Porsche advises not to plug or patch tires on Taycan

[Gino]

I’m a bit surprised Porsche says to never plug or patch a tire on the Taycan. I was told there is no spare since they include tire sealant & air compressor in the event you get a leak.
Seems a bit convenient so Porsche can sell a new tire whenever a tire with a nail or screw in the tread which has plenty of tread remaining.
I don’t see the danger of using a plug in an emergency so you can get to a tire shop so it can properly be repaired with a patch on the inside.
Am I missing some hidden danger with EV tires?
I’d almost bet Porsche takes this position with all tires on all Porsches…

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[SergeyIndy]

My dealer made it a policy starting 2023 regardless of the car. I was in a bind and needed to patch and go, and they did it for me as an exception, but required for me to purchase a replacement tire.

Also, I had a nail in the Cayenne while 100 miles away from home, and I used the sealant (different design from Taycan) that has a yellow valve to connect to the compressor, and I was able to fill the tire with the sealant quickly and get home safely. The dealer again had to get a new tire to replace this one. From now on, I purchased this yellow valve sealant for all my cars as it was a life saver. The kind that comes with the Taycan has 100 page instruction book and you have to manually pump the sealant into the tire, NO THANK YOU.

This one: https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/no-air-compressor-but-has-sealant.22289/post-339329

 

[Gino]

I’m a bit surprised Porsche says to never plug or patch a tire on the Taycan. I was told there is no spare since they include tire sealant & air compressor in the event you get a leak.
Seems a bit convenient so Porsche can sell a new tire whenever a tire with a nail or screw in the tread which has plenty of tread remaining.
I don’t see the danger of using a plug in an emergency so you can get to a tire shop so it can properly be repaired with a patch on the inside.
Am I missing some hidden danger with EV tires?
I’d almost bet Porsche takes this position with all tires on all Porsches…

I just got off the phone with my local Americas Tire and he told me they patch Pirelli & Michelin tires on Taycan’s all the time with no issues regardless if they have foam or not.
He also said there is no issue using a plug to temporarily fix a tire until a temporary patch can be installed to properly repair the tire.
He said is doesn’t matter if the tire is designed for an EV or ICE vehicle patching from the inside is reliable & safe in both as long as it is not outside the tread area.
I’m going to pick up a plug kit since it sounds like a pain in the ass to use the sealant compared to how quick & easy it is to pull the nail/screw and install a plug…

 

[M3Taycan]

I just got off the phone with my local Americas Tire and he told me they patch Pirelli & Michelin tires on Taycan’s all the time with no issues regardless if they have foam or not.
He also said there is no issue using a plug to temporarily fix a tire until a temporary patch can be installed to properly repair the tire.
He said is doesn’t matter if the tire is designed for an EV or ICE vehicle patching from the inside is reliable & safe in both as long as it is not outside the tread area.
I’m going to pick up a plug kit since it sounds like a pain in the ass to use the sealant compared to how quick & easy it is to pull the nail/screw and install a plug…

I have the following kit shown in the photos. I added a pump that is equipped with a light, and two types of pliers to pull out the nail/blade/…etc. Non-run flat tires (RFT) are a bit easier to plug. RFT takes a bit more arm work to plug. I have used the sealant before and it may destroy your TPMS. In the end, tire and TPMS may need to be replaced. I have never plug a tire on a Taycan yet. Clearance may be an issue, so raise the height of the car. Side wall cut or hole, call a flatbed truck.

 

[Fun TC Driving]

I always carry a plug kit in both of our vehicles . If we were to caught out and our safety were involved, I would use my $7 plug kit, re-inflate the tire to get us home safely, then get a new tire from probably Tire Rack/America’s Tire/Discount Tire (same company in the U.S).

My plug kit is:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ET9SAA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[DerekS]

I've had a few service advisors tell me they can't patch Z-Rated tires.
But I've had it done plenty of times.

 

[Gino]

I have the following kit shown in the photos. I added a pump that is equipped with a light, and two types of pliers to pull out the nail/blade/…etc. Non-run flat tires (RFT) are a bit easier to plug. RFT takes a bit more arm work to plug. I have used the sealant before and it may destroy your TPMS. In the end, tire and TPMS may need to be replaced. I have never plug a tire on a Taycan yet. Clearance may be an issue, so raise the height of the car. Side wall cut or hole, call a flatbed truck.

Unfortunately there is no jack so the only way to plug a tire is to lay on the ground to access the tread between the body & the ground. The front tires will be easy since you only have to turn the wheel to get at it from 2 o’clock. The rears will need to be accessed at 4 o’clock or 8 o’clock which will be tighter.
I can do that but surely my wife won’t. She’ll just call me or a tow truck to install the plug and re-inflate the tire if it’s after hours or tow it to America’s tire to be properly repaired.
I will only use the sealant as a last resort because the last thing I want to do is damage the TPM sensor so Porsche has another line item on my bill even if they don’t get to sell me a tire. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cost to replace a TPM sensor is more than the cost of a tire. That could mean over $1000 to replace a tire & TPM sensor which got destroyed by their sealant.
I hope I never find out.
I guess the one good thing of only having 200 miles range is that I can’t get too far from home. The more the range degrades over the years the closer to home I’ll be.
Worst case after 10-15 years of I only have 50 miles of range I’ll be so close to home I could walk…
I didn’t buy the Taycan for long trips. That’s what my other 3 vehicles are for.
I’ll get an ICE or hybrid Porsche to use on long trips and baby the Taycan cause she’s my girl… she like’s being pampered and the center of attention!

 

[lcarron]

Plug is much cleaner and better that the sealant. The only issue is that plugging a tire on the side of the road can be very challenging if you never did it before.
Get some practice on the drive way.

 

[Gino]

That’s for sure. Definitely not for first timers that have never installed a plug in a tire from the top, standing up. It would be a real challenge for a novice at tire plugging to start laying on his back to repair a rear tire on the Taycan.

 

[SergeyIndy]

Unfortunately there is no jack so the only way to plug a tire is to lay on the ground to access the tread between the body & the ground. The front tires will be easy since you only have to turn the wheel to get at it from 2 o’clock. The rears will need to be accessed at 4 o’clock or 8 o’clock which will be tighter.
I can do that but surely my wife won’t. She’ll just call me or a tow truck to install the plug and re-inflate the tire if it’s after hours or tow it to America’s tire to be properly repaired.
I will only use the sealant as a last resort because the last thing I want to do is damage the TPM sensor so Porsche has another line item on my bill even if they don’t get to sell me a tire. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cost to replace a TPM sensor is more than the cost of a tire. That could mean over $1000 to replace a tire & TPM sensor which got destroyed by their sealant.
I hope I never find out.
I guess the one good thing of only having 200 miles range is that I can’t get too far from home. The more the range degrades over the years the closer to home I’ll be.
Worst case after 10-15 years of I only have 50 miles of range I’ll be so close to home I could walk…
I didn’t buy the Taycan for long trips. That’s what my other 3 vehicles are for.
I’ll get an ICE or hybrid Porsche to use on long trips and baby the Taycan cause she’s my girl… she like’s being pampered and the center of attention!

I used the OEM sealant in my Cayenne tire and the TPMS sensor was not damaged. I was able to monitor pressure as usual as I was 100 miles away from home. The tech just washed the sealant off the wheel with soap water, put the new tire on with sensor working as expected.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Discount tire will not plug/patch a tire that has been previously plugged.

 

[Gino]

I used the OEM sealant in my Cayenne tire and the TPMS sensor was not damaged. I was able to monitor pressure as usual as I was 100 miles away from home. The tech just washed the sealant off the wheel with soap water, put the new tire on with sensor working as expected.

That’s great to hear! If the sealant will work for a not too big leak then that’s the easiest way to go and then get the tire repaired/patched at America’s Tire unless it’s close to ready for fresh new pair of tires. Now I just need to hope I never have a leaky tire…

 

[Gino]

Discount tire will not plug/patch a tire that has been previously plugged.

Mine in Costa Mesa will but will advise you to replace the tire. I guess if you buy the tires from America’s Tire with the warranty then they are motivated to patch it as many times as they can. Likely they won’t patch a tire if the new leak is close to another leak which could cause deformation of the tread in that local area.
I’ve never had the bad luck to need to plug any tire twice over the last 40+ years starting with bias ply to radial tires and I was driving my trucks, vans & cars in construction sites/zones.
I’ve been lucky. Bias ply tires were the easiest to plug and early steel belted radials were tougher but I’m assuming the latest generation high performance EV tires must have substantial steel belts making it a bit tougher to prep the leak with the rasp & install a plug.
I’ll be happy if I never find out!

 

[rim23]

Are you guys seriously listening to what dealers say? Reminder those bastards charge you thousands for a simple inspection. Those tried to charge our comrades 70k for a battery and then suddenly dropped to ~40k. Are you serious?

Reminder - dealers are unable to fix cars. They are only changing entire components given what factory says. They are unable to provide truth repair service. Period


PS even truck tires are repaired. What’s the deal with Taycan? Its such a BS

 

[BillD]

I’m a bit surprised Porsche says to never plug or patch a tire on the Taycan. I was told there is no spare since they include tire sealant & air compressor in the event you get a leak.

I don’t see the danger of using a plug in an emergency so you can get to a tire shop so it can properly be repaired with a patch on the inside.

I picked up a screw in my right rear tire a few years ago and wound up on the side of I-580 in Carson City with a flat. It was 20 degrees F and snowing. I followed the directions with the liquid sealant and all it did was help me find the hole - which is where the liquid came out.

I carry a plug kit, so I plugged the tire. I had to move the car to get the hole in an accessible location and then plugging was easy. Two years and 10,000 miles later the plus is still in there. I haven't bothered to get it patched.

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