My van has had a blowout or an unrepairable puncture
Do not drive it
Get fully off the carriageway if you can still roll, then do not change it yourself on a motorway hard shoulder, get recovered or get a mobile fitter. Before you ring anyone, read the full tyre size and the load and speed rating off the sidewall, because that is the first thing they will ask and the reason half of mobile fitters will turn out without the right tyre. A van needs a commercial-rated tyre, usually marked C, and an underrated tyre on a laden van is both an MOT failure and genuinely dangerous.
Most likely causes, and what they cost
UK prices at an independent garage for a van up to 3.5 tonnes. Ranges, because anyone quoting a single figure before looking at your van is guessing.
| Cause | How you can tell | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sidewall damage or a blowout | A bulge, a split, or a bang followed by the steering pulling. Never repairable, always a replacement. | A mobile fit on a common van size is often £90 to £180 all-in, more for 16 inch and up or a premium brand. |
| A repairable puncture in the tread | A slow deflation, a nail or screw visible in the central tread area, no sidewall damage. | A roadside repair where the damage allows one is usually £25 to £50. |
| Slow puncture you had been topping up | You have been putting air in it for weeks. The tyre is often beyond repair by this point. | Replacement, as above. Running a tyre underinflated destroys the sidewall from the inside. |
| A wheel or valve problem rather than the tyre | It keeps going down with no visible damage, or there is corrosion around the rim. | A valve is often £10 to £25. A corroded or buckled rim is a different and larger conversation. |
Check these first, they are free
- Read the sidewall and write it down: something like 215/65 R16C 109/107T. All of it matters.
- Check whether you actually have a spare, and whether it is inflated. Many modern vans do not carry one.
- If you have a spare and you are somewhere genuinely safe and level, changing it yourself is reasonable. On a motorway, it is not.
- Check the other three while you are there. Tyres tend to fail in the order they wore.
- Check your tread depth before setting off again. The UK legal minimum is 1.6mm across the central three quarters.
What kind of help you need
Emergency tyre
A blowout, an unrepairable puncture, or a sidewall cut. Van tyres are a different animal to car tyres and that is the whole problem: your van needs a commercial-rated tyre, usually marked C or LI for its load index, and the average car tyre van will not have one on board.
Cost: A mobile fit on a common van size is often £90 to £180 all-in for a mid-range commercial tyre, more for 16 inch and up or a premium brand, and more again out of hours. A roadside puncture repair, where the damage allows one, is usually £25 to £50.
Recovery and towing
The van cannot be driven safely, or you are somewhere you must not stay: a live lane, a blind bend, a slip road, or a motorway with no hard shoulder.
Cost: If you have breakdown cover with recovery, this is usually included. Without cover, a local pay-on-the-day recovery is commonly £90 to £200 for a short tow, and motorway or out-of-hours jobs cost more. Long-distance recovery is normally charged per mile on top.
Same-day van hire
The repair will take a day or more and there is work in the diary you cannot afford to drop. This is the step most people forget in the panic, and it is usually the one that saves the most money, because a lost day of work and a let-down customer costs far more than a day rate.
Cost: A short-wheelbase van is commonly £45 to £80 a day, a long-wheelbase or Luton £70 to £130, with a deposit held on a card and a mileage cap on top. Same-day and one-day hires carry the worst rates, so if the repair may run on, ask the weekly rate, which is often barely more than three days.
Questions people ask
Can a mobile tyre fitter come out to a motorway?
Most will not attend a live motorway lane, and they are right not to. On a hard shoulder many will also decline. The correct route on a motorway is recovery to a safe location and a fit there. Be honest about exactly where you are when you ring, or you will pay a call-out for someone who arrives and refuses the job.
Can I put a car tyre on my van to get home?
No. Van tyres carry a higher load rating for a reason and a laden van on an underrated tyre is dangerous as well as an MOT failure. If a fitter offers this because it is what they have on board, decline and ring someone else.
Do I have to replace tyres in pairs?
You are not legally required to, but matching across an axle is strongly advisable on a van, because mismatched grip and rolling diameter affects handling under load and braking. If the other tyre on that axle is also near the limit, do both.
Where are you?
Put your postcode into the console on the home page and we will give you the safety steps for where you are standing, verified van-capable garages near you, and the rest of the options.
This page is general guidance for working vans, not a diagnosis of your vehicle. Costs are typical UK ranges and will vary by van, area and garage. If anyone is in danger, ring 999.