Screw in Ridge Grappler, no leak, safe?

Hi all, I’m currently away from home at my parents for the week and while down here, I saw a screw sticking out of my tire. I was stopping by the dealership to pick up new windshield wipers so I had them check it out.

after much confusion, they ended up pulling out the screw and ran some tests and saw that it’s not leaking so they sent me on my way. The confusion on their part left me with little confidence so I went to a local Mavis to have them check it again and they said it should be all good to go. I’ve been driving it around here for the past four or five days and things seem fine, no drop in air pressure or anything.

I’m an anxious overthinker so of course the tire and my 500+ mile drive home is all I’ve been thinking about.

Would you guys feel comfortable driving this 500+ miles home?


It’s a Nitto Ridge Grappler LT295/70R18 129Q E and this is the driver side rear tire if that matters.

 

Id run it. That’s just like using a tire plug when you are out on the trail, except it likely didn’t pierce all the way through. The thicker Load E helped. Use a tire marker to make a circle around it in case it does leak, in which case you would just use a tire plug that you (hopefully) keep in your truck.

 

Yep, I have a tire plug kit in the truck. I’ve never used it before but seems pretty straightforward.

 

Also, I think the tread block stopped the screw from going in further. The head of the screw was flush with the tread.

 

It was probably a very short screw. If there hasn't been a pressure drop at all, you are good to go. If it had gone all the way through, they would have heard air as soon as it was pulled out.

 

I wish I had taken a picture of the screw while it was in. It definitely wasn’t a huge screw, but it was a little longer than the depth of the tread block plus maybe 3/8” or 1/4” or so. Most of the screw was above the rubber for sure.

I mostly just wasn’t sure if it was possible or likely for structural issues in the tire even if it wasn’t leaking air