Tire Repair for 2005 Escape and Spare Tire Issue

Yes, it can be repaired by using a plug only. A patch in this location will simply peel off. However, you will have to do this repair yourself because no tire place will repair a tire with a puncture in the sidewall because all tire manufacturers state tires are unrepairable if they are punctured in the sidewall.

Note that this is a gamble. Sometimes the plug will hold, sometimes it will not. If it does not then the tire will deflate -very- rapidly. Mine held and I got another 20,000 miles out of the tire.

It is possible of course that the tire could "blow out"

If this is a gently-driven car that is driven exactly at the speed limit, on sunny days, it's probably pretty low risk. But if you have a 50 mile commute and you regularly sleep through the alarm clock and drive 75Mph in the rainstorm on the expressway to get to work on time, you probably don't want to do this.

Well, if the spare is a different make and model of tire then driving on it will make your handling go to shit so a little imbalance won't make any more difference.

Ted

Replace that tire. It's a very high stress part of the tire structure, and subjected to the most stress while on the highway on a hot day. If it blows out you'll be dealing with a very dangerous situation. As with most blowouts, it's entirely preventable.

Dave

Unless you put the spare into the rotation schedule, it's not going to drive the same as a tire with 35,000 miles on it. When I worked at the assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan (Go Blue!), all tires were balanced after they were mounted on the rims on the tire line (nasty job!). Plus the spare probably doesn't have the same rim the other 4 tires have? Lucky you- my '02 Escape has a doughnut for a spare.

SC Tom

The answer to this is easy.

I always ask myself what would happen if it blew at