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 By Argile Stox Dec. 22, 2005 A slow leak in an automotive tire due to a nail or some other sharp object lodged in it - is very common. An individual must take time out of their normal routine to get it fixed immediately. You hope that the tire technician is skilled in removing the offending nail and patching the tire. Once the tire is fixed, you resume your routine. On Sunday, Tracy, myself and her two boys were returning to Rapid City after spending a wonderful day at her mother’s Ranch – exchanging Christmas gifts. As the SUV was heading towards the on ramp of the freeway, we heard a loud rumble coming from the rear of the car. Immediately, Tracy pulled the SUV over to the right shoulder of the road; I grabbed the flashlight and examined the right rear tire. The same tire that we had patched – was flat, again. It was one degree outside the car and the wind-chill factor was enhanced by a stiff breeze. Since Tracy subscribed to emergency road-side assistance through the dealership, she tried to call them on her old, analog cell phone. Each time she was connected to the service, the cell phone would cut out. So, there we were – a full tank of gas, a flat right – rear tire, tons of food in the car, on a barren Belle Fourche, South Dakota service road. The cell phone worked long enough for Tracy to summon her father (who lived about three miles away). I stayed with the car and waited until Tracy could call the emergency road-side assistance from her father’s house. While I was waiting, I listed to AM radio – featuring a radio call in program that was much like Useless-Knowledge. About twenty minutes later, AAA showed up – the tire was changed out within about ten minutes, and her father brought Tracy – the boys back to the car. A few minutes later, we were on our way back home to Rapid City. You would think that this was the end of the story – not by a long shot. Tracy bought her 2004 SUV used and took out a six year, full extended warranty coverage service plan – which included the road-side assistance. The tires were halfway-worn and we thought that they would last us through the winter. The spare tire was brand new. When we arrived at a different tire repair store, the manager warned us that riding on three half-worn tires and one new tire could cause havoc with the all-wheel drive transfer-case of the symmetrical drive-train system. He suggested that we call the service department of our dealership to inquire about the difference in tread ware. He also showed us the old tire. At the time the flat occurred, the outer wheel wall of the tire separated. I found this very strange that the tire would disintegrate after riding on it for a few yards, as it was going flat. It was the same tire we had patched at a different tire shop. In fact, there was a deep hole in the separated tire wall. This really pissed me off. Now, if the tire was going bad when it was originally patched – should the original tire technician examined the tire, and alerted us to the problem? Damn right, he should have. The manager of the other tire store could not confirm that the tire was defective and could not lay blame on the other tire store. The next day, I called the service department of our dealership. The service manager told me, in no uncertain terms – that having three halfway worn tires and one new tire would cause problems down the road in the transfer case, void the extended service agreement, and that the car was unsafe to drive. He told me to just park the car until Tracy could have four new tires “on the ground”. Tracy arrived home and I gave her the bad news. About four hundred dollars later, we had four new, seventy thousand mile tires on the ground, an extended warranty on them (road hazard, free tire rotation and balance every six months, etc) and we were happy. The thing that stuck in my mind was, had the original tire technician examined the old tire before patching it, told us that the tire was bad to begin with – we could have handled the problem last week! If, Dear reader – a tire should go flat on your car, make damn sure the tire technician examines the tire for defects! One good thing came out of all this – Tracy bought a new, up-to-date cell phone (digital) and an extended life battery (two hours). Geez! This was a hard lesson to learn, the hard way! ------------ Email Argile Stox: argilestox@gmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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