BERLIN: Not every new car has a spare wheel on board anymore. Many manufacturers dispense with it to save boot space and instead include a puncture kit for a temporary repair.
These kits use a sealant and a compressor to repair the hole in the tyre. The idea is to fix the puncture for long enough for you to drive to a workshop.
The kits won’t work on every puncture though. To begin with you need to inspect the damaged area of the tyre.
The sealant in a repair kit can only seal holes that are no bigger than around 4mm in diameter. It also won’t work if the puncture is outside of the main tread area.
It's important that you don't remove any foreign body such as a nail or piece of glass that has punctured the tyre as that can make the hole bigger. Next, make sure the tyre valve is on the bottom, moving the car if necessary.
Usually you need to insert the sealant into the tyre through the air valve and then connect the compressor, either via the air valve or the sealant bottle. Turn the compressor off and detach it once the tyre is at the right pressure.
Then drive straight to a workshop, travelling no faster or further than the kit's instructions recommend.
A tyre that's been repaired with sealant will almost always need replacing. At least with a classic spare wheel you can drive to the workshop with the flat tyre in the boot and the workshop might be able to repair it.
If you find an embedded nail or a screw in the tyre and the pressure is okay, you can try driving to the nearest workshop to check whether a repair is possible or economical.
