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. Kingstanding is about 97 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. B44, B23: Kingstanding Circle, Kings Road, Hawthorn Road, Warren Farm Road
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.
Planned jobs and urgent ones at this distance
A planned job, such as two worn tyres on a car that can still be driven, gives us more room to fit you in than a flat that needs sorting now. If the car is safe to use for a few days, tell us on the call, and have the tyre size from the sidewall ready so the right tyre can be found before the van sets off.
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.
Roads nearby
The M6 at junctions 6 and 7, and the Clean Air Zone
Junctions 6 and 7 of the M6 are the nearest motorway junctions. If a tyre fails on the M6, leave at the next exit if the car can be driven safely, and call us once it is parked on a side street or in a car park whose owner agrees.
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.
Roads nearby
Where the fitter can stop around the Circle and the main roads
Residential streets off Kings Road, Hawthorn Road and Warren Farm Road are fine, as long as the car is legally parked. If the car is in a controlled parking zone permit bay, tell us so the fitter can park legally beside it.
Around Kingstanding Circle, the car needs to be in a legal parking space, not in a bus stop or on a loading bay, before work can start.
Retail parks and industrial estates nearby, such as Princess Alice Retail Park, Perry Park Industrial Estate and the Clarke Industrial Estate, are private land. The owner has to allow the work, and the same goes for the car parks at the leisure centre and the Maryvale Institute in Old Oscott.
Main roads like the A453 Kingstanding Road, the A34 Walsall Road, the A4041 Queslett Road and the A452 Chester Road carry through traffic. If the car can be moved, a side street is safer.
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. Once the car is safely off the road, call us.
“A pleasure having them come down and save me. Big shout out to Hiwad, really responsive, recommend him to anybody.”
AMAdam MorrisGoogle 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
★★★★★
“Good and reliable service in all conditions.”
LOLeo OduorGoogle 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.
Kingstanding FAQs
Questions drivers ask
Can you work on my car at Princess Alice Retail Park?
Only if the retail park's management allows it, so ask them first. If they agree and there is safe space around the car, the job is the same as on a drive; tell us which end of the car park the car is in.
Do you cover Pheasey and Streetly over the Walsall boundary?
Yes. The boundary makes no difference to us: Pheasey and Streetly, along the Queslett Road and the Chester Road, are about the same trip as the Circle. Call with the house number and street and we will say whether the job is possible.
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:
A453 Kingstanding Road
Kings Road and Hawthorn Road
A34 Walsall Road
M6 J7 and J6
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.
How do I find my tyre size?
Look on the side of the tyre for a code like 205/55 R16 91V. The handbook has it too, and many cars show it on a sticker inside the driver's door or the fuel flap.
Should new tyres go on the front or the rear?
When only two are replaced, the newer pair generally goes on the rear axle, which helps keep the car stable in the wet.
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.
Is a bulge in the sidewall dangerous?
Yes. A bulge means the internal cords have broken and the tyre can fail without warning. Do not drive on it further than you need to reach a safe place.
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.
Around Kingstanding
Streets and neighbourhoods included
The area takes in Kingstanding Circle and Old Oscott, with Perry Common and Queslett on the borders, across the B44 and B23 postcodes. Perry Beeches and New Oscott are close by, and Pheasey and Streetly lie just over the boundary in Walsall.
On the estate streets around the Circle, give us the house number and the nearest corner as well as the street name. If the car is near the Hawthorn Road shops or Witton Lakes, name the road it is parked on.
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 Kingstanding area so you can check where your car is: it is not an address of ours.
The 20p test is the quickest free way to check if your tyres are road-legal. Here's how to do it in 30 seconds, why it works, and what to do if they fail.
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.