3 flat tires in 6 months?

[ZzBloopzZ]

Had a flat tire last night at 4AM in the middle of a huge thunderstorm on the beltway. Was rather frustrating. This is the 3rd one in the last 6 months. I don't even drive crazy or speed. I always avoid pot holes and such. Just bad luck I guess.

First time it was a nail, which can happen to anyone. However, second time and last night was a bad valve stem. The bottom of the stem was slightly torn so air leaks out. I bought all new tires little over a year ago, all installed at Sears. Is it normal for stems to go bad this quickly?

I was thinking of buying 4 higher quality stem valves and have some place install them. Any recommendations on a good cheap place? or should I go back to Sears?

Thanks

[EvoFire]

I thought the stems come with the rims, not the tires?

[Venom_5]

often people get new stems ... the rim just has a hole that you put the stems through, the stem is a piece of its own in many cases that can be dysfunctional

you shouldnt be having problems this frequent ... my camry has exclusively used Sears for tires all its life

[Heat]

About 5 years ago I started using Discount Tires for my tire work, I've been pleased with their prices / service.

Did you have roadhazard warranty on the tires?

[ZzBloopzZ]

Originally Posted by Heat

About 5 years ago I started using Discount Tires for my tire work, I've been pleased with their prices / service.

Did you have roadhazard warranty on the tires?

I do not. Last time I just had to pay $2 for the stem valve and they installed it for free after some convincing. Guess I'll just go to sears next week.

[prnc_chrmng]

Sounds alot like when i first got my rims. Ive gotten all my rims and tires from americas tire. They fix flats for free or replace the tire for the price of a new warrenty (something like 30 for my tires)

[toyomoho]

Not normal, a good tire store will replace the stems when installing new tires. It is just cheap insurance to not get a return.