recurring loss of tire pressure

[toad]

my left front tire has been losing pressure in it for a couple months now. it's gotten to the point where i have to put air in it almost every other day and it's getting old. it never gets completely flat and i make it a point to find an air pump when i notice it(i've stopped paying attention to the 'check tire' light as it's almost constantly on). any tire experts know what the problem could be? is it the tire, valve, seal? it never seems to get below 12-15psi, but i know it's not safe to drive with it like that. i've been filling it to the recommended pressure on the door.

the tread is still pretty decent on it and i'm afraid that if i go to a tire place they'll tell me automatically i need new tires(i work in sales too:wink:).

[schleppy]

Take it to a tire shop, it sounds like you have a puncture somewhere. Any tire shop should be able to patch it for $25...

[YarisSedan]

You have a nail in your tire.

[tomato]

I had my tires "plugged" before. When you go in, just ask them if they can plug the tire and how much it is. If they tell you all your tires need to be changed, etc., just walk away.

I went to 2 or 3 different places before I found someone willing to do it, but it was worth it.

They put your tire in water, find the leak (usually a nail), remove it, then they put a piece of some kind of cork material in it. It holds out real well and it's a cheap fix. I can't remember exactly, I think I paid around $10 or $15.

[MUSKOKA800]

my left front tire has been losing pressure in it for a couple months now. it's gotten to the point where i have to put air in it almost every other day and it's getting old. it never gets completely flat and i make it a point to find an air pump when i notice it(i've stopped paying attention to the 'check tire' light as it's almost constantly on). any tire experts know what the problem could be? is it the tire, valve, seal? it never seems to get below 12-15psi, but i know it's not safe to drive with it like that. i've been filling it to the recommended pressure on the door.

the tread is still pretty decent on it and i'm afraid that if i go to a tire place they'll tell me automatically i need new tires(i work in sales too:wink:).


Could be a nail. Could be the valvestem. Could be the bead.
As advised above. Take it to a shop. Unless it has a puncture in the sidewall they can repair it for cheap. Driving around extremely underinflated will damage the tire, and possibly the rim. Get at it!

[nemelek]

You probably have a nail. Take the tire off and do a visiual inspection yourself. Places like Discount tire might fix the tire for free, knowing that when you need new tires you will go to their place. I bought a repair kit at Checkard Auto Parts and have plugged or fixed 7 tires in the 14 years.

[kngrsll]

Could be a nail. Could be the valvestem. Could be the bead.
As advised above. Take it to a shop. Unless it has a puncture in the sidewall they can repair it for cheap. Driving around extremely underinflated will damage the tire, and possibly the rim. Get at it!

great post...

take the wheel off the car and give it a good look over. if you dont notice anything, change the valvestem. if it still loses air, take it to a shop and have them pop it off and look it over.

[DandiDani]

happened to me too and it turned out there was a crack in the valvestem. changed all the valvestems and havent had a problem since.

[fluke_boy]

happened to me too and it turned out there was a crack in the valvestem. changed all the valvestems and havent had a problem since.
How does one change a valvestem?

[markitect]

You can also put some dish-soap water in a spray bottle and spray it on your tire. If your loosing air that fast you should see little bubbles forming where there is a leak.

[toad]

thanks for the advice everyone! i think i'm going to get some snow tires in the next couple days anyways and have them mounted on my steelies. i'll have them put new valve stems on and i'll keep the all-seasons to inspect/mount on a future set of alloys.

[docB]

I have fixed hundreds of flats. The valve and bead can be checked in water along with the tread. Metal in the tread and leaky beads with aluminum wheels was the majority of fixes. AutoZone and Advanced sell plug kits if you are handy and comfortable fixing your own tire. Never plug a side wall or the shoulder of the tire.
doc

[TRD93]

definitely check your valve stem it could be losing air that way. happend on my wifes car, or as stated above the bead is somthing that is looked over a lot and usually you wont lose all your air but most of it.

[YarisSedan]

Well i made the assumtion his is a 08 since he joined in 08. 08 and newer have wheel sensors so they are not your typical rubber valve stem that would leak. Not to say it could leak but it would be extremely rare. Normal rubber valve stems start to leak as the rubber deteriorates and they crack and start to fall apart. The bead also would be rare as the tire was seated on a brand new rim. Low chance the bead would be leaking if it was it would be shortly after installation; not many miles down the road.

So the most highly likely chance of the tire having a slow leak would be from running over a nail. The nail went completely through to the head and kinda plugged the tire. letting slow amount of air out over time. Not fast enough like a valve stem leak that would typically deflate the tire within a days time.

Easiest way without having to remove the tire is turn the wheel to the far left. Have someone outside the car inspect the visible portion of the tire. Then slowly creep the tire forward. Once you spot the nail take a marker or chalk if you have it and mark the outside of the sidewall in the location of the puncture.

You can purchase a tire plug kit at most auto repair stores if you want to do it yourself. Or if you decide you want to just take it to a tire shop then at least you made their job easier. When i used to work at wheel works we would do maybe 10 patches a day. 1 usually would be marked from a customer who discovered the nail them self. Id say out of the 10 maybe 1 was a valve stem maybe 1 out of 20 would be a valve stem actually. And 1 out of 50 would be the bead. Only way to easily check the bead is with a dunk tank.

So if you suspect the valve stem if yours is rubber just wiggle it and listen for air. Bead you can kinda do with a spray bottle of water and look for bubbles. But easiest is process of elimination check the easier things first if you don't find any issues then the unchecked is the obvious culprit.

[DandiDani]

How does one change a valvestem?
idk how to do it. i just had my tire go flat on me one night,hubby put donut on and the next day i took it to the guy who i purchased the wheels from. he fixed it for me and he said it looked like the other three were going to crack soon too. so he went ahead and changed all four:thumbup: