Did I just get a puncture?

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Distronic

Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2020
Messages
54
Location
UK
Car
W204 C class
Hi, I was just out on a little night drive around my local area and couldn't see in the dark at a junction a patch of dirt in the middle of the junction (area where the hashed lines are painted on the road), when I drove over it, I heard the sound of metal flicking up (possibly a nail or something) and immediately afterwards when I got back onto the road I felt the car was "jittery". There's no TPMS alert and when I got home and inspected tyres I can't see anything in them and they don't appear flat/under inflated. They are run flats.

So do you think it's a puncture even though the car gives no warning and tyres seem OK. As they are run flats, would the car warn about a drop in pressure before 50 miles after I drove over the debris?

Thanks for the help!
 
You may have picked up a nail but it's sealing the hole so no air loss? You'll need to inspect the tyre in daylight for any foreign objects lodged in the tread. Also check the tyre pressures using a gauge? The TPMS should warn of pressure loss but in my experience it can take 5 or 10 minutes before the flat tyre registers on the dash.
 
You won't be able to see anything until the sun rises. Then you either have a flat or not. If not I'd jack the car up and check the tyre closely for a foreign body.
 
You may have picked up a nail but it's sealing the hole so no air loss? You'll need to inspect the tyre in daylight for any foreign objects lodged in the tread. Also check the tyre pressures using a gauge? The TPMS should warn of pressure loss but in my experience it can take 5 or 10 minutes before the flat tyre registers on the dash.
Thanks ok I'll check the pressures with my pump and I'll have a look at the treads in the morning. Perhaps it doesn't register on the dash because they are run flats? But then surely in that case I wouldn't experience any symptoms such as jittering for about 50 miles? Perhaps the jittering is in my imagination now I'm paranoid that I've punctured something! Not sure though.
 
...Perhaps it doesn't register on the dash because they are run flats?...

On the contrary, cars with run flats *must* have TPMS or there's a risk that the driver won't know they have a puncture.
 
Just have a look in the daylight. You might find something that the TPMS hasn’t detected yet.
 
So just got back from my local tyre place, they looked at all four and said they couldn't see anything in them. They put all the pressures to the correct amount (they were all a bit different) and I was on my way. The jittering ride seems to have gone away just about. I think it was prob a combination of slightly different pressures and I was paranoid lol. Hard to tell as the w204 AMG version is quite harsh on the road anyway. Thanks for all the replies.
 
Better safe than sorry :thumb:
 

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