 | Didn't work for me
rating: 1
I had a tire puncture in the tread from a roofing nail and used fix-a-flat to try to fix the leak. After one can didn't do it, I added a second can, which still didn't fix it.
Fix-a-flat guarantees that it will work or your money back, but they make you mail the empty can(s) to them. Okay, so I did that, but Fix-a-Flat never did send me a check. From my experience, their guarantee is worthless.
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Good for a temporary fix
rating: 4
The only reason I rated this product 4 and not 5 is that it's not a permanent fix. None of the quick-fixes for flat tire in the aerosol cans can fix tires for long periods of time. Eventually, the sealant gives out under mileage or heat. Best thing to do is put on the spare and have it the flat tire patched. Also this product will not work if the hole it over a certain size. Makes sense, but it's something to keep in mind.
However it is good for quick fixes in bad situations. For example, when I got one on the bad side of town. Along a busy interstate might be a good example too. Or for someone who cannot change it easily by themselves like the elderly, handicapped, some women and some men.
I've heard that the pool of sealant that is left in the bottom of your tire after its been sealed with fix-a-flat can eat away at your tires but I'm not certain of that at all. There's mixed ideas about whether it does or not.
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No good in the winter.
rating: 1
If you, like myself, live in world where there is "weather", then you'll understand why I hate this product. You see, there are times when the temperature of my car, and everything in it, becomes amazingly cold. We call it "winter". You've never heard of it, you say? Well, apparently neither have the people who dreamed up this stuff. I've had a can of this in my car for over a year now. Went out to my car one FREEZING morning (it gets like that during the "winter" I mentioned before), and saw I had a flat! "No problem" thinks I, "I do believe I have been carrying a solution to this very problem right here in the trunk!". Open the trunk, pull out the "Fix a Flat" (HA!) only to find it FROZEN SOLID. Now, what use does something like this have, whereby you keep it in your car for an emergency only to have it completely useless when you need it most!? Cost me time + $ to put on my spare, haul it to a shop, and have my tire repaired. This stuff was a waste of money. If you live somewhere where there's actual WEATHER, don't kid yourself with this nonsense.
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I feel safer with Fix-a-Flat in the trunk
rating: 5
I got Fix-a-flat for all my daughters, my elderly mother, myself and my husband. I certainly hope the product works but I feel better by having it in the trunk.
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TODAY I REALLY NEEDED THIS STUFF RATHER DESPERATELY ------ AND IT WORKED
rating: 5
IN A NUTSHELL:
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN IT'S RAINING & YOUR TIRE GOES FLAT IN WAL-MART'S PARKING LOT?
This happened to me today and I was scared out of my wits. I had an hour to get home before my six-year-old son got off the school bus. I was 25 miles away and I just saw my rear tire and knew it had no air in it. I recalled using this product about 6 years ago and that it worked, so I ran into Wal-Mart and skipped the items I had come shopping for and went straight to the automotive section to hunt for this stuff. Twenty minutes later, standing in the parking lot, I read the directions and realized that I had to try to find what was leaking and remove it if possible. After breaking a small screwdriver and bending a key for a car we sold 5 years ago, I managed to remove a nail that was about 4 inches long -- the trouble was that the rest of the air leaked out rather quickly once I pulled out the nail.
READ AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!
The directions on the can stated that the valve stem had to be in the 8 o'clock position so I had my teenage daughter back the car up until the valve stem was at the 8 o'clock position. I shook the can for over 30 seconds as Angela timed me, then I screwed the hose attachment into the valve stem. It whooshed as a stream of white, foamy liquid rushed through the transparent tubing into the tire. I could hear air rushing in with it but then I recalled what had actually happened the last time I used this stuff about 6 years ago.
You guessed it, the hole was towards the top of the tire and the foam never got there allowing the air to simply escape very nosily out the hole. Since the flat was in the rear of my front-drive Plymouth Voyager Minivan, I drove it to a gas station that I knew had air, about 6 miles away. I went about 25 mph and many people hailed me as they drove alongside to inform me that I had a flat tire.
BUT THEN SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENED
By the time I reached the Chevron Station with the air, still some 20 miles from our home, I was convinced that I had turned the flat tire into spaghetti and that we would miss the bus. Well, I am happy to report that this was not the case. From traveling slowly, the tire had circulated that white sealant foam and had heated up some due to the extra friction caused by running without air. I filled the tire up and to my surprise there was no sound of escaping air. The sealant held and I drove, at a somewhat reduced speed, the remaining 18-20 miles in about 38 minutes to get home about 2 minutes ahead of the bus.
BOTTOM LINE: HAVE AN AIR SOURCE NEARBY IF YOU PULL OUT THE NAIL
This stuff does work, but after you pull out a nail from your tire it may be rather difficult to get it to hold the air before it can circulate and heat up within the tire. This was my actual experience with this exact product today, and it is consistent with what happened 6 years ago. In short, have an air supply lined-up when you insert the sealant as close as possible to where you remove the nail and insert the sealant. This will reduce the risk of running the tire flat and rendering it unserviceable. If you do this, you stand an excellent chance of executing a fast emergency repair that anybody can manage and, like me, you too might save the day.
[I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY PRODUCT OR COMPANY.]
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