Do flat tire repair problems track days at or below 32°F across states?

Across U.S. states, NHTSA owner complaints about flat tire repair run higher where freezing days are higher, after adjusting for the makes sold in each state. This is an association across states, not proof that freezing days causes this repair.

How to read it: Each dot is a state. Further right means more days at or below 32°f; higher up means more complaints for this repair than expected (1.0 is average). If the dots climb to the right, reports of this repair rise with days at or below 32°f.

What it shows: States with more days at or below 32°f tend to sit higher on the chart across 21 states: a pattern in the data, not proof of cause.

• The 7 states with the most freezing days (Minnesota, Nevada, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio): reports of this repair run 35% above what the makes sold there would predict, and 7 of 7 are above expected. The 7 with the least (Florida, California, Texas, Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, Tennessee): 3% below, and 3 of 7 are above expected.
• Exceptions: Arizona (33% above expected) is among the lowest but above expected.
• Split the states into thirds: the third with the least freezing days runs 3% below what the makes sold there would predict, the middle third 21% above, and the third with the most 35% above. It steps up steadily.
• For freezing days, after allowing for the 1562 comparisons we ran, luck alone would produce a pattern this strong about 1 time in 6. Take out any single state and the freezing days pattern still holds.
• Weak spot: compare only states with similar chloride in rain and snow and the pattern keeps about 62% of its strength, so part of it may come from chloride in rain and snow instead of freezing days.

Road salt and slush corrode exposed metal and seize moving parts, and freezing weather stiffens rubber, so repairs to exposed parts can follow harsh winters.

Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, joined to NHTSA owner complaints · file downloaded 2026-10-06