Flat Tyre Nightmare
Discussion
Thought I would share my frustrating experience today with the Merc fraternity of my flat tyre. What a nightmare!!
I was taking the kids to school and suddenly there was an awful burning smell and a pretty ropey ride. Flat tyre was my first thought. It was 7.45am - this won't take me long kids - sit tight!?
7.45
I hate seeing people calling out the 4th emergency services to change tyres. I got the kids out, secured the front wheel, (the flat was passenger rear), loosened the nuts, placed the jack and lifted it sufficiently to "take the slack". Better check how I operate the space saver first me thinks before I jack the car up and take the offending wheel off. Got the space saver out with the little electric pump, connected it and started blowing ---- Nothing!. Ummh what could I possibly be doing wrong here I thought!. No success after 15 minutes. I thought I would try and blow up the deflated main tyre and then limp to a garage. After 10 minutes no success. I look behind the main tyre to see the whole tyre has shredded from the wheel!
8.15
Not to panic I tell the 16 year old to walk the last 1.5 miles to school and call Merc garage. They are very good. I am doing nothing wrong they assure me, the space savers can be a little difficult (understatement !!!!!!!!!!!). They issue an instruction to Mondial - there service people.
8.30
Begin to lose confidence in my own ability I call my secretary and ask her to come and collect my 11 year old and take him to school - round trip for her of 35 miles. Thats that issue taken care of and the 16 year old confirms proudly that she has successfully walked the 1.5 miles to her school.
9.00
Mondial call - we will be there 9.45
9.47
Mondial arrives. "Aaaah the famous space saver" he says - "had a few of these". "Have many problems with these before". After about 30 minutes of using his more powerful blower without success and confirming that the main wheel is indeed totally shredded, we go to a tyre shop to try and fix the space saver with there better equipment. This takes another 45 minutes but at least it is a success. Drive back to the Merc
11.00
Arrive back at the car and take the shredded wheel off. "Aaaah" says Mondial man, "this spacer thing could be our next problem, they tend to weld to the alloy wheel!". Christ me thinks whatever next! After WD 40 (or something), various terminally looking battering blows to the stuck fast item with a hammer, chisels and screwdrivers the spacer comes off and we attach the space saver spare wheel. Another 45 minutes have lapsed.
11.45
In the meantime, while Mondial man is been most helpful and hard working (brilliant actually and I will write and commend him very highly)I have been asking all sorts of tyre shops if they have two (the front tyre has an annoying slow puncture so should get that seen to too) Yokohama 270/30/22 in stock. NO they all say - next week at the earliest. Prices from £650 the pair to £500 the pair.
I decide to take and leave the car at the National Tyre shop - cheapest and have used them many times before - but 16 miles of 50mph max on the space saver.
12.15
Car delivered to National Tyre - total time to change the wheel = 4.5 hours.
Morale of the moan - changing a wheel is no longer always an easy task. I unreservedly apologise to all those people that I have seen standing by when the RAC/AA/GreenFlag/Mondial man have been sweating on their behalf - sorry!!!
To Neil from Mondial - you were excellent! A big thank you!
I was taking the kids to school and suddenly there was an awful burning smell and a pretty ropey ride. Flat tyre was my first thought. It was 7.45am - this won't take me long kids - sit tight!?
7.45
I hate seeing people calling out the 4th emergency services to change tyres. I got the kids out, secured the front wheel, (the flat was passenger rear), loosened the nuts, placed the jack and lifted it sufficiently to "take the slack". Better check how I operate the space saver first me thinks before I jack the car up and take the offending wheel off. Got the space saver out with the little electric pump, connected it and started blowing ---- Nothing!. Ummh what could I possibly be doing wrong here I thought!. No success after 15 minutes. I thought I would try and blow up the deflated main tyre and then limp to a garage. After 10 minutes no success. I look behind the main tyre to see the whole tyre has shredded from the wheel!
8.15
Not to panic I tell the 16 year old to walk the last 1.5 miles to school and call Merc garage. They are very good. I am doing nothing wrong they assure me, the space savers can be a little difficult (understatement !!!!!!!!!!!). They issue an instruction to Mondial - there service people.
8.30
Begin to lose confidence in my own ability I call my secretary and ask her to come and collect my 11 year old and take him to school - round trip for her of 35 miles. Thats that issue taken care of and the 16 year old confirms proudly that she has successfully walked the 1.5 miles to her school.
9.00
Mondial call - we will be there 9.45
9.47
Mondial arrives. "Aaaah the famous space saver" he says - "had a few of these". "Have many problems with these before". After about 30 minutes of using his more powerful blower without success and confirming that the main wheel is indeed totally shredded, we go to a tyre shop to try and fix the space saver with there better equipment. This takes another 45 minutes but at least it is a success. Drive back to the Merc
11.00
Arrive back at the car and take the shredded wheel off. "Aaaah" says Mondial man, "this spacer thing could be our next problem, they tend to weld to the alloy wheel!". Christ me thinks whatever next! After WD 40 (or something), various terminally looking battering blows to the stuck fast item with a hammer, chisels and screwdrivers the spacer comes off and we attach the space saver spare wheel. Another 45 minutes have lapsed.
11.45
In the meantime, while Mondial man is been most helpful and hard working (brilliant actually and I will write and commend him very highly)I have been asking all sorts of tyre shops if they have two (the front tyre has an annoying slow puncture so should get that seen to too) Yokohama 270/30/22 in stock. NO they all say - next week at the earliest. Prices from £650 the pair to £500 the pair.
I decide to take and leave the car at the National Tyre shop - cheapest and have used them many times before - but 16 miles of 50mph max on the space saver.
12.15
Car delivered to National Tyre - total time to change the wheel = 4.5 hours.
Morale of the moan - changing a wheel is no longer always an easy task. I unreservedly apologise to all those people that I have seen standing by when the RAC/AA/GreenFlag/Mondial man have been sweating on their behalf - sorry!!!
To Neil from Mondial - you were excellent! A big thank you!
You've just scared the living Christ out of me. I've just bought a merc SLK 320, although I haven't got it yet and one of the things I was wary about was the spare tyre situation. I live in country Victoria, Australia, when you have problems here you are 75 kilometres from help.Hope I don't suffer the same experience as you....because my situation would be yours times 10 !!!!!!
SLacKer said:
Although it wouldn't help in the o/p situation I carry Tyre Slime and a pump in all my cars regardless of spare tyre situation.
Is it that the pump just isn't up to the job of inflating what must be a tough piece of rubber?
It was the fact that the rubber is so so tough and had been sitting unused in the boot for four years that the pump coukd not handle it. The garage pump was more than adequate thoughIs it that the pump just isn't up to the job of inflating what must be a tough piece of rubber?
eldar said:
I have an SLK350. I really don't want a puncture in a rear tyre. Not only pissing around to inflate the compressed spare, but trying to fit the punctured wheel and tyre back in the car.
A key thing that I have learnt, and it takes no time at all, is take out the spare and inflate it just to see that it works BEFORE you have a puncture. Could save you a lot of jip in the future.gaters said:
A key thing that I have learnt, and it takes no time at all, is take out the spare and inflate it just to see that it works BEFORE you have a puncture. Could save you a lot of jip in the future.
Followed by 2 hours of wrestling the bloody thing flat, and small enough to fit back in the spare well, where it will swell up a little, and become an integral part of the shell. The bloody car was obviously designed for a 10" wheel as a spare.
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