Ford Tire Care - your experience? Mine so far...

[CmaxBK]

Hi Guys,

 

Just thought I'd share some recent experience with my first flat tire and the Ford TripleCare extended service plan. If you'd like a short read: skip to the TripleCare section below. Feel free to share your experience as well!

 

History - Introducing Cynthia:

We bought our C-Max certified per-owned in December of last year (our first car) and were super excited - we named her Cynthia. Given that we live in Brooklyn, and the roads in NYC are generally pretty sh*ty.... the Ford TripleCare package seemed enticing. Free tire repair and rim replacement / replacement due to road hazard, Windshield repair, and dent repair. In hindsight.. we probably could've done without the windshield (also covered by geico) and dent (people are terrible at parallel parking in NY.. too many dents / scratches / scuffs to worry about)... but the tire replacement is what I was looking forward to most, given that one tire is $200. I figured 4 flat tires would be easy to come by in 5yrs. (we drive very little)

 

Flat Tire - the mobility kit is "eh":

Fast forward to last weekend, 9 months after driving off the lot, Boom: our first flat tire on our way up to Newport RI. We picked up an insanely large nail on the driver side rear tire. It was nasty and super close to the sidewall. Luckily it was a slow leak and not completely flat. Ford road side assistance was an hour away.. and it was late at night... against my better judgement...I used the "tire mobility kit" and somehow managed to make it to Newport. PS: dont use this thing... its a piece of junk in my opinion. I do like the fact there is a separate air compressor but the goo did not last long. Miraculously I found out later that my tire pressure sensor was not damaged from this stuff... I'm thinking i just got lucky.

 

My fix - Tire plug kit:

We had a busy schedule for the weekend so taking the car to a dealership was out of the question...AND we had to be back in NYC Sunday night. I opted for a local auto store and bought an $8 tire plug kit and rubber cement. (I was a little skeptical because the package only says for lawnmower / ATV / tractors... but I've come to believe that these things are magical). I jacked up the car, removed the wheel, removed the nail (HUGE) and plugged the hole in about 30min time. I let it dry for about 5min before pumping up the tire - she was holding steady and the warning light on the dash diapered (I should mention that the first thing I did when i bought the car was I purchased a scissor jack and lug wrench to keep in the trunk... I'm still on the look out for a spare tire to throw back there too). We drove around Newport for the weekend and made it back to NYC safe and sound with close to 300miles on the patch. I will admit: I was nervous the entire trip and checked air pressure every time we stopped. In my mind this is a temporary fix.

 

Ford TripleCare and Service... here we go:

What they don't tell you is you have to call and make a claim prior to going to a dealer or tire shop. The lady on the phone gave me a claim number and mentioned that usually it is a much easier process at the dealer (sure...). At a tire shop I would need to pay for service and then (hopefully) be reimbursed. Fine: I go to the dealer. The dealer was relatively quick to get the car on a jack and inspected.. however it was nearly 2hrs of explaining, waiting, and calling TripleCare until I finally left. Essentially it works like this: the tech needs to inspect the tire for damage and recommend to TripleCare whether or not a patch will work or if a new tire is needed. I begged and begged for a new tire because I dont like the idea of driving around on a patch given the size of the hole and location... but for one reason or another TrippleCare only approved me for a "patch" worth $50. I eventually said fine: I'll take the patch...just fix my tire professionally and I'll be on my marry way. Here is where the story  gets weird: The service center inspected my patch (the one i put on) and deemed it perfectly safe and stated that no work needed to be done and that they were not collecting the $50. (UMMM...EXCUSE ME?). I said "no no no.. I want the tire to be taken off the rim and patched & plugged from the inside.. then put back on." The tech says "we don't do that here.. we would do the same thing you did.. and yours is perfectly fine" ...........My mind is blown.......I eventually leave, tail between my legs, and no new tire.

 

I later find out that the requirements for a full tire replacement is the tire must be "leaking air, have bubbles on the side wall, or have exposed threads." I guess all i can do is wait for my patch to fail... at which point I'll try begging for a new tire once again. I am still hopeful that TripleCare is worth the $$ I paid up front.. but for now it seems an $8 fix will do the trick.

 

-CmaxBK

 

 

Photos of my fix:

Edited October 3, 2015 by CmaxBK

[Marc Smith]

i've done those types of repairs before with the sticky cords they are very stable and will be fine.   but any  shop should have the ability to do a plug/patch  similar to this  http://www.agcoauto.com/content/images/tires/tire_care_high_tech_patch.jpg which is the ideal way to go.

[plus 3 golfer]

i've done those types of repairs before with the sticky cords they are very stable and will be fine.   but any  shop should have the ability to do a plug/patch  similar to this  http://www.agcoauto.com/content/images/tires/tire_care_high_tech_patch.jpg which is the ideal way to go.

I've found that a reputable tire shop will not attempt a "proper" fix with a sticky cord already in place likely for liability reasons.  I've used the sticky cords for many years and never had an issue with the sticky patch.

 

The link didn't work but here's pic of proper patch.  

 

[Marc Smith]

thanks for fixing my link

[CmaxBK]

Plus 3 Golfer - This is the patch I wanted them to do since I was only approved for $50. I can understand the liability aspect of removing a plug that is currently in the tire.. but this thing is in a dangerous spot. According to the Rubber Manufacturers Association.. this plug is way outside the tread area 

 

http://www.rma.org/tire-safety/tire-repair/

 

I've escalated to a ford service complaint online. Lets see what happens.

[plus 3 golfer]

Plus 3 Golfer - This is the patch I wanted them to do since I was only approved for $50. I can understand the liability aspect of removing a plug that is currently in the tire.. but this thing is in a dangerous spot. According to the Rubber Manufacturers Association.. this plug is way outside the tread area 

 

http://www.rma.org/tire-safety/tire-repair/

 

I've escalated to a ford service complaint online. Lets see what happens.

First time I've seen the tread area defined so narrowly.  Here's a pic of what I recall seeing in tire shops for the repairable area of the tread.

 

[cwstnsko]

I think this page is the one that is considered by most tire shops and tire manufacturers to be the definition of repairability and proper repair:  RMA Tire Repair

 

Based on what I read that site, and the pictures posted, the OP's tire is scrap and cannot be repaired. The initial damage is outside the repairable area, and even if it was in the repairable area, the fact that the existing repair is not up to standards would call for the tire to be replaced, rather than re-repaired.

Edited October 23, 2015 by cwstnsko

[BIG ROCCO]

This is one reason I don't buy extended warranties .  You pay for the extended warranty up front, may never use it, and then when you want to use it, they try to weasel out of standing behind the warranty.  There is no right and wrong to it, but for the extended warranty to be worth it, you need to believe that the company has underpriced the warranty...that will all that they know, you believe that the total financial exposure is greater than the price they are charging.  Sure, when it comes to insurance on your home or health or even the car (fire/theft/collision), the result of a tragedy is so devastating that are compelled to buy the coverage, but for small matters like tires and car repairs and electonics,  I prefer to self insure.

[scottwood2]

It has been years but I worked in a service station years ago.  Maybe things have changed but the repairable area shown in the link is what I remember for tire patches.  A tire patch could have issues in the area of your repair due to the flexing of the tire in this area.  We would only use a plug in that area so your repair is what we would have recommended back then.  I also remember plugs getting really really good to and kind of became more common in all areas of the tire.   This was something like 25 years ago and yes I am 29 now.  I was the best 4 year old tire repair boy around ;)

[Singoffpitch]

This is one reason I don't buy extended warranties .  You pay for the extended warranty up front, may never use it, and then when you want to use it, they try to weasel out of standing behind the warranty.  There is no right and wrong to it, but for the extended warranty to be worth it, you need to believe that the company has underpriced the warranty...that will all that they know, you believe that the total financial exposure is greater than the price they are charging.  Sure, when it comes to insurance on your home or health or even the car (fire/theft/collision), the result of a tragedy is so devastating that are compelled to buy the coverage, but for small matters like tires and car repairs and electonics,  I prefer to self insure.

I have the TripleCare warranty and have had one tire completely replaced and one tire patched at no cost. I had no issues or extra time when using the warranty, but I was at a Ford dealership (but not the one where I purchased the car). The dealership had actually never seen the TripleCare warranty before and asked to make copies of my packet so they could get information for providing it to customers buying new Fords from their dealership.