Mobile Puncture Repair Near Me in London

What's included

• A fitter at your home, workplace or kerbside, typically 30 to 60 minutes after you call, day or night
• The tyre taken off the rim so the inside can be checked, not a plug pushed in from outside
• A permanent plug-and-patch repair, sealed from inside, to British Standard BS AU 159
• Valve, bead and rim seat checked so a second leak is not missed
• The wheel balanced again on the van before it goes back on
• Pressures set to the vehicle maker's figure, with the pressure warning light checked before we leave
• A replacement tyre fitted on the same visit if the damage is outside the rules, and the old one taken for licensed recycling
• A price on the phone before anyone sets off, paid by card or contactless at the car

Why choose Fast Tyre for puncture repair

A screw or a nail in the tread is the commonest puncture there is, and it can usually be repaired properly if the car was stopped before the tyre went fully flat. A mobile repair saves you fitting the space-saver, driving on it to a garage and waiting your turn. We bring the tyre machine, the balancer and the repair materials to the car, make the call on repair or replace with the tyre in our hands, and tell you which it is and why before any work is done. Nights, weekends and bank holidays cost the same as a weekday afternoon, and every repair and fitting is fully insured.

How a mobile puncture repair is done at your car

A proper repair cannot be done with the tyre still on the wheel. Here is what happens once the fitter arrives, and the whole visit usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes on site:

• Tell us where the car is and what you can see. A photo of the nail or the flat on WhatsApp helps us judge it before we set off. If you have a locking wheel nut, find the key now; if it is lost, say so and we bring the removal kit.
• Wheel off, tyre off. The car is jacked on firm ground, the wheel removed, and the tyre taken off the rim on the van's machine so the inner liner can be seen and felt.
• The repair decision. We check where the hole is, how big it is, and whether the inside shows the rubber dust or creasing that comes from driving on it soft. If it passes, it is repaired; if not, you are told why and offered a replacement.
• Repair, refit, balance. The injury is cleaned out and sealed with a combined plug and patch from inside, then the tyre is refitted, inflated, leak-tested, balanced and put back on the car at the right pressure.

Can it be repaired? The BS AU 159 rules in plain terms

Tyre repairs in the UK follow British Standard BS AU 159, and it is strict for good reason. For a car tyre, a repair is only allowed when all of these are true:

• Position. The hole is in the central three quarters of the tread width, sometimes called the minor repair area. The outer eighth on each side, where the tread turns into the shoulder, and the whole sidewall are off limits because they flex too much for a repair to hold.
• Size. The injury is no more than 6mm across. A screw or nail usually is; a cut, a split or a hole torn by a bolt usually is not.
• Condition. The tyre has not been run flat, has no bulge, exposed cords or bead damage, and still has legal tread. A new hole that overlaps an earlier repair, or a poor repair from someone else, also rules it out.
• Inspection. The tyre has come off the wheel and been checked inside as well as out. A permanent repair cannot be made any other way.

If you want the reasoning behind each rule, including multiple punctures and speed-rated tyres, our guide on whether a puncture can be repaired goes through them one by one. Damage on the side of the tyre is covered in what sidewall damage means.

A nail or screw in the tyre

Usually the best news: a screw sitting in the middle of the tread is the textbook repairable puncture. Leave it in. While it is there it partly plugs the hole, and pulling it out tends to turn a slow leak into a flat. If the tyre still holds pressure, keep journeys short and slow until it is seen. If the nail is right at the edge of the tread or in the shoulder, it is a replacement whatever its size. Our nail in tyre guide covers how to check it and how far you can sensibly go. If the car came with a sealant kit instead of a spare, read when a tyre repair kit helps before reaching for it, as sealant only gets you moving and has to be cleaned out before a proper repair.

Slow puncture repair

A tyre that needs air every few days does not always have a hole in the tread. We check the three usual suspects in order: a nail or screw too small to spot, a leaking valve, and corrosion on an alloy rim where the tyre bead seals. A tread puncture gets the repair above; a tired valve is swapped on the spot through tyre valve replacement; a corroded bead seat is cleaned and sealed before the tyre goes back on. Finding the real cause first is what stops the light coming back next week. The slow puncture guide explains how to tell which you have.

Run-flat tyres

A run-flat is built to carry the car for a limited distance with no air, which is exactly what makes repairing one difficult: the sidewall can be damaged inside by that drive without showing anything outside. Industry safety guidance is that a run-flat which has been driven deflated should not be repaired, and repair rules for the rest vary from one tyre maker to another. We follow the maker's guidance for your tyre, and where a repair is not allowed we fit a replacement run-flat at the car. Run-flat tyres explained has more on how far you can go on one.

When it cannot be repaired: a new tyre at the same visit

The worst a mobile puncture visit can end in is a new tyre instead of a repair, and the car still never has to move. Tell us your registration or the size on the sidewall when you call and we load a matching tyre before setting off, so a failed inspection does not mean a second trip. You can choose premium, mid-range or budget, and if you have already bought tyres online we will fit those. The fitting is the same as our tyres fitted at home or work service: balanced on the van and the old tyre taken away. If the tyre carried a pressure sensor that was damaged when it went flat, TPMS sensor replacement can be done on the same visit.

Puncture repair near me: London and the home counties

We work from our North London base and cover every London borough plus the surrounding counties, so whether the car is outside your house, in a works car park, at a station or on a supermarket level, the van comes to it. The only places we will not repair a tyre are a live carriageway, a motorway hard shoulder or a slip road: there, call 999 or National Highways on 0300 123 5000 first, and we take over once the car is somewhere safe. If you are stranded and need someone right now, our emergency tyre repair call-out runs on the same 24/7 line. Pick your town below for the local page.

Puncture Repair, frequently asked questions