[Caduceus]

Yesterday I got a tyre pressure warning go off and I found a screw embedded in the centre of the tread of one of my front tyres. It is nowhere near the sidewall of the tyre. I checked the pressure and it is still holding 32 psi. The other three are at 38 psi.

So I took the tyre into the local Bridgestone place this morning and asked them to repair it. They refused.

"I'm sorry, Sir, we are not allowed to repair RFT's. It says so right here on the sidewall of the tyre."

Now this pisses me off. I fully understand that if a customer has used the RF capability of the tyre by driving an extended distance with zero inflation pressure then there may be unseen damage to the sidewall which will render the tyre unsafe for further use. However, this tyre has NEVER been run flat. It still has 32psi in it and there is absolutely no reason why the integrity of the tyre will be any less than any other non-RFT. The "magic technology" is in the sidewall, not the running surface.

Anyway, the store manager is going to discuss it with their head of technical services when he can get them on the phone. I told him to make sure he knows the tyre has never been deflated and driven on with less than 32 psi.

Personally, I blame the f...ing lawyers for this fiasco. Fear of liability has over-ridden common sense.

If they still refuse to fix it I'll be getting it back off them and then doing a ring around to find a non-Bridgestone tyre fitter who will repair it instead. Failing that, this is just the excuse I need to ditch the POS tyres and replace them with something decent anyway.