Rescue Tyres fits, repairs and replaces car and van tyres at the car: on a driveway, a side street or a car park where the owner allows it. Kings Heath is about 92 miles in a straight line from our only base at Brent Cross, NW2 (further by road). We have no base or van stationed nearby. Call and we will tell you straight away whether we can take the job; if we can, the arrival time is given on the call. If the car is unsafe where it is, your breakdown cover may reach you sooner. B14: Kings Heath High Street, Brandwood, Highbury, Billesley (south)
Puncture, blowout or worn tyres? We come to the car.
A job this far from our base is a long trip for one of our vans, so whether we can take it depends on the diary that day. We would rather tell you no on the first call than keep you waiting, so you can ring someone closer straight away.
Main roads, car parks and permission
If the car is in a controlled parking zone permit bay, tell us so the fitter can park legally beside it. The fitter needs a safe, level spot beside the car with room to jack it up: a driveway, a quiet side street, a parking bay or a car park where the owner allows it.
The A435 Alcester Road runs through the High Street and is too busy to work beside. If the car stops on a busy main road and can be moved slowly and safely, take it into a side street before you call.
Retail parks, trading estates and station car parks such as Yardley Wood station are private land. Private car parks need the permission of whoever runs them before we can work there.
A nail or screw in the main tread can often be repaired. The fitter takes the tyre off the rim and looks at the inside before deciding, because a small hole can hide bigger damage.
Damage in the shoulder or the sidewall, or a tyre that has been driven flat, cannot be repaired safely, and you are told why before anything else is done.
Tyre taken off the rim and inspected inside
Repair considered only for small holes in the central tread area
A burst tyre, a bulge in the sidewall or a deep cut from a kerb or pothole cannot be repaired. The fitter replaces the tyre at the car and checks the wheel while the tyre is off.
Send a photo of the damage and the size on the sidewall so the right replacement can be found.
Damaged tyre removed and the rim checked for bends or cracks
Replacement matched to the size, load index and speed rating
New tyre balanced on the wheel before it goes back on
A vibration through the steering wheel at a steady speed is often a wheel out of balance. Balancing spins the wheel and adds small weights to even it out.
A wheel is balanced each time a new tyre is fitted to it, and it can be done on its own when a weight has come off.
Wheel removed and spun on a balancer
Weights fitted to the rim to even out the balance
Wheel back on with the nuts torqued to the maker's figure
We fit tyres only. We do not sell part-worn tyres and we do not do batteries, brakes or wheel alignment.
Worth knowing
Tyre know-how before you call
New tyres
New tyres fitted where the car is parked
Reading the size on your sidewall
The size is the string of figures on the tyre wall, such as 205/55 R16 91V. The first number is the width in millimetres, the second is the sidewall height as a percentage of that width, R means radial construction and the last number is the rim diameter in inches.
The part after the size, 91V in that example, is the load index and speed rating. A replacement should match or exceed both, and the two tyres on one axle should be the same size and pattern.
Pressure sensors and run-flats
Many cars have a tyre pressure sensor fitted inside each wheel, usually on the back of the valve. Mention it on the call, because the sensor stays with the wheel when the tyre is changed.
Cars that left the factory on run-flat tyres usually need run-flats again, and run-flat and standard tyres should never be mixed on one car.
Puncture repair
How a puncture is judged and repaired
What BS AU 159 allows
BS AU 159 is the British Standard for repairing car and van tyres. For car tyres it allows a repair only in the central part of the tread, known as the minor repair area, and only for damage up to 6 mm across. How wide that area is depends on the tyre.
Anything in the outer shoulder or the sidewall is outside the repair zone, because those parts flex too much for a patch to hold. Two repairs too close together, or an earlier poor repair, also rule a repair out.
Sealant kits and what they mean for a repair
The sealant kit supplied with many new cars is a temporary measure to get you moving. The kit sets its own low speed and distance limits, printed on the bottle or in the handbook.
If you have used sealant, say so on the call. The inside of the tyre has to be cleaned before it can be inspected, and some sealants leave it unfit for a repair.
Local detail
The Alcester Road, the Outer Circle and Yardley Wood Road
South of the High Street the A435 becomes Alcester Road South and runs down to the Maypole island. The A4040 Outer Circle crosses the area, Yardley Wood Road heads east towards Yardley Wood, and Haunch Lane and Brandwood Road link the streets on the southern side. None of these is a place to work on a car; a side street or a drive is.
Birmingham's Clean Air Zone covers the roads inside the A4540 Middleway ring road and has charged since 1 June 2021. It is a charge for driving a vehicle that does not meet the standards, not for a parked car.
“From start to finish, Hiwad was incredibly professional and helpful.”
KMKian MGoogle review
★★★★★
“Good communication, excellent work and takes the initiative. Happy to go the extra mile, highly recommended if you're in a tyre-related bit of bother!”
DFDavid FordhamGoogle review
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“Faultless experience. Great communication, attitude and service.”
BCBen CorrieGoogle review
Pricing
How the price is worked out
There is no fixed figure that suits every car, so the price is built from a few things and told to you before you decide.
The price is given on the call. The price is the same at any hour. Asking for a price does not commit you to anything.
When you compare prices, compare like with like: the same brand and pattern, the same load index and speed rating, and whether balancing and a new valve are part of the job.
What goes into the price
The tyre itself: size, load index, speed rating and whether it is a run-flat
The tier you choose: budget, mid-range or premium
The work: a repair, one new tyre or several, and any locking nut removal
The location of the car
Tyres and the law
Tread depth, tyre age and the law
The legal tread limit
Cars and light vans need at least 1.6 mm of tread across the central three-quarters of the tyre, around the whole circumference.
For a car, each illegal tyre can bring a fine of up to £2,500 and three penalty points; the maximum fine for a van is higher.
The 20p test
Push a 20p coin into the main grooves at several points around the tyre. If the outer band of the coin is visible, the tread may be close to the limit and should be measured properly.
Other defects that make a tyre illegal
A tyre is also illegal with a cut longer than 25 mm or a tenth of its section width, whichever is greater, that reaches the ply or cord, a lump or bulge, exposed cords, or the wrong size or type for the car.
How old is your tyre?
The last four digits of the DOT code on the sidewall give the week and year of manufacture, so 2319 means the 23rd week of 2019.
Rubber hardens and cracks with age even on a tyre that has done few miles, and many tyre makers advise replacing any tyre ten years old or more.
Sources: the tread and tyre rules are in the Highway Code, annex 6 on GOV.UK; TyreSafe publishes tyre safety advice.
Staying safe
Staying safe until the job is done
While you wait for the fitter
Stop somewhere off the main flow of traffic, switch on the hazard lights and, if you have one, put on a high-visibility vest.
Get everyone out on the side away from the traffic and wait behind a barrier, on a pavement or well back from the road.
If the tyre may still be repairable, say so before using a sealant can, and leave any nail or screw where it is.
Keep your phone on and charged, and tell us about anything that makes the spot hard to find.
Tyre failure on a motorway
If the car can still be driven safely, carry on to the next exit or services and stop away from traffic before you call.
If you cannot leave, use an emergency area or the hard shoulder, stop well to the left and, if it is safe to, get out on the side away from the traffic.
Wait behind the barrier, not in the car. Rule 277 of the Highway Code says not to attempt any repairs on your vehicle on a motorway.
Call 999 if you are in danger or stuck in a live lane. Otherwise National Highways can be reached on 0300 123 5000.
We never work on the carriageway of a motorway or main road, on a hard shoulder, in a smart motorway emergency area or on a slip road.
Kings Heath FAQs
Questions drivers ask
My car is parked on the High Street. Is that a problem?
Usually it is: the A435 through the High Street is too busy to work beside safely. If the car can be driven slowly and safely, move it into one of the side roads off the High Street and give us that road's name.
Do you cover Maypole and Warstock?
Yes. Both are further down the Alcester Road in the same part of south Birmingham, so the same check applies: ring with the full address and we say whether the trip is possible and, if it is, the arrival time.
Which main roads near here can the fitter not work on?
If the car stops on one of the roads below and can still be driven safely, leave at the next exit or turn into a side street, then call:
A435 Alcester Road
A4040 Outer Circle
Yardley Wood Road
Haunch Lane and Brandwood Road
Can I bring the car to you instead?
No. Our base at Brent Cross holds tyres only and is not a walk-in garage. Every fitting and repair is done at the car.
Can you fit tyres at my workplace?
Yes, if the car is parked legally on the street, or in a car park where the owner or site manager allows the work. Tell us where the car is. If the car has locking wheel nuts, have the key ready.
Can I mix tyre brands on my car?
Yes, but keep the same brand and pattern across one axle, so the car brakes and corners evenly.
Can a tyre be repaired more than once?
Sometimes. Two repairs must not overlap or sit too close together, so where the earlier repair is matters.
Do I need to replace both tyres on the axle?
Not always. If the other tyre on that axle has good tread and is the same size and pattern, one new tyre can be enough.
The key has broken in the nut. Can you still help?
Yes. Stop turning it, because forcing a broken key rounds the nut further. The nut is taken off with an extraction socket instead.
Can you work on the street outside my house?
Yes, if it is legal to park there and the car is not blocking traffic. A quiet residential street is usually fine; a busy main road or a red route is not.
Around Kings Heath
Neighbourhoods in the B14 area
We cover the B14 area around the High Street, including Highbury, Brandwood, Yardley Wood, Druids Heath and the southern part of Billesley, with Maypole, Warstock, Hazelwell and Brandwood End on its edges.
If the car is near Kings Heath Park, Highbury Park or Brandwood End cemetery, give us the road the car is parked on rather than the park, because each of them is bordered by several roads.
Area map
See the area on a map.
Rescue Tyres is a mobile service run from one base at Brent Cross, London NW2. The map shows the Kings Heath area so you can check where your car is: it is not an address of ours.
Find your car's recommended tyre pressure on the door placard or in the handbook, and learn how to set it correctly for load and conditions on UK roads.
Mobile or garage tyre fitting? How the two compare on time, safety and emergencies, what a fair quote should include, and when a garage is the better choice.