Tyre Puncture Repair

[JASONC]

Please could someone shine some light on the following issue I have faced, as Toyota Customer Care don't want to know.

Well last week, getting ride of my BMW 335 fro a brand new Rav 4 was the best thing I have done for work, with 4 wheel drive!!

BUT

Very disappointed with the spare wheel issue !! (NOT ONE)

I had a puncher last week, simple small nail in the tread of the tyre, to which I had to keep the air in it long enough to get to the garage open in the snow. I followed the instructions to use the repair kit, which didn't work??

I got to the tyre place after a mid way blow up ! only to find, that as I had used the repair kit, then it was standard policy that (even though the tyre was repair at £15) I couldn't have it repaired and needed a new one. I checked this with four garages and got the same answer ! A £15 repair, cost me £129 to get me going again.

I rang Toyota customer care, and they said they would ring me back that day… A week later they rang me back only to say, there we are then. Move on!!!!

The customer care person Matt, was obstructive, and kept over talking me and not letting me finish, and basically nothing they can do. A manager is suppose to be calling me back, but if I am luck to get a call, it could take another week.

So in short, if your broken down with a simple repairable puncture on the motorway, you can have a go at the repair kit that doesn't work, and cost you a new tyre, or call the AA to get you towed, just for a puncture !!!!!

Toyota Customer services manage has just called me back, saying case closed and they will not discuss the matter any further !!!!!

Why is it nobody once to know once you have bought a car from them, but are all friends when you are looking to buy!!

Will anybody from Toyota come back to me with a response on which I think is a problem with the rave 4 ?

[cfc1]

Whether or not a tyre filled with this god awfull stuff can be repaired or not depends on what type of gunk is inside it, some are like foam which can easily be cleaned out, some are like a milky liquid which again can be easily cleaned out, but others are as thick as tar and as sticky as a sticky thing in stickyville... this is extremely difficult and very time consuming to clean out, even after you think it's cleaned out there can still be a residue left on the tyre. To repair the tyre, the surface needs to be preped, clean and dry, any contamination of the area will mean that the repair won't adhere to the tyre resulting in tyre failure. Most places won't even begin to attempt a repair on a tyre filled with this thick sticky stuff. Lesson learnt?

If your tyre has the foam or milky liquid then I think you may have been taken for a ride, OK it's a little more time consuming to clean the tyre out.. so charge a little more for the repair to compensate for the extra time (and water... might be on a meter ;)) taken.

As for these type of sealants actually working to begin with, well.. I've never came accross a product yet that does, we even had a sales rep in at the garage trying to get us to purchase a load of this stuff.. his sales pitch was for us to put this stuff into the tyre when we fit them, this would then prevent the tyres deflating in the event of a puncture. He got his demo tyre/wheel out of his van and filled it with his product, he then stuck a pointy screwdriver thing into the tread and rolled the tyre about so that it would seal up the hole... after 4 attempts he put his demo in his van and drove away.. extremely embarrased.

Ok, we know that they don't work (or any I've came accross anyway) but what if your lucky and the product does work.......

You notice your tyre is flat/soft, you fill it with gunk and reinflate the tyre... all sealed, job done.

You then forget you had a puncture and don't go for a proper repair

You travel down the motorway and 70mph, you (unknowingly, because you didn't check.. all you did was put gunk in) have a 2" nail near the sidewall of your tyre..............

Whats the possibility of a fatal accident??

If you haven't got a spare... get one, if you can't get one... join a breakdown organisation, we have a choice, just don't depend on tyre gunk under any circumstances, in the long run it will only cost you more money.... or worse.

[JASONC]

Thank you so much fro responding, as Toyota don't want to know that they have sold an inadequate solution with a new vehicle.

The repair fluid was supplied as new with the Rav 4, which doesn't work, and Customer Care Statement is that a Toyota Garage will repair it.

So is it fair to say that Toyota Garages could be putting us at risk repairing something that the rest of the industry will not.

I contact three national companies that day they all said its against company policy.

Its not as though they had a new tyre to fit for me, it took me 6 tyre garages later to find someone with one.

How do you get Toyota to stand up to this mistake ????

[cfc1]

The repair fluid was supplied as new with the Rav 4, which doesn't work, and Customer Care Statement is that a Toyota Garage will repair it.

I have no Idea on the type of gunk that is supplied with the Rav... as for a Toyota garage/dealer repairing the tyre, will probably cost an arm and a leg, try a small local/family garage/tyre shop as they maybe more likely to repair the tyre than a multi-national company.

So is it fair to say that Toyota Garages could be putting us at risk repairing something that the rest of the industry will not.

I contact three national companies that day they all said its against company policy.

They key part in that statement is "it's against company policy", this doesn't mean that a tyre would be unrepairable or that it would be in a dangerous condition if it was repaired, all it means is that that particular company's policy is as such that they won't/can't carry out the type of repair required. Again try a local/family garage for a repair as most don't have these "company policies", if it's safe to repair they will (or should) be only too happy for your costom.

As for Toyota's position on it, I can't answer that on their behalf, all I can say is that they aren't breaking any laws by supplying the gunk instead of a spare wheel... as long as the gunk supplied is up to British Safety Standards, which it will be... what they are doing is saving a lot of money, or cost cutting as we know it better.

If you still have the punctured tyre take it to a small local garage and let them have a look at it, if it can be repaired get it done, then off to a breakers for an all important spare wheel.

[Norfolk n Chance]

If you still have the punctured tyre take it to a small local garage and let them have a look at it, if it can be repaired get it done,

Just to add to that, if it can be repaired have a chat with Trading Standards...

No harm in asking

[bothwell_buyer]

Torch it - not the car ... the garage !