Nothing is more annoying than stopping to fill an under-inflated tire every week or two. Of course the first thing you look for is a puncture or tear. It’s normal for tires to lose a few PSI (pounds per square inch) of air due to temperature changes. However, if temperatures remain consistent and your tires constantly lose pressure, there is a leak that needs attention. Age, exposure to contaminants and stress can cause parts of your tire and rim (wheel) to fail. But what do you do if your tire is not visibly damaged? Consider that one of these problems is causing your flat tire:
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Running over any sharp object can puncture a tire. A tiny nail can puncture a tire, then fall out, causing a slow two-to-three PSI leak per week.
Made from rubber, valve stems can deteriorate over time. They also can be damaged from hitting a curb or even from an automatic car wash brush. Keep your valve stems clean and always replace the valve cap, but don’t overtighten it. Overtightening the cap can damage the valve core. Hand-tight is tight enough.
A ripped or torn tire is unsafe, especially if the rip is on the sidewall. Driving on a weakened tire, even if the leak is minor, is dangerous. Compound that with an under-inflated tire that can overheat and you’ve got a prescription for a blowout.
The bead is where a tire seals itself to the rim. The bead on older tires, or tires that have “dry-rot,” may have decreased elasticity and no longer seal properly. Beads can also be damaged when a tire is mounted or dismounted without the use of tire lube and beads can become chaffed, due to a corroded rim. The only fix for a damaged bead that cannot seal to the rim is a new tire.
Corrosion where the rim meets the tire bead is a common cause for a tire losing air pressure.
Die-cast aluminum and magnesium alloy wheel are more susceptible to corrosion. Be sure your tire technician inspects the area where the wheel and bead seal before installing new tires. As well as being unsafe, even a new tire will never properly seal to a badly corroded wheel.
Often overlooked is wheel porosity, where air leaks through the rim itself. Usually caused by a poor casting or corrosion from using incorrect wheel weights, there is a proper, accepted way to repair this type of leak. Don’t inject your tire with tire sealant to fix a leaky rim. It can be extremely difficult to clean out and can ruin a repairable tire or tire pressure monitoring system sensor.
You are playing a dangerous game if you think that by over-inflating a tire with a slow leak, you will increase the time between fills. Besides a rough, noisy ride due to stiff sidewalls and tread, an overinflated tire wears quicker, and overall tire performance suffers. Rigid, overinflated tires are unstable, lose traction easily due to reduced tire-read-to-road contact area (think of a basketball) and make sidewalls vulnerable to blowouts when hitting a pothole.
Anything that can damage a tire or rim — punctures from a nail, metal fragments, broken glass, a piece of wood, a cracked rim or sidewall rips from hitting potholes or a curb — are considered road-hazard damage. Only your tire technician can determine which of these are repairable.
So, as you can see, there are a lot of reasons why your tire can go flat. Inspect your tires and check air pressure at least once a month. Properly inflated tires last longer, wear more evenly and are safer to drive on.
Bob Lacivita
Bob Lacivita is an award-winning ASE and General Motors auto technician, educator and freelance writer who has written about DIY car repairs and vehicle maintenance topics. His work has been featured in The Family Handyman, a Reader's Digest book and Classic Bike Rider magazine. He has been a career and technical educator for 25 years teaching automotive technology, as well as writing state, federal and organizational foundation grants.
He also helped design a unique curriculum delivery model that integrates rigorous, relevant academic standards seamlessly into career and technical education.
Few things are more inconvenient than a flat tire...except BACK-TO-BACK flat tires. What gives? Is your car cursed? Most likely not, especially when you consider all of the other, not-so-supernatural reasons why you might keep getting flats despite not having a punctured tire. Learn what these reasons might be and what you can do to help prevent flat tires from deflating your spirits!
The rubber in tires degrades over time, even if the tires are not in use (which is why you should check your spare regularly). Like unopened perishables in the refrigerator, old tires can look new, but still lack the quality and reliability of recently manufactured ones. That's why many manufacturers recommend that tires produced more than 6-10 years ago be taken out of service, even if they were never used!
When the rubber in tires degrades due to age, exposure to the elements, or a combination of both, it may crack.
In turn, cracks in your tire rubber can be hard to spot and repair, leading to slow leaks, recurring flats, and even blowouts. If you suspect one of your tires’ tread is worn out or cracked due to age, bring your car into a Firestone Complete Auto Care near you to get a tire pro’s opinion.
Tire age isn't the only thing that can cause cracks in tires. Dry rot can wreak havoc on the integrity of your tire's sidewall, too! But what is tire dry rot? Tire dry rot is a term that describes tire brittleness caused by natural rubber deterioration.
Unlike dry rot in trees or wood, this type of “decay” isn’t caused by fungi or bacteria. Tire dry rot can occur when either age or exposure to certain conditions has harmed a tire’s rubber compounds — leaving the tire dried out and vulnerable to cracks and flaking. Several things can cause dry rot, including:
With proper tire care and regular inspections, you can help prevent dry rot.
If you plan on leaving your car parked for an extended period of time, make sure to gauge your tire pressure at least once a month, and inflate as necessary. Ensure that the tires don't sit in direct sunlight for extended periods by using tire covers or a car cover, or parking in a covered garage.
If you notice signs of tire dry rot such as cobweb-like cracks along your tire sidewall or chunks of rubber “hanging” off the tire, visit Firestone Complete Auto Care for recommendations on what to do next. One of our tire technicians will inspect your tires, let you know what the problem is, and recommend services or replacement options accordingly.
You changed your tire, and just a few miles down the road, that newly-changed tire is flat, too! What’s going on? If you’ve already verified that the tire tread does not have holes or punctures and the sidewalls are intact, you might have a faulty valve stem.
The valve stem is a component on the wheel that helps regulate tire air pressure.
Valve stems are composed of several different parts, including a valve stem core and valve stem cap. The core allows air in and out of the tire while the cap helps keep debris out of the core. In most vehicles manufactured after 2008, the tire pressure monitoring system (which we'll cover shortly) is integrated into the valve stem.
Valve stems and their components can crack and wear due to age, moisture, heat, road salt, and even UV rays! Valve stems that are damaged in any way can cause leaks, leading to low tire pressure and recurring flats. In turn, driving with underinflated or flat tires can cause premature tread wear, poor handling, and decreased fuel efficiency!
You can get ahead of leaky valve stem problems by having your valve stems replaced every time you get new tires. At Firestone Complete Auto Care, we replace valve stems and/or TPMS rubber components every time we install a new tire. After all, we know that it’s a small service that can save you from a major inconvenience! If you suspect your valve stems are already worn or damaged, pull into your local Firestone Complete Auto Care for tire repairs and a free tire pressure check.
Like a damaged valve stem, a leaky tire bead can be to blame if you keep getting flats. Tire bead leaks are also known as bead-seat surface leaks, wheel leaks, or rim leaks.
The tire bead is the rubber edge where your tire fits into the wheel or rim. Tire beads are made of specialized metal-reinforced rubber compounds designed to hug the wheel in a way that ensures an airtight seal and prevents the tire from spinning on the rims.
Rim leaks can result from incorrectly installed tires, which is why you should seek professional help if you are not sure how to properly replace a flat tire. Additionally, damaged, bent, or corroded wheels can also lead to bead-seat surface leaks. These issues typically are caused by accidents like slamming into a curb or running over a speed hump, which makes them hard to prevent.
However, don’t despair! If you notice that you keep losing tire pressure, visit Firestone Complete Auto Care. Our expert technicians can help find the source of the leak, reseat the tire bead, or replace your wheels, if needed.
There's a good chance your Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is the reason you’ve noticed your car’s recurring flats in the first place. But have you stopped to consider that your tire pressure monitoring system could be faulty itself? Though uncommon, it can happen.
Your TPMS has sensors designed to warn you if your tire pressure is below a certain threshold. When your tires are underinflated, the TPMS activates a dashboard warning light that looks like an exclamation mark inside an open circle or an overhead diagram of your car’s four tires as located on the chassis frame.
| TPMS Dashboard Signal | Meaning |
|---|---|
| One or more of your tires is significantly underinflated. | |
| The illuminated tire is significantly underinflated. |
Even though a faulty TPMS does not mean you have a flat tire, it might lead you to believe you do! Like in the story of the boy who cried wolf, a faulty TPMS can raise the alarm for flats when your tires aren’t really underinflated.
TPMS malfunctions can happen due to a variety of factors including faulty wiring, weak sensor batteries, or improper sensor programming or relearning — which is why many drivers notice TPMS faults immediately after a tire rotation or sensor installation. Additionally, canned tire repair sealants and impact to the tires can also damage or break the delicate components of your tire pressure monitoring system.
Whether your TPMS light is on for the first time or blinking for the fortieth, you can stop by Firestone Complete Auto Care for a free tire pressure check that’ll help verify whether or not your tires are at-fault. If your tires are properly inflated and the light is still on, visit Firestone Complete Auto Care. Our techs can help diagnose and repair your TPMS issues, so you can stop fretting over “fake” flat tires!
From dry rot to faulty tire pressure monitoring systems, there’s a variety of things that can go wrong and lead you to experience (or believe you are experiencing) frequent flat tires.
At Firestone Complete Auto Care, we’re here to help your car go right! Visit your local car care shop for tire repairs, TPMS diagnostics, and more.
Photo https://www.roadandtrack.com
and the specialist in tire fitting did not find visible punctures, cuts or other damage to the rubber. What could be the reason for the depressurization of the wheel in this case, and how to determine it, the AvtoVzglyad portal figured out.
Ivan Flyagin
The vast majority of modern cars are equipped with tubeless tires, which allow maintaining pressure in the wheel for some time with a slight puncture. That is why, unlike tires with a chamber, which, if damaged, can instantly go down or even burst at high speed, such rubber is considered the safest.
Most often, tires deflate due to a puncture or side cut, but sometimes the driver does not find visual damage on them, and in order to determine the cause of depressurization, he turns to the tire shop.
Even if it happens on a trip, far from home in an unfamiliar area, it is still better to replace a flat tire and not hesitate to diagnose and repair it. The use of various tire sealants in this case will give a temporary effect. But, first of all, it is necessary to establish the cause of tire depressurization.
What does the specialist do in this case? To begin with, he usually pumps the wheel 1-1.5 atmospheres and tries to catch by ear where the air comes out. If there is no result, then most likely, he will moisten the surface of the tire with plenty of soapy water and determine the location of the damage by the emerging air bubbles.
But even this sometimes does not help, and then the wheelmaker will dip the entire wheel into a tank of water. Alas, even in this case, there may be no bubbles, since it happens that the removed wheel holds air, and if you install it on the car, it lets it through. This is mainly due to an object stuck in it - a self-tapping screw, a nail, a piece of wire.
One effective way to solve the problem in such a situation is to disassemble the wheel and run a rag over the inside of the tire. If the rubber caught some sharp object, then it will definitely stick out from the inside, and the rag will catch on to it anyway.
If the mechanic has not been able to find the damage to the rubber, then the wheel can be flat only in two cases - due to a disc failure, or due to depressurization of the spool (nipple). In the first case, the tire does not fit tightly enough to the damaged disc due to its deformation. To do this, it is enough to fly at high speed into a deep hole or a steep bump. If it is still maintainable, then the situation will be corrected by rolling it on special equipment, which will restore its geometry.
The price of the issue depends on the diameter of the disc and its type - cast or stamped. In Moscow, this is a maximum of 2,500. Sometimes the rubber moves away from the disk due to its corrosion in the places where the tire fits - in this case it is better to replace it.
If it's a penny spool, then we are talking about a less expensive problem, which is solved by replacing this inexpensive part.
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Contents:
A flat tire on a car is always a nuisance, especially if the pressure loss caught the driver not in the garage, but on an empty highway.
And it's not always a puncture, because the bleeding of air can occur along the disk. Why the wheel is lowering along the rim and what to do about it, we will analyze in the article.
This problem is quite common with tubeless tires, where the rubber adheres to the disc due to internal pressure. At the junction of the disk and tire, the seal is sometimes broken and air is bled, which ultimately leads to a complete loss of pressure. In chamber tires, the situation is more unambiguous: if the wheel is flat, then look for a puncture.
Deformation is the main reason. Disc geometry is an extremely important thing for full-fledged work, sometimes even a dent in an insignificant place can be fatal. The car drove into the pit - the disk bent, the tightness of the cord was broken and all the air came out. Low temperatures outside the car, which causes the rubber to harden, is a common cause, especially if tightened with a tire change. Also, due to poor maintenance, improper storage of the prefabricated kit, or constant driving on roads sprinkled with reagents, the disc begins to rust, as a result of which corrosion eats away the metal, forming micro-holes through which air will be gradually etched.
Blowing off the wheel can also occur through a faulty nipple.
In the end, the reason that the wheel is going down is the most banal - the rubber is already old and deformed over time, which means it is physically unable to provide the desired density at the point of contact. There is nothing to prevaricate here: the tire urgently needs to be replaced.
It would seem that since such a disaster does not happen with chamber tires, isn’t it better to give preference to them? Maybe in this sense this is true, but in fact, tubeless has more than one advantage. Here they are:
They have no friction between the tube and rubber, which means that the tire heats up less during long rides.
It is lighter and more reliable, since the chamber version can burst at high speed.
It balances better and holds pressure longer after a puncture.
A hole in the tread may not interfere with the ride at all - a stuck nail will simply not allow air to escape.
With a chamber tire, this is impossible, it will be blown away pretty quickly.
Damage to the tread can be urgently repaired with a repair harness. This is quite enough to get to the nearest tire center and change tires.
First, make sure that you do not have a puncture in the wheel or that the cause of the trouble is not in the nipple. It is elementary to notice a protruding nail, but it is not always necessary to pull it out immediately and immediately. As we wrote above, a foreign object can simply get stuck in the tread and the air will have nowhere to go. An open puncture is repaired with a tourniquet.
The valve must be smeared with soapy water or simply slobbered - if there are no bubbles anywhere, then it has nothing to do with it. A defective nipple will have to be replaced with a new one.
If the valve is in order, fully inflate the tire and smear the edges of the cord with soapy water. You can do this with a brush or use a sprayer.
Air bubbles will tell you that the source of the trouble is in the detachment of the cord from the disk surface, i.e. in violation of the tightness of the tire seat. Metal edges should also be carefully examined - any cracks and welding defects can be the cause of a pressure drop.
To eliminate the descent from under the rim, you can do this:
We poison all the air and remove the wheel from the car.
It is best to disassemble it, so it will be much more reliable to fix the problem. In order not to do the balancing again after the procedure, it’s a good idea to mark the position of the nipple with chalk first.
The disk edges will have to be properly sanded with fine sandpaper in places of rust damage and covered with a new layer of paint.
After the paintwork has dried, we put the tire back on and spread the rubber on the places where the cord touches the disk with a special sealant or mastic. Or you can use the soap solution again, but this time cook it much thicker so that it resembles glue in viscosity.
And with the help of a simple brush, we go around the entire circumference of the cord on both sides of the wheel.
We inflate the tire with a compressor, pressing the cord against the disk.
So we will eliminate the damage and provide a tighter fit on the seat. The sealing compound must penetrate all micropores and prevent new bleeding of air.
If there is absolutely no time to remove the wheel, and trouble overtook you on the road, it is enough to bend the edge of the cord and also smear the rubber with sealant or soap. This is quite enough to reach the garage or car service.
The described methods are suitable if there was no serious deformation and there are no cracks in places near the mounting holes or there is no damage to the tire cord. In the worst case, you can’t do without rolling a disk in a tire fitting or replacing it. If you have an alloy wheel, then you can fix it, but this is an extremely expensive business, comparable to buying a new one.
