Can my Car Tire be Repaired? Tire Repaire Criteria| Michelin USA

If your tire becomes damaged, it may be repaired if it meets the following criteria:

The tire has not been driven on when flat.
The damage is only on the tread section of your tire (sidewall damage ruins a tire immediately) and/or
the puncture is no greater than ¼"

For help on how to inspect your tire: Use our Tire Inspector Tool to check your tire tread and damage

If your tire is flat, we can help teach you how to change a tire.

How is a tire properly repaired?

Repairs of all tires must be of the combined-plug-and-inside-patch type.

Your MICHELIN tires (including Michelin PAX System™ tires) must be removed from the wheel for inspection prior to repair. Plug-type repairs made on a tire that remains mounted on a wheel are improper and can result in an accident. A tire should be removed from the rim and inspected prior to repair. Any tire repair done without removing the tire from the rim is improper and can result in an accident.

Read our Frequently Asked Questions.

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Three conditions all need to be met for a repair to be safe. The puncture must be in the tread area only. It must be no larger than 1/4 inch (6 mm). And the tire must have sufficient remaining tread depth — any tire already at or below the legal wear limit should be replaced, not repaired. If all three conditions are satisfied, a trained technician can carry out a proper patch-and-plug repair after removing the tire from the wheel and inspecting the inside.

No. Sidewall damage cannot be safely repaired. The sidewall flexes constantly with every rotation to absorb road shock — it's a dynamic, load-bearing structure, not a static surface. Any patch or plug applied there will eventually fail under the constant movement and heat. A cut, puncture, or bulge in the sidewall means the tire needs to be replaced, even if the damage looks minor from the outside.

Not as a permanent fix. A plug inserted through the tread from the outside, without removing the tire from the wheel, is considered an improper repair. The inside of the tire must be inspected after any puncture, because the injury may have caused internal damage that isn't visible from the outside. A proper repair — a patch bonded to the inner liner combined with a rubber fill of the hole — can only be done off the wheel by a trained technician.

Possibly not. Even a short distance driven while completely flat can cause internal damage to the sidewall and carcass that won't show on the outside. The tire must be removed from the wheel and inspected before any repair is attempted. If the internal structure is compromised, a repair is not safe regardless of how the puncture itself looks. The technician needs to make that call after a proper inspection.

The tire is removed from the wheel so the inside can be inspected. If the damage qualifies, the technician cleans and buffs the area around the puncture on the inner liner, applies a rubber patch over the puncture site, fills the hole from the tread side with a rubber stem, then remounts and balances the tire. This combined patch-and-plug method addresses both the structural integrity of the inner liner and the air seal through the tread.

A bulge or bubble on the sidewall always means replace the tire. It indicates the internal cords have been damaged, allowing air to infiltrate between the plies. That's a structural failure, not a cosmetic issue. Stop driving on that tire as soon as it's safe to do so, fit the spare, and bring the damaged tire in for inspection. Driving on a sidewall bulge risks a sudden blowout.