On my daily driver, a 92 VW idi diesel, I've been driving around for a year on a 2 diagonal (F&R) tires with a very slow leak. Last summer I pulled the wheels, submerged in water but saw no bubbles. So I put them back on and just keep putting air in them every 4 to 6 days where it would lose about 5 to 10 psi. These tires have about 30 % thread life left and I did not feel like getting them fixed @ $12 ea at a tire shop or buy new tires just yet. A few days ago I I pulled the wheels again to find the leak and found a finishing nail in each tire hidden under the threads. I sprayed soapy water on it and it showed a tiny bubble approx every 5 seconds, which explains why I did not see any bubbles in the submerged test. (Pic shows nail pulled out a little with dikes).

I learned long ago if you have a nail in your tire, don't pull it out unless you are prepared to fix it immediately otherwise you are guaranteed a flat. Apparently I drove around for a year with 2 nails in the tires with no collateral damage!

So I pulled the nails and put a plug in each, no bubbles per soapy water, inflated and installed the wheels and so far they are holding pressure. The tire plug package instructions says this is a temporary fix and to get a proper patch installed. I don't understand why that is since the patch plug (no leaks) has to be better than the nail plug (very slow leak) that was there.

Anyone with experience driving around with a tire plug?

Some notes:
1. I was not strong enough to push the rasp cleaning tool nor the tire plug tool into the tire. I had to hammer them in with a rubber mallet.

2. Dikes (wire cutter) did not trim the plugs which were tough and springy. I had to use scissors, which made it easier but still tough to cut.

3. If the tire is fully inflated (I keep mine at around 40 psi), if you work quickly after pulling the nail, the tire will not be totally flat and you should have enough air in it to drive to a gas station.

4. I am keeping all tools and parts needed in the car to do a tire plug, which can be done with wheel mounted.

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I keep this air tank in the car which is a lot more convenient/ faster than a 12 v pump.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Plugs are fine. I drove my Dodge Ram for three years on aa self installed plug.

last 10 years is all I carry,a professional plug kit,with rubber cement,to inflate I carry a can of sealer for large truck tires.The little cans won,t work for our big cars.

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Tire plugs as a temporary fix are okay. A patch is a better, more permanent repair.

Part of the problem with plugs is in order to install them, you need to do more damage to insert them. You need to enlarge the original puncture and force the plug though the embedded belts distorting their weave. This can create a weakened spot which MAY or may NOT create a problem later on down the road.

Patching a tire keeps the integrity of the woven belts.

I've used the plugs many times for temporary repairs when I'm out in the boonies but I wouldn't drive for a long distance at highway speeds.

As always, YMMV.

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It may not be the absolute best ideal. Yet for a very long time people have just had plugs installed and lived with it. They in general have seemed to both worked and lasted in the bulk of situations.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it fails while you're speeding down the road. But the punctured tires on the front, and you'll have better control in case the plugs let go.

So long as the plug is installed in the tread belt, no problem. I've driven for years on self-installed tire plugs with no collateral damage. If the plug is on the sidewall or close to the edge of the tread belt, it's worth considering a new tire or a professional repair.

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Is your statement from personal experience, i.e. has a plug failed on you while driving?

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Maybe a patch is better than a plug theoretically. But knowing that I had a nail in the tire for a year which did not cause further damage to the tire, I feel pretty good driving around with the plug. There's a steel belt in there and I'd think it would keep the hole from getting larger and the plug from failing.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

A few years ago I had been hearing a clicking noise coming from my car when driving, and one day after work I found my car to be setting with a completely flat tire. After putting on the matching spare, I found that there was a nail in the tread.

I was pretty broke and even then my tires were starting to dry rot, so I used a plug and it's still holding after at least 3 years. My tires are between 6 and 9 years old now (I bought them new and the manufacturer dates varied between 2008 and 2011) and are about at the end of their lives anyway.

If it was a fairly new tire, getting a tire shop to do a professional patch so no moisture gets inside the tire would be a good idea.

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1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles

The Slime brand of tire plugs I used did not come with/ need rubber cement, the strips are really gooey and tough. I seem to recall using a tire plug 20 years ago that was more of a rubber strip that needed rubber cement. I think the type w/o cement is superior because rubber cement dries out rather quickly and you may not have any when you need it.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

FWIW- Right in the begining of my freshman year in college, I noticed a hissing sound coming from my tire and it was a nail causing it. As a poor and adventurous college kid, I decided to make use of what I had. I took an old used windshield wiper rubber blade I had in my trunk, folded it, and covered it with rubber cement I had for my bicycle inner tube patch kit. Using the folded part of the blade, I put it on a screward driver and shoved it into the hole where the nail had been in.
My tire tread was pretty good then, and those tires lasted another 4 years before getting new one. It held pressure with only adding air with the other tires during routine maintenance.
I had a couple of other plugs put in by tire shops, they held air, but didn't keep the tire or that particular car long.
Usually, if I get a flat, I insist on a patch.

.

Yup. Bronx River Pkwy @ 50mph. Turns out, it's harder to handle a blowout on the rear than the front. Some lessons come hard. After that, I would only have tires patched from the inside. This was a very long time ago, I'm sure that plug technology has advanced since then ().

Did you verify that it indeed was the plug that blew out or the tire blew out from other causes like a damaged sidewall?

I recall a rear tire blowout (heard a loud pop) driving down to DC in a Honda Civic 20 years ago. It was no drama, the car didn't do anything funny. I steered the car to the side of the highway and put the spare on and continued driving. Don't remember the cause of the blowout. Probably low tire pressure on an old tire.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked