Tires and repairs for Chapel Hill

Innes Road and the Bypass

From Chapel Hill, take Innes Road west. It carries straight on as the Blackburn Hamlet Bypass through the Greenbelt, then becomes Innes Road again on the other side. Just past the Highway 417 ramps, turn right on Star Top Road, and Unit 1 is about 350 m up on the right.

It is 8.4 km and about 10 minutes to Unit 1, 1541 Star Top Road, Ottawa, ON. There is no highway on the way, which matters if you are nursing a slow leak or a car you do not trust at 100 km/h.

Screws, nails and slow leaks

Orléans keeps growing east and south, and every new street and driveway brings trucks hauling materials along Innes Road. Screws and roofing nails end up on the shoulder and in your tread. Most of the time the tire does not go flat right away. It just loses a few pounds a week until the warning light comes on in the cold.

A flat tire repair is $20 when the damage is in the tread. The tire comes off the rim and is patched from the inside, which is the repair that lasts. If the hole is in the sidewall or too close to the shoulder, it cannot be fixed safely and we will tell you so.

If the tire pressure light comes on during a cold snap and every tire reads a little low, that is usually the temperature, not a puncture. Air pressure drops as it gets colder. If one tire is clearly lower than the others, though, look for a screw head in the tread before it goes completely flat on the Bypass.

Swap season on the east side

The Bypass runs through open fields, and when the wind picks up the snow drifts across it in a way it doesn’t in the city. That is not the place to find out the all seasons are still on. A tire swap on rims is $50, and mounting tires onto one set of rims is $100. Book before the first snowfall in November and you get your pick of times.

At the spring swap in April, check the tread on the winters before they go into storage. If they are close to the wear bars, you will want new ones by fall.

Rust and oil

The Bypass and Innes Road get salted heavily all winter, and that spray works into the seams under the car. Rustproofing with a no drip undercoating is $140 for a car and $180 for an SUV, ideally in the fall before the salt starts. A regular oil change is $55 and synthetic starts at $100, and both can go on the same visit as the tires.

When it won’t start

A click and nothing, slow cranking, or cranking with no start all point to different things: the battery, the starter, the fuel side or the immobilizer. The shop does not tow, so if the car is stuck in your driveway, arrange a tow to 1541 Star Top Road or call us first. The car won’t start page explains what we test once it arrives. If it starts with a boost and you can drive it in, bring it straight over without turning it off on the way.