Flat Tire Disaster / Taycan 4S / NY

[maddie]

Last night, I experienced a flat tire on my relatively new (600mile driven) Taycan 4S. Learning experience - here. Any do’s and don’t for another time ? I did lose an entire day so hopefully I can find a way to avoid this.

Time: 1:15am
Location: New Jersey, right before entering tunnel for New York City
Speed: 60mph

I was heading home & all of a sudden, saw the tire pressure sign. It was dark but high way lights were enough and I definitely didn’t see any pothole/etc. Car alert system was activated. But even at that speed there was no loss of balance. I didn’t want to be stuck in the tunnel, so I took an exit and as I could drive, put the car in parking on a roadside parking. The passenger side tire was flat. I have the Mission E wheels, so atleast the rim was fine.

The Good. Why ? Because punctures happen but the car wasn’t stuck in the middle of the highway or lose balance. I was able to park it.

The bad: Called Porsche Road side assistance. They took all the details and the agent said they will get me a tow truck in max 90 minutes. after 90 minutes they said they were still looking to find a tow company. Every time there was a new agent, the previous didn’t leave clear notes and they were all from China. Then I called my insurance. They took details and they still haven’t got back to me with a Tow truck detail. After waiting there for 3 hours, the cops came by, because they saw I was parked on the wrong side of the road. They suggested I get my own tow company or I’ll be waiting there till the morning. So I got a tow company that still took an hour to come. Then called Porsche roadside and they said to take the car to manhattan motorcars(my dealer and service center) as there’s a night drop off. They said they’d reimburse me for the tow service.

The car is low. Quite a panic to put on a flat bed. Yes, no regular towing and no spare tire. I couldn’t see where the tire was damaged from but even if I knew, what could I do ? See video. Should I have lifted ? How ?

We got to Manhattan motors at 5am. No drop-off. i park in the basement of a lot, so I could not take it there. I got it dropped off there and I parked in front of the service entrance. The tow truck had to leave. They could take back the car and put in their storage till service center opens mon am. But porsche roadside wasn’t taking responsibility of damage, as it wasn’t their dispatcher. So it was my call. I parked the car there. Unauthorized parking in NYC gets towed. So I literally sat in the car and then called roadside again. They had conveniently closed my ticket. Then after a heated battle, the agent told me if I left my car there and it got tow’d, it would be my fault. she suggested waiting for their tow company and letting them store the car. This was at 6am. Then the tow company called me at 7:30 that they’d come in an hour It seemed stupid to me, to tow again. Plus the showroom would open at 11am. I emailed Manhattan Motorcars and texted my sales agent. (unwillingly as it was early morning sunday). He called me back right away and said to park the car at the service door and come back at 11am to door the keys. Did so.

Below are the pictures. But what a disaster. Why don’t we have a spare tire in the Taycan ? What should I have done differently ? What if I was away from the dealer ?

Porsche roadside assistance - 0/10
Progressive Insurance - 0/10

Atleast dealer and cops made up for it !

 

[Oysterquartz]

That’s really unfortunate! Sorry about that. In my experience with Porsche Roadside Assistance, it was really good. Had a flat tyre, driver’s side, called PRA and within an hour a tow truck came and had fixed it.

 

[kort]

That’s really unfortunate! Sorry about that. In my experience with Porsche Roadside Assistance, it was really good. Had a flat tyre, driver’s side, called PRA and within an hour a tow truck came and had fixed it.

maybe in your part of the world calling porsche roadside assistance performs well but unfortunately that is not the case in the US.

 

[Silveral]

Real nightmare story. Without considering all the safety risks that come with it. Glad you’re ok. Ultimately, it’s just a car and the way I see it, at 2am I leave it there and whatever happens, it’s going to be tomorrow’s problem.

 

[kort]

Real nightmare story. Without considering all the safety risks that come with it. Glad you’re ok. Ultimately, it’s just a car and the way I see it, at 2am I leave it there and whatever happens, it’s going to be tomorrow’s problem.

I disagree, the OP is correct, in NYC they can be aggressive about towing cars and they don't consider the car needing to be flat bedded, they will put it on a hook and tow it regardless of any damages that would cause.

 

[BigBob]

Was the puncture too bad to use the emergency goop/pump combination to get you home or do you not have it? It's an optional extra in the UK.

I optioned it, but I have also bought a can of type weld for about £15 and i suspect that will be much easier to use than the Porsche supplied combo which looks a bit of a faff to say the least.

Anyway, sounds like you had a bit of a nightmare. Hope they have some spare tyres in stock for you (I don't think the dealers will fix a puncture). Good luck.

 

[RPSRPS]

Last night, I experienced a flat tire on my relatively new (600mile driven) Taycan 4S. Learning experience - here. Any do’s and don’t for another time ? I did lose an entire day so hopefully I can find a way to avoid this.

Time: 1:15am
Location: New Jersey, right before entering tunnel for New York City
Speed: 60mph

I was heading home & all of a sudden, saw the tire pressure sign. It was dark but high way lights were enough and I definitely didn’t see any pothole/etc. Car alert system was activated. But even at that speed there was no loss of balance. I didn’t want to be stuck in the tunnel, so I took an exit and as I could drive, put the car in parking on a roadside parking. The passenger side tire was flat. I have the Mission E wheels, so atleast the rim was fine.

The Good. Why ? Because punctures happen but the car wasn’t stuck in the middle of the highway or lose balance. I was able to park it.

The bad: Called Porsche Road side assistance. They took all the details and the agent said they will get me a tow truck in max 90 minutes. after 90 minutes they said they were still looking to find a tow company. Every time there was a new agent, the previous didn’t leave clear notes and they were all from China. Then I called my insurance. They took details and they still haven’t got back to me with a Tow truck detail. After waiting there for 3 hours, the cops came by, because they saw I was parked on the wrong side of the road. They suggested I get my own tow company or I’ll be waiting there till the morning. So I got a tow company that still took an hour to come. Then called Porsche roadside and they said to take the car to manhattan motorcars(my dealer and service center) as there’s a night drop off. They said they’d reimburse me for the tow service.

The car is low. Quite a panic to put on a flat bed. Yes, no regular towing and no spare tire. I couldn’t see where the tire was damaged from but even if I knew, what could I do ? See video. Should I have lifted ? How ?

We got to Manhattan motors at 5am. No drop-off. i park in the basement of a lot, so I could not take it there. I got it dropped off there and I parked in front of the service entrance. The tow truck had to leave. They could take back the car and put in their storage till service center opens mon am. But porsche roadside wasn’t taking responsibility of damage, as it wasn’t their dispatcher. So it was my call. I parked the car there. Unauthorized parking in NYC gets towed. So I literally sat in the car and then called roadside again. They had conveniently closed my ticket. Then after a heated battle, the agent told me if I left my car there and it got tow’d, it would be my fault. she suggested waiting for their tow company and letting them store the car. This was at 6am. Then the tow company called me at 7:30 that they’d come in an hour It seemed stupid to me, to tow again. Plus the showroom would open at 11am. I emailed Manhattan Motorcars and texted my sales agent. (unwillingly as it was early morning sunday). He called me back right away and said to park the car at the service door and come back at 11am to door the keys. Did so.

Below are the pictures. But what a disaster. Why don’t we have a spare tire in the Taycan ? What should I have done differently ? What if I was away from the dealer ?

Porsche roadside assistance - 0/10
Progressive Insurance - 0/10

Atleast dealer and cops made up for it !

I'm a Jersey guy as well. Have had a number of Porsche's/Audi's/BMW"s - know you probably love those low profile tires but swap them for a set of all season's (it will be a better ride as well 95% of the time) or this definitely will not be your last time down this road.

 

[Silveral]

I disagree, the OP is correct, in NYC they can be aggressive about towing cars and they don't consider the car needing to be flat bedded, they will put it on a hook and tow it regardless of any damages that would cause.

I know. I live here too but it’s still a car. Having said that, glad he’s ok. Nightmare story

 

[jkjjpc]

I’m glad you were able to get the car to service and are safe. Within days of purchase of my Model 3 Performance with low profile 20” wheels and tires I had a blowout due to a minor pothole on a highway near DC and was stuck for a few hours on the side of a very busy highway. Tesla roadside service was pretty responsive and had a loaner wheel/tire to swap onto the car until it could be repaired the following week. Both the wheel and tire had to be replaced. The pothole was just an area where the top layer of pavement had washed away, so about a 1-2” depression, but I was traveling at about 70 mph.

I learned my lesson and switched to 18” wheels/tires on the Tesla to get a much larger sidewall. I sold the 20” low profile wheels/tires to someone locally. I hope they had a better experience.

When I ordered my Taycan I only considered the 20” wheels, and seriously considered the 19” wheels for this reason.

The low profile tires look great, but are high risk for blowouts due to minor road imperfections.

 

[kort]

I'm a Jersey guy as well. Have had a number of Porsche's/Audi's/BMW"s - know you probably love those low profile tires but swap them for a set of all season's (it will be a better ride as well 95% of the time) or this definitely will not be your last time down this road.

agreed, up north with their potholed roads those low profile tires are problematic.

 

[TaycanCook]

In NYC, every storm drain on the belt parkway is a "pot hole". I was driving around in jersey and NYC yesterday in gravel mode on 19" wheels. I cringe every time I see a storm drain, a man hole cover, and uneven asphalt on truck routes.

 

[YawningFamous]

Ah the joys of driving around New York City! Most third world countries have better quality roads.

 

[swhsv]

As to the first question in your original post - “Why doesn’t the Taycan have a spare tire?” That’s been a general trend across manufacturers for a while - “Here’s a can of sealant. Good luck.” For the Taycan specifically, my thoughts are 1) A “Space Saver” spare isn’t capable of handling the gross vehicle weight of an EV. 2) A full size spare would be much too large to fit in the “frunk”. 3). In the rear, it would have to sit above the battery pack and would obliterate your luggage space. I feel your pain, though. Had something similar happen to me in my 981 Boxster but the damage was quite a bit worse….

 

[Archimedes]

OP, why didn’t you just use the goo patch kit in the frunk? Could have been back on the road in 30 minutes unless it was a sidewall issue.

Also, get AAA or just call a truck yourself next time. Roadside assistance always sucks.

 

[WattTurbo]

As to the first question in your original post - “Why doesn’t the Taycan have a spare tire?” That’s been a general trend across manufacturers for a while - “Here’s a can of sealant. Good luck.” For the Taycan specifically, my thoughts are 1) A “Space Saver” spare isn’t capable of handling the gross vehicle weight of an EV. 2) A full size spare would be much too large to fit in the “frunk”. 3). In the rear, it would have to sit above the battery pack and would obliterate your luggage space. I feel your pain, though. Had something similar happen to me in my 981 Boxster but the damage was quite a bit worse….

That looks like a 911 CS wheel, almost identical to mine when we ran over a big rock in the middle of the lane. I was told by discount tires to never use a fix a flat can. He showed me the inner rim after the tire was removed, and all of that gunk was stuck on it. He says they couldn't balance it any more and was trying to scrape it all off. I didn't stay 'til the end so was not sure if they could scrape all of it off, but it was a lot.