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I have a Subaru Legacy 5.0i wagon, which has all-wheel drive.

Taking a right turn yesterday, my rear passenger tire bumped on a curb. About 20 minutes later the tire was flat.

There is an 'L' shaped cut on the sidewall that does not go all the way through, but exposes some threads - and obviously is no longer air-tight.

Can this tire be repaired?

Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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qxotk
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2 Answers2

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No, it cannot. In fact, in the United States it is illegal for a tire shop to repair a tire which has side wall damage. The reason for this is because the integrity of the tire itself is compromised with side wall damage. Now, I'm not saying it could not be fixed per se (a simple patch could probably do it), but would you want to risk your safety or that of your passengers by putting a repair on a compromised tire?

Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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Paulster2 gave the right answer. But in the case of an emergency where you don't have a spare tire, you could use a can of tyre-jack (or Tyre-Weld, etc) to reinflate the tire and seal the hole so that you can continue driving to a safe place or the nearest tire dealer.

It's a good idea to keep two of these cans in your car, especially if you're going on a roadtrip. They're the equivalent of two extra spare tires, without the extra weight and bulk.

Captain Kenpachi
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