[kiapa]

TL;DR: white liquid sealant which comes with "Tire mobility kit" will prevent you from patching a punctured tyre.

EV6 comes with "Tire mobility kit" which includes a white liquid sealant. Great, except it does not work:
stock Hankooks have a foam ring glued onto the inner side of a tyre for sound insulation and this foam just soaks up the sealant. The sealant never reaches the hole and never cures fully so it keeps sloshing around in your tyre ruining the balance.
This sealant also leaves a thin film inside the tyre preventing you from patching it. At least that is what I was told.

Two tyre specialist companies I went to refused to deal with the foam ring citing liability issues. Kia dealer could not do anything with the ring too because it was already soaked with the sealant, so I had no other choice but to replace the whole tyre.

A question to the all-knowing crowd of venerable experts: what did I do wrong? Am I right to conclude I should avoid using that sealant?

 

[Paul Henry X-Ray]

"Liability" seems like a bit of a stretch. Are you in the US or UK? You have a US flag on your avatar, but you spelled it "tyre."

 

[Hawk]

Just carry a portable small Slime inflator and learn to use gummie worms. Seriously, this setup works perfectly on the side of the road.
Slime Inflator
Gummie Worm Kit

 

[jsharpe]

Just carry a portable small Slime inflator and learn to use gummie worms. Seriously, this setup works perfectly on the side of the road.
Slime Inflator
Gummie Worm Kt

Doesn't the "Tire Mobility" kit include a compressor (I guess I should probably have bothered to look ). If so then simply getting the repair plug kit would be very cheap and do the trick for most small punctures and probably be better than that sealant gunk.

 

[kiapa]

Yes, "Tire mobility kit" includes a pump.

Learned my English as an adult in Ireland but moved to the US for a few years, so struggle with tyre/tire, cheque/check, etc.

Yes, both big chain shops I went to said they will not touch the foam ring as it is not in their operating procedures and deviating from the procedures exposes them to a liability.

Kia dealer said the same thing: until corporate will train them how to cut the foam ring properly and how to deal with foam soaked in sealant, the only option for them is to replace the whole tire.

 

[4MotionEV6]

Carry one of these in your in trunk.

 

[MyEvWind]

See other threads about this...short story is the foam can be lifted out of the way to perform conventional plug and glued back down. Never ever use the sealant unless you are truly stranded.

 

[Coddy]

It also depends on where on the tyre the puncture is.
If on the sidewall, they should not even attempt to patch it.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

The white sealant is rumored to be laundry starch. It rinses out easily.
Green Slime doesn't rinse out easily.
That's a BFD to tire shops when you roll in for a proper repair.

I'm into off road vehicles and we use bead locker wheels where Laundry Starch sealant is essential.
If you use the sealant you then can't use plugs.
Use the plugs first, don't be bashful use several.
Try not to use the liquid sealant.

It's just me, at first chance, from past experiences, I replace tires after they get a puncture proper repair or not. That's another thread for some other time.

I'm going to try these glue n screw in rubber nails next incident:

 

[ohbennyboy]

I'm going to try these glue n screw in rubber nails next incident:

Never heard of these before. Neat idea. Wonder how well they really work.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Never heard of these before. Neat idea. Wonder how well they really work.

Most importantly over all methods are spare fuses for the air compressor. I carry a dozen.
A hot day filling a big tire fuses blow easily.

 

[Biscuit112]

the foam should be removed and glued back in place if the tire place know what they are doing. Patch them just like a regular tire or put a plug in it.

 

[1AVI8OR]

See other threads about this...short story is the foam can be lifted out of the way to perform conventional plug and glued back down. Never ever use the sealant unless you are truly stranded.

At only 800 miles, I ran over a nail, which caused a slow leak. I did not try to seal it but went to my tire dealer. The shop cut out the foam, removed the nail and properly patched the hole from the inside. The piece of foam was then glued back into place. The tire shop recommended against the 'Gummi Worm' or 'Slime' solutions for this type of tire, but I can see where this might be a necessary roadside emergency procedure to get you going again.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

The stuff tire shops prefer.

We have a GMC 3500 DRW and if it gets a slow leak the horn honks every 3 minutes. Blasts across the entire neighborhood. Can't shut that off. All night long have to go out and put air in the tire again and again until morning and I can get it fixed. This stuff comes in handy when plugs can't be used.

 

[blit]

Just carry a portable small Slime inflator and learn to use gummie worms. Seriously, this setup works perfectly on the side of the road.
Slime Inflator
Gummie Worm Kit

Don't you have to remove the tire in order to use these?? The EV6 does not come with a jack....so doing this "on the side of the road" would not seem possible.