Toyo Open Country tire on the RAV4, 32K miles, driver's rear.

1. Can that be plugged? Not actually IN the sidewall, but close.

2. If it must be replaced, will they need to replace BOTH rear tires? AWD car.

On AWD all 4 tires need to be equal in tread wear. Your tire looks like it is pretty well worn down to the point you will need all 4 replaced.
Personally, I wouldn't trust repairing that tire.

quote:

Originally posted by gjgalligan:
On AWD all 4 tires need to be equal in tread wear. Your tire looks like it is pretty well worn down to the point you will need all 4 replaced.

It does appear to have more wear than I would have expected at 32K miles. I looked it up and that seems to be a common complaint. REALLY not looking forward to dropping $1K on tires right now, but it may be the smart move.

I have plugged tires that had that kind of damage . If you have a good spare put it on and get a few more miles out of the others . Don't get too freaked out about having one oddball on an AWD vehicle . You won't die ...

I have had similar damage plugged in the past; however, just recently had an issue almost identical to yours with a tire on my 4-runner and no shop in the area would touch it. All cited liability as the reason.

How old is the tire? It might be timed out as well!

I agree that you’re way too close to the shoulder to trust a repair long-term. Also agree that those look worn and time to replace.

Sorry. I’m about to have to do the same damned thing, but with a full sized spare, I get to do five at a time. Of course, that’s around 100K on a five tire rotation pattern.

-Rob

Back in my day of fixing tires (like 30 years ago) we would frown on plugging that. However, depending on the customer, we may patch and plug it. We'd put a plug in it, then break it down and grind the plug smooth inside and patch it.

I can't say that was any better than the plug alone. But if you aren't driving like a maniac it should hold fine.

Anymore, tire shops are pretty adamant about what they will and will not repair, and I suspect they’ll decline to repair your tire. I had a tire on my pickup punctured, within the tread, by a piece of metal they determined was too large to repair. Four new tires I took two of the old tires home because there was a lot of tread life left. Later replaced the truck, and wouldn’t you know it, the tire profile was different. I ended up giving the tires to our egg lady’s husband; he was glad to have them. All that to say, I believe you’re looking at a full set of new tires.

That couldn't be in a worse place if you tried. Sorry, that sucks.

Too close to the shoulder?!?! It can't get any closer because that is the shoulder!

A proper patch cannot be done an inch towards the tread from that screw all the way to the rim because of the sharp bend of the tire and the flexing that occurs in that area is too much for the patch to hold.

Stick a fork in it, that tire is done.

Bit the bullet, signed up for 4 new Goodyear All Seasons and an alignment.

$1000 won't quite cover it, but anything else is false economy.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

quote:

Originally posted by gjgalligan:
On AWD all 4 tires need to be equal in tread wear. Your tire looks like it is pretty well worn down to the point you will need all 4 replaced.

It does appear to have more wear than I would have expected at 32K miles. I looked it up and that seems to be a common complaint. REALLY not looking forward to dropping $1K on tires right now, but it may be the smart move.

Replacing all four tires on an AWD vehicle is not necessarily a hard fast rule. Depending on the AWD system, you 'may' not need to replace all four tires. My quick research reveals that the RAV4 AWD system is a front biased (FWD) all-the-time system w/ AWD electronically activated 'On Demand' when tire slippage/reduced traction conditions are sensed by the system. Note - This could be triggered due to gross tire OD/wear mismatch though, so it really depends on the system. Also, if your RAV4 has a TPMS system that does not use TPMS sensors, but rather calculates based on the RPM/OD differential of each wheel/tire (I have an Audi w/ this type of TPMS) that could also be an issue. You should identify the specific AWD system in the RAV4 in question, as it can be model year/option package dependent. It should also be noted that Hybrids have their own AWD system design, so you definitely need to verify what you're dealing with.

As an example, I have a Audi S5 4.2l V8 w/ Quattro AWD, and was able to find specific hard data as to the exact mismatch/tire wear it will accommodate...YMMV.

Also, I would likely discount most (all?) of the info/recommendations listed on dealer/stealership websites if you find credible info to the contrary, as not surprisingly, they typically bias all of their recommendations to maximize their revenue.

All that said, regardless of what AWD system you have, that tire is DONE. You need to replace at least two tires. If you've got the type of system I described above and it will accommodate the mismatched tires, put the two new tires on the front.

The answer to the question "can this be pached" often depends on whether the respondent is in the business of selling tires.

What ever happened to the idea of plug'n'patch, then putting an inner tube inside the tire? ISTR that this used to be common practice back in the olden days. Maybe the general adoption of radials killed it?

I would have plugged it myself, never had an issue

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
I would have plugged it myself, never had an issue

Personally, I would have too, plug and patched and put it on the rear for the rest of its life.

Not likely to find a shop that would do it. Liability, they touch it they own it, too many lawyers.

But the treadwear is near where I would be thinking about replacing anyway, I hate hydroplaning.

Nobody is going to repair that tire, and if they did, you wouldn't want to drive it, least of all on the freeway.

32,000 miles is a lot of mileage on a set of tires, despite the extravagant claims made by some manufacturers.

You got the best miles out of that set. I have been in similar situations twice. It's never a good time to be forced into such an expense, but that's what credit cards are for.

Good luck.

Go to the auto parts place and buy a good plug kit . It's not rocket science and they're a handy thing to have around anyway .

quote:

What ever happened to the idea of plug'n'patch, then putting an inner tube inside the tire? ISTR that this used to be common practice back in the olden days.

The key word here is olden days. Think about the things we did 20, 30, 40 years ago that we laugh about and wouldn't think of doing today. Tubes in tubeless tires are one of them.

I used to put tubes in tires with such punctures when I first started in the early 1980s, but industry standards and practices have changed. For one thing, a tube shortens the life of the tire due to increased internal friction and heat buildup. For another, not all punctures in a tubeless tire cause immediate air loss, but a tube puncture will lose air. Not long ago in my own car, I picked up not one, but two self-drilling screws in a tire. I only knew something was amiss when I started hearing a noise. Although the tire was well and truly punctured, it barely lost any air, not even enough to trigger the TPMS light.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

I think they say if it’s less than an inch from the sidewall. It not repairable.