Hi:

I've got a set of Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires with about 18,000 miles on them. About two weeks ago the low pressure light came on; all of the tires were down a little and I filled them to the proper pressure. In the time since, the light has come on twice more (about once every 5 days); all of the tires were o.k. except the right rear, which was down about 5 psi. I've examined the tire and don't see any puncture. However, I noticed a slight crack in one small area on the side of the tread (not the side of the tire itself) -- is this something that could cause a slow leak? Could the valve be faulty? Any other ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

What kind of vehicle do you have and how old is it? Do you have alloy wheels. Often these wheels corrode on the inside at the tire bead area, and this can cause air seepage. In some severe cases small pinholes can also occur through corossion after a few years. Tires can lose pressure also due to temperature changes, and of course from leaking valves/stems as well.

If the wheels are corroded, sometimes demounting, and using a tire sealer can help along with sanding/buffing with a wire wheel, but not always. I assume you have also checked for nails.

In my experience if a shop is not able to find an obvious leak through a soap, or water test, and the tire is still losing more air than normal, and is mounted on alloy wheels, this problem is something likely that is happening.

 

Yes....to all your questions. Valve, crack...either could be causing a bit of a leak. I had to replace 4 valves on mine as when the tires were replaced they used faulty made valves, and the base degraded. Cost the company 2 tires under warranty for me to find it.

A little bit of dish soap and water in a spray bottle may help ID the problem. Otherwise take it to a tire shop that can dunk it..

 

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I have a 2010 Ford Taurus Ltd. with chrome alloy wheels. I have checked for nails and found nothing other than the small crack in one area of the tread, which has me wondering about the other possibilities. I'll give the soapy water a try to see if anything shows up. These are the original tires on the vehicle, so if there is a mechanical failure I'm going to take it back to the dealer. Inflated it to the proper pressure again yesterday; will monitor over the next couple of days to see what happens. Thanks again.

 

yes, spray soapy water all over them, including rims, where tires are seated. sometimes they do not put enough sealant on the seats, cold weather causes pressure to drop down slightly, give it a nice nudge from bad pavement, and you have area that is not sealed anymore.

base line - you have slow leak somewhere. soapy water. just don't rush. spray and wait, slow leaks take time to show themselves. I see T-handle repair tools and them noodle things you plug tires with in your future.

 

I've never had a leak I couldn't find with soapy water but it helps to have quite a bit of air in the tire to start

 

My guess would be a smaller nail; sometimes after you pick one up the head wears off before you notice anything, and then they are very easy to miss on inspection.

 

Take some time with soapy water and a spray bottle. if you are having to add air every 4 or 5 days and do find a leak, make a mark on the sidewall of the tire or even a sharpie on the wheel to remember where the leak is and take it to a shop to get it repaired properly, don't use the rope plugs for a slow leak. They are not meant to be for a permanent repair. Have the tire repaired by a shop that uses patch plugs, they are just what they sound like, a patch that goes on the inside of the tire to seal the inner liner with a stem that pulls thru the tire to fill the hole.

 

O.K., thanks everyone for the suggestions; I'm going to deal with this over the weekend when I can take my time and use the soapy water.

 

...but do these cars have full size spares? Could the spare be low on air?