AIBU or does this look deliberate?

[Crazyhouse123]

Hi, so tyre pressure warning light came on in the car this morning. Stopped at the garage and there is this massive screw almost on the edge of the tyre.

DP used the car last night said the light came on just as he got home so didn't check in the dark and late, and left before I was up this morning.

I think that it would be very odd to pick up a screw almost on the side of the tyre. But I am aware that it may be possible so just wonder what the consensus is on here?

Very annoying as unlikely to be able to be repaired safely on the side like that and the tyres are new within the last year.

It's just such an odd place for the screw

No, it's bog standard - just a pick-up from the road. Don't worry about it, OP; I'm absolutely sure no one has done this deliberately. I've had a screw in my tyre that looked just like that.

I think you're overthinking it - you've got a puncture due to driving over a screw, it happens to people all the time, I'm baffled why you would think someone had done it deliberately?! I would also add, it never happens when the tyre is needing replacing anyway, it's ALWAYS on the newest tyre!

Happened here too. Annoying but very possible.

yup, sorry, been there had that too. It's a bummer.

I've had similar it's totally possible

Very likely accidental. I cycle a lot and am aware of all sorts of crud you see on the roads, including at times entire boxes of screws that have been dropped. I'd say accidental is much more likely, given the force it would take to push that into the tyre. The weight of the car going over it would do it, but a person would need a considerable amount of force and possibly a hammer.

This happened to be, driving past a messy building site. It was even a screw with a flat top, it was a screwdriver bit!

Had this happen to us just the other day! Such a pain in the arse.

DH got 5 in a row last year over a similar timescale. Nothing surprises me any more.

We had three tyres damaged by screws over a period of a month. We assumed of course that it was deliberate. That was until we drove to the garage and as we went to hand in the keys we noticed a screw was laying in the gutter behind the car. What a coincidence we thought. On the short 5 minute walk home we started looking at the roads and actually saw two more screws just sitting there at the side of the road on different streets. Obviously we picked them up to save anyone else's tyres but it went to show that it was definitely possible to just drive over a screw. Even on the side wall of a tyre (which our last one was)

We had a couple of odd metal screw things in tyres - they turned out to be from roadworks signs.

Bear in mind as well that when roads are wet things tend to stick to your tyres more meaning they're more likely to be pressed in as the wheels turn rather than you passing harmlessly over them.

It would never occur to me that a screw in my tyre was deliberate.
Why does it occur to you?

the weight of a car driving over a screw could easily push it into soft rubber.

Where I live recently there has been a spate of people getting screws put into their wheels it happened to a former colleague of mine. Presumably it's just bored kids going round doing it
However as your DP said the light came on just as he got home it's probably a random one that was on the road somewhere.

I don't think your being targeted just unlucky. I used to work on an industrial estate and would naturally veer towards the left when a tipper truck would come speeding towards me at 100 mph, consequently due to driving through all the debris at the side of the road I frequently picked up nails on the edge of my tyres, must have got through three or four a year. I once took my car in for a replacement tyre and the chap said "do you realise that your tyre has seven nails in it"

Has happened to me about three times....usually when my car goes in for a service I'm told I have a nail in my tyre.🙄

Could have been picked up any where. Def not deliberate. If it had been left as a booby trap they would have left it to go through the centre of the tyre pattern not the sidewall.
You should be able to have a vulcanised puncture repair where that one is.

We had it happen 3 times in 2 weeks when a new school was being built just down the road. Clearly they were dropping stuff all over. I actually took to parking a couple of streets away and walking home to avoid it.

I'd a similar one last week and it cost £8 to repair

Happened to me yesterday. I didn't see it and the tyre pressure light didn't come on, I just heard a tapping noise when turning the wheel got out and saw it there.

I did manage to get it repaired rather than replaced though which was a good deal cheaper.

@GreenFingersWouldBeHandy I’m sure we don’t need to rely on partners etc to check our own tyres for us !

I live on a new build estate so there are constant building works and we've had 2 like this. There are always complaints on the local FB page about it. I think the local tyre shops will be bereft when the building finally finishes!

TheOrigRightsofwomen no idea it just did! But there you go.

Thank you so much for all the replies. Obviously far more common in the side than I realised! So I will stop with the conspiracy theories and just get it fixed

Sounds accidental, especially when you think about the fact you park on your drive. Why would anyone do it? It doesn't make sense for it to be malicious.