A bulge spotted at Hopwood Park or a cut sidewall found back at the NEC car park, with the operator's permission: we tell you plainly if the car is fit to move, and swap the broken tyre there.
Broken tyres tend to be found, not felt. You return to the car after a show at the NEC and see a bubble on the sidewall, or a fuel stop at Tamworth services reveals a split with cord showing. Kerbs at the Shirley retail parks and the tight roundabouts at J4 and J5 are common culprits, and the damage can sit quietly until the next walk around the car.
Photograph the split or bulge and read us the size off the tyre wall. Cord showing, a deep cut or a bulge means the tyre should not go back onto the M42, even as far as the next junction, and we tell you that plainly. A shallow scuff may be safe to drive gently to somewhere more convenient. The price is confirmed on the call, then the replacement is fitted where the car sits.
Not quite this? Read about emergency tyre replacement on the M42 or emergency mobile tyre fitting on the M42 instead.
Parked damage is the easiest to deal with: NEC and airport car parks off J6, Solihull or Knowle via J5, Curdworth near J9, or a driveway at home. If you noticed a bulge while moving, leave at the next junction first.
| Road | M42 Birmingham eastern orbital |
|---|---|
| Operator | National Highways |
Damaged tyres: drive on it or replace it? →Broken tyre replacement on the M42 page
Lorries and vans heading for Hams Hall Distribution Park or Coleshill Industrial Estate leave the M42 near Water Orton, and a split or shredded tyre can first be spotted there. A yard, a staff bay or a quiet road near Coleshill Parkway station gives the fitter room to work. Say which estate you are on and which unit or gate is nearest.
A tyre is not safe to drive if the sidewall has a bubble, if a cut goes deep enough to show cord, or if the rubber is split or worn to a flat patch. Tread below the 1.6 mm legal limit across the central band is also a fail. A damaged tyre can let go at motorway speed, so do not rejoin the M42 at 70 to reach Birmingham. The kerbed islands on junction roundabouts such as J4 at Shirley or J6 by the airport catch plenty of sidewalls.
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Split, bulge or cord showing? Leave the car parked off the M42 and ring.
