I love my car, but I have not had a good relationship with the tires lately. In my lifetime I have had a flat or two, but I just had two in one week, all because of little bits of construction debris I drove over in total ignorance. Guys, pick up your stuff before you leave: you never know where it might go. If not my tire, somebody’s foot.
What you see in the photo represents my week in tread dread. On Sunday, I hopped into my car to drive down the road to the pharmacy, when my car’s dashboard diagnostic system told me I had low tire tread, so I dutifully drove up another road to the service station, where the tech on duty found the screw on the right: believe it or not, that was not the culprit, as it entered the tire at an angle. The little dude on the left did the deed. Fortunately I was one day short of the holiday (though I could’ve just called AAA), so I was able to get it fixed right away. My guess is that I drove over Laurel and Hardy when I picked up dinner on Saturday night, and the leak happened–albeit slowly, because the damage was probably between the wheel and driveway–overnight. So the tech did a plug, and no aftereffects came up.
This morning, the second low tire message appeared involving the same tire. How likely is that to happen? Another plug job. I’m wondering now if I have a cursed tire. I had a patch put on one of the tires the last flat I had, and I know my dealer regularly rotates my tires, so I wonder if this is the same one. Got a one in four shot that it is. Next time I go in, I will ask them to check for a tire with a patch and two plugs.
And what does one do with a cursed tire? Buy three new ones, and the one free does the exorcism.