Flat Tire on a Tesla: No Spare, What to Do

First: where are you stopped?

Stuck on a highway or expressway shoulder? Call 911 or *347 (FDOT Road Rangers) first. FDOT's Road Rangers offer free help to stranded drivers on covered highways, including clearing disabled vehicles out of travel lanes. Once you're off the highway, on a side street or in a parking lot, the rest of this guide applies.

If you're somewhere off the road and out of traffic, take a breath. Then work out which kind of flat you have.

No spare: what Tesla gives you instead

Open the trunk of most Teslas and you won't find a spare wheel. Tesla's answer is an optional tire repair kit: an air compressor that runs off the car's 12-volt outlet, plus a sealant canister. Tesla also sells a spare tire and tool kit for the Cybertruck as an accessory, but on most Teslas the kit, or a call for help, is the plan.

Tesla's owner's manual is specific about what the kit is for:

• It can temporarily repair small punctures under 6 mm (about 1/4 inch) in the tread.
• It can't repair the sidewall.
• It's meant to get you slowly to Tesla or a nearby tire repair facility, not to fix the tire for good.

And what it isn't for. For punctures larger than 1/4 inch (6 mm), severe tread damage, a damaged sidewall, a ripped tire or a tire that has come off the rim, Tesla's manual says to contact Roadside Assistance, which you can reach from the Tesla app.

Use Tesla's sealant, not any can from the store

Tesla's Model 3 manual says not to use any tire sealant other than the type in Tesla's kit, because other sealants can cause the tire pressure sensors to malfunction. If sealant has gone into the tire, tell the shop before they dismount it so they can plan for it.

Can the tire be repaired? It depends where the damage is

A nail in the tread is a different problem from a gash in the sidewall. The industry rules are the same on a Tesla as on any car. Under USTMA guidance:

• Repairs are limited to the tread area. Punctures or cuts in the sidewall or shoulder can't be repaired.
• The puncture must be 1/4 inch (6 mm) or smaller.
• The tire has to come off the wheel so the inside can be inspected, and the repair is a plug and patch combination from the inside.

Tap a zone on the tire to see where damage may be repairable and where it means a new tire:

A bulge or bubble in the sidewall is its own case: the tire's internal cords are damaged, and it can't be repaired. Our guide to sidewall bubbles explains why.

Foam-lined tires: repairable, with extra steps

Many Tesla tires have a layer of sound-absorbing foam glued inside the tread. Our guide to T-marked and foam-lined tires explains how to tell. People often assume foam means a tire can't be fixed. The tire makers don't say that.

Continental's bulletin on its foam-lined ContiSilent tires says:

• A trained specialist must inspect the tire and, following industry standards, decide whether a permanent repair can be made or the tire must be removed from service.
• A permanent repair needs the tire off the rim and a repair method approved for ContiSilent tires.
• That means removing a section of foam around the puncture to reach the inner liner.

Tesla's own service manual describes the same idea for its foam-lined tires: a section of foam is cut away around the puncture before the repair.

Two practical points follow:

1. Foam doesn't make a bigger hole repairable. The 1/4 inch, tread-only limits still apply.
2. Tell the shop the tire has foam when you call. Not every shop is set up to repair it, and the technician needs to plan for it.

What to do, step by step

1. On a highway shoulder? Call 911 or *347 (FDOT Road Rangers) first.
2. Look at the damage, from a spot out of traffic. Is it in the tread, or on the sidewall? Is the tire off the rim?
3. Small puncture in the tread, and you have Tesla's kit? Follow the kit's instructions and the owner's manual, then drive slowly to a tire shop or Tesla. Have the tire inspected and properly repaired or replaced.
4. Anything else, or no kit? Contact Tesla Roadside Assistance from the app, or call a mobile tire service.
5. Flat or losing air fast? Don't drive on it. Wait for help where you are, out of traffic.
6. When the tire is fixed, check its pressure against the door placard, and check the TPMS warning has cleared.

If the tire can't be repaired, Tesla's manual says to replace tires in pairs unless the other tire on the axle is within 2/32 inch (1.5 mm) of the new tire's tread depth. On a staggered car, the replacement has to match that axle's size.

Flat tire help in South Florida

Off the highway in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach? Call (954) 773-1896 during shop hours and the Extreme Tires van comes to the car: in a parking lot, on a side street, in your driveway or at work. The tire gets repaired if it can be, or replaced. Tell us it's a Tesla, the tire size from the placard and whether the tire has foam, so the right tire and tools are on the van. See mobile service for the area we cover.

Not urgent? Schedule a repair or install online, or shop tires by vehicle if you'd like to order a pair in your Tesla's size.