, so the wheel was turned but probably less than 90 degrees).

Also, do u think if I played dumb at the dealership and said my steering felt off and stiff, they'd cover it under warranty? (sssh) My 3 has only 8300 kms.
 
Im stuck in the same spot, a chunk of concrete hit me while i was doing 80, blew out the tire and bent the rim. Howd u get the dealer to cover it? I had to pay a total of 500 bucks for rim repair and the tire. After the spare i thought my steering felt different, but i think it was cuz i got used to the tiny footprint of the spare.
I doubt you bent anything, as my incident didnt, but i guess you could go to the dealer and say it feels a bit off. Maybe theyll align it for ya.
 
I didn't get the tire warrantied by the dealer or by Mazda. My winter tire has it's own manufacturer's warranty (Hankook) and so they covered it.
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Major Mazdaspeed3 Clutch issues…Help!
Replies
2
Views
2K
muteme87
M
C
Low Tire Pressure Light On But Pressures Normal! Why? 2018 CX-5
2
Replies
22
Views
2K
RedBaron
RedBaron
lavishauto
Can you check my Versatune log?
Replies
2
Views
502
lavishauto
lavishauto

Latest posts

Back