[Paulman]

Just want to make sure that the inflation and repair kit came with the V6 1LE

I see a space for it in the trunk - I recently bought the car used and just discovered it not there.

Not sure if I have any recourse with the dealer but wanted to make sure it should have had it first. I’m hoping that they take ownership of it and get one for me, but I took the car “as-is” so I might be stuck getting it. It’s 200 bucks

Appreciate any advice

[JamesNoBrakes]

Sounds like it's missing.

An air compressor, can of fix-a-flat and patch kit will be cheaper than $200 though.

[Paulman]

Thanks.
Yeah probably will just have to get a parts store kit.

[Vtor_ZL1]

That sealer in can GM ships kinda sucks.. out of 2 used, 2 failed. Replaced can with old style heavy duty tire plug kit. Air compressor is quite good!


I've used other brand tire sealant and was easily able to empty content into the tire, but GM... that crap just like to clog the valve core and then its pain in ass to even inflate the tire - kinda defeats purpose of the sealant! Not fun thing to learn on the side of the highway.

[Paulman]

Thanks - I was thinking you had to get a certain sealant for a run flat tire

If the old style Slime kit from a store works, then I'll just do that and not wait on the dealer to decide if he's getting the kit for me.

[Alpha1BC]

There is NOT a sealant/compressor kit included with the V6 (and 4cyl) 1LE. As OP alluded to, this car come with run-flat tires. The good part about a runflat is you can get around 40-50 miles out of them with low/no pressure because the sidewall is designed to be able to support the vehicle for a short time. Bad part is as soon as they're driven in that state, even for a short distance, the sidewall integrity is compromised and the tire needs replacement since it's ability to operate as intended at pressure is diminished. For this reason, sealant isn't supposed to be used with run-flats.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by Alpha1BC

There is NOT a sealant/compressor kit included with the V6 (and 4cyl) 1LE. As OP alluded to, this car come with run-flat tires. The good part about a runflat is you can get around 40-50 miles out of them with low/no pressure because the sidewall is designed to be able to support the vehicle for a short time. Bad part is as soon as they're driven in that state, even for a short distance, the sidewall integrity is compromised and the tire needs replacement since it's ability to operate as intended at pressure is diminished. For this reason, sealant isn't supposed to be used with run-flats.

Sealant can be used with any tire. It won't hurt anything. If anything, it'll save your run-flat.

Run flats are kind of a scam, just like you say, if you actually use it as a run-flat, you kill the tire. Then, you usually can't just buy one, you have to match the tread on both sides of the car...or all 4 if it's AWD. Because the run-flats are more $$$...they make more $$$ too at the dealer/tire shop. Modern tires are gummy and tend to seal pretty well around things like nails and screws on their own, so chances are you can put some air in and get to a place to put a plug in if you can't do that yourself. Then comes the sealant if necessary, or your own patch kit. If the puncture is so catastrophic that these measures won't work at least to get you to a shop, it's likely a run-flat wouldn't either. I'm not a fan of run-flats at all, they ride like crap. It's especially troubling if GM is putting them on the track-versions of the 4 and 6cyl.

[Alpha1BC]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

Sealant can be used with any tire. It won't hurt anything. If anything, it'll save your run-flat.

Run flats are kind of a scam, just like you say, if you actually use it as a run-flat, you kill the tire. Then, you usually can't just buy one, you have to match the tread on both sides of the car...or all 4 if it's AWD. Because the run-flats are more $$$...they make more $$$ too at the dealer/tire shop. Modern tires are gummy and tend to seal pretty well around things like nails and screws on their own, so chances are you can put some air in and get to a place to put a plug in if you can't do that yourself. Then comes the sealant if necessary, or your own patch kit. If the puncture is so catastrophic that these measures won't work at least to get you to a shop, it's likely a run-flat wouldn't either. I'm not a fan of run-flats at all, they ride like crap. It's especially troubling if GM is putting them on the track-versions of the 4 and 6cyl.

Can you use sealant? Technically yes, but it's not a catch-all solution for run-flats. If you catch the low pressure and seal/inflate before driving on it it's possible (but not guaranteed) that the tire will be OK. If you get low pressure while driving you're pretty much needing to replace that tire anyways and sealant isn't going to help anything. Mainly just wanting to clarify that there was a reason that cars with run-flat cars didn't come with the sealant kit and that using such a kit on a run-flat could lead to worse issues in the future depending on the situation.

I agree with the rest, though, I'm not a fan of run-flats either. My personal opinion would be to get something that's not a run-flat and pick up the sealant kit at that point. Unfortunately, that just the tire that the non-1LE SS and 4/6 cyl 1LE cars come with.

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

Run flats are kind of a scam...

James' whole post is very well-stated.
The Germans call this "verschlimmbesserung," an improvement which makes things worse.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by Alpha1BC

Can you use sealant? Technically yes, but it's not a catch-all solution for run-flats. If you catch the low pressure and seal/inflate before driving on it it's possible (but not guaranteed) that the tire will be OK. If you get low pressure while driving you're pretty much needing to replace that tire anyways and sealant isn't going to help anything. Mainly just wanting to clarify that there was a reason that cars with run-flat cars didn't come with the sealant kit and that using such a kit on a run-flat could lead to worse issues in the future depending on the situation.

I agree with the rest, though, I'm not a fan of run-flats either. My personal opinion would be to get something that's not a run-flat and pick up the sealant kit at that point. Unfortunately, that just the tire that the non-1LE SS and 4/6 cyl 1LE cars come with.

Please explain how using sealant on a run-flat could lead to worse situations than with a regular tire? I'm still not understanding what you are saying. Both would seal the hole if it's in the right position and not too large. Only, in the case of the run-flat, if this is successful, you get to save the run-flat and get away with just a plug for long term, rather than ruining the run-flat by driving on it. In the last 20 years, ever low/flat tire I've had was noticed when I returned to the car and either saw a low tire, or was alerted soon thereafter by TPMS. If you've got 20psi, you can probably make it to a shop in the city just fine with nothing. If it's out in the middle of nowhere, then you need to plug that hole.

The reason cars with run-flats aren't going to come with sealant is because the manufacturer takes a minimalist approach. I mean hell, they could give you a spare, real jack, run flats AND sealant. But they aren't going to do that, they are going to do the minimum that works and they don't care about "saving" the run-flats. They want to sell you more.

[Paulman]

I see the kit referenced in the owners manual but maybe it’s just for the SS?

GM should have clarified that the V6 1LE isn’t equipped especially since the space is there in the trunk

I understand the desire to save some weight with no spare but like said above, if you’re out in the middle of nowhere it could be rough

[Alpha1BC]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

Please explain how using sealant on a run-flat could lead to worse situations than with a regular tire? I'm still not understanding what you are saying. Both would seal the hole if it's in the right position and not too large. Only, in the case of the run-flat, if this is successful, you get to save the run-flat and get away with just a plug for long term, rather than ruining the run-flat by driving on it. In the last 20 years, ever low/flat tire I've had was noticed when I returned to the car and either saw a low tire, or was alerted soon thereafter by TPMS. If you've got 20psi, you can probably make it to a shop in the city just fine with nothing. If it's out in the middle of nowhere, then you need to plug that hole.

The reason cars with run-flats aren't going to come with sealant is because the manufacturer takes a minimalist approach. I mean hell, they could give you a spare, real jack, run flats AND sealant. But they aren't going to do that, they are going to do the minimum that works and they don't care about "saving" the run-flats. They want to sell you more.

The biggest risk comes from sealing a run-flat that's been used at low enough pressure for long enough to damage the sidewall. Putting sealant in a tire like that fixes the hole but leaves the tire with diminished structural integrity. Result is that the next failure will likely be more than just low pressure and can turn into a bad situation very quickly.

Again, I'm not saying you can't *ever* use a sealant kit on a run-flat, but it requires more diligence to use appropriately. In the scenarios you provided, yes if you come out to your car in a parking lot and see pressure is low you can inflate/seal it to get it to a shop for repair. However, if the leak is that slow you probably aren't needing sealant to get it somewhere for repair. You're lucky that you've only ever come back to flat tires while stationary. I've seen plenty in my 20 years of driving as well, and not all have been like that. Most applicable to this topic, I've picked up a curled strip of metal on track and I've had a friend pick up some debris on the street. Both resulted in rapid losses of pressure before even getting stopped but weren't bad enough that they couldn't be sealed.

Lots of different variables (initial tire quality, driving speed, time/distance driven at low/no pressure, tire age/condition, etc.) influence if a run-flat can continue to be used safely or needs replaced. Any mechanic that knows their stuff won't repair one that's been driven on while low, not just because they're trying to sell more tires but because it opens them up to liability of the tire failing sooner and more catastrophically. In the case of my friend with the road debris I mentioned, that was a run-flat tire and the little driving they used to get the car stopped from 75, loaded in a trailer, and unloaded into the garage there was a light coating of powder inside and no shop they took it to would touch it.

Unfortunately, not everyone knows this and there are absolutely people out there that would drive for a while on low/no pressure and eventually "fix" it by pumping some sealant in and calling it a day. Seeing that it holds pressure makes them think everything is fine even though they're actually a hazard with a tire that's much more susceptible to blowing out. Sure there's some cost and weight savings for OEMs using run-flats and not including an inflator, but those aren't the only reasons behind the choice. It also protects from a customer suing the OEM because they saw a provided sealant kit and thought that was all that was needed to repair the tire.

I realize saying, "sealant isn't supposed to be used with run-flats," isn't a complete truth. There are some cases where it can be useful and save the tire from needing replacing, but knowing that the majority of people aren't paying close enough attention nor know the nuances of when a run-flat can be repaired vs. replaced it's the safer broad statement to make without going into a more in-depth discussion.

Originally Posted by Paulman

I see the kit referenced in the owners manual but maybe it’s just for the SS?

GM should have clarified that the V6 1LE isn’t equipped especially since the space is there in the trunk

I understand the desire to save some weight with no spare but like said above, if you’re out in the middle of nowhere it could be rough

The kit will only be included with cars that don't have run-flats. This includes the SS 1LE, ZL1, ZL1 1LE, and maybe some of the lowest trim cars (I don't recall what tire options there are on the lower trims). All trims share the same owner's manual so it'll be referenced there. They also all share the same foam trunk organizer so there will be an empty space where it would go on the trims that come with it. Dealers should all be aware of this as well and be able to confirm that vehicles with run-flats don't come with sealant.

As is the case with nearly every decision, it's a set of trade-offs. If anything, run-flats are better at handling issues in the middle of nowhere. They can handle any puncture that sealant can fix, but they can also still be driven with some of the larger gashes that a sealant/patch/plug kit could never seal and you'd be stuck sitting otherwise. They also can just be driven away instead of needing immediate repair (because you know there's someone out there driving that either doesn't know how or doesn't want to be bothered with stopping to fix a tire, even if it's as simple as filling with sealant). The trade-off is it costs a lot more to replace the tire(s) and there's a much greater restriction on being able to repair it.

[Camden45]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

James' whole post is very well-stated.
The Germans call this "verschlimmbesserung," an improvement which makes things worse.

At this point, do the Germans NOT have a special word for a special situation?

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by Alpha1BC

The biggest risk comes from sealing a run-flat that's been used at low enough pressure for long enough to damage the sidewall.

With TPMS sensors that let you know when your pressure drops, in fact they give you a warning, I just don't see this as a realistic scenario.