Odd Tire Problem

The wife fired up the Buick after work and it told here the right rear tire was down to 21 psi. She called me and asked what to do I told her to put some air in it if she could and get the car home. Well she couldn't find any air so she drove it home and it stayed at 21 psi.

She got home I jacked up the car checked the tire and didn't anything in it. So I air the tire up to 36 psi this was around 6 pm just checked the car (four hours later) and the rear tire is back down to 23 psi.

I'm not exactly sure what to do with this thing car has 6,100 miles on it but I don't really feel like taking it to the dealership since I doubt they would be able to fix it and without anything jabbed in the tread not so sure what my local tire shop would be able to do with it.

Thoughts?

The seal around the tire pressure sensor is leaking. Put soapy water on it and look for bubbles.

Very common Chrysler thing, actually. Assuming it has aluminum wheels? If so, I can almost promise you that..I'll call it calcium...deposits built up on the bead area of the wheel. I used to literally have to fix at least 6 a day at a shop I worked at years ago. My mom's Jeep Liberty did the same thing. It was so bad, and her dealership was so dick about it (I was halfway across the country), that she bought aftermarket wheels. Not a single issue since.

The correct fix: Remove the tire. Get a die grinder with a sanding disc, and remove the deposits. Remount tire, but don't set the beads (i.e. don't start inflating it). Use a rubber sealer (any tire shop that patches - not plugs - tires will have this) around the edge of the wheel where the tire's bead seals. Inflate, rebalance, rejoice.

Decided to put the stowaway spare to make sure she could make the trip to work in the AM safely. ::Angel::

Rolled the suspect tire around the garage and finally found a little triangle of galvanized metal in the tread pulled it and it leaked faster. So I guess I may have figure it out. ::Rant::

Rob - the "calcium" would be an oxide of Al - corrosion. Not likely in a car as new as this one, especially as clean as POS keeps his. Definitely an issue in humid climates and near the ocean. My Uncle's FJ Cruiser wheels are totally shot after 3 years in Port Aransas.

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

Decided to put the stowaway spare to make sure she could make the trip to work in the AM safely. ::Angel::

Rolled the suspect tire around the garage and finally found a little triangle of galvanized metal in the tread pulled it and it leaked faster. So I guess I may have figure it out. ::Rant::

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I've got some tire plugs and the tool if you don't.

Just fill the tire with Great Stuff.

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Originally Posted by jrj512

Just fill the wife with Great Stuff.

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Fixed it.

Second flat in 6 months of ownership and less than 6,200 miles. Last flat required a new tire since the sidewall blew out. :nutkick:

I'm not real impressed with the durability of the Continental ContiProContact Tires on this car so far.

Going to take it to my favorite tire guy in Richland Hills later today and get it fixed.

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Originally Posted by OZMDD

Rob - the "calcium" would be an oxide of Al - corrosion. Not likely in a car as new as this one, especially as clean as POS keeps his. Definitely an issue in humid climates and near the ocean. My Uncle's FJ Cruiser wheels are totally shot after 3 years in Port Aransas.

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Ah, oxide, thanks. Was trying to think of what it's actually called and came up blank. I disagree on the age and cleanliness mattering though. My mom started having this problem almost the second she drove off the lot with her Jeep. She bought it brand new, kept it in the garage, had it detailed regularly, and never drove the thing. Didn't matter. Even the spare had the problem from the beginning.

But of the literally 100s of wheels I had to clean to stop this type of leak in NJ, I would tend to agree that most were not spotlessly clean, even if they were brand new, so that might very well be a large part of it. But like I said, she got aftermarket wheels and never had the problem again, even after moving to the east coast of Florida and no longer keeping the truck in a garage. So who knows :shrug:

Probably something it picked up on the ship coming across the pacific. ::Pir::

(I've been waiting for a long time to use that one)

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Originally Posted by OZMDD

Probably something it picked up on the ship coming across the pacific. ::Pir::

(I've been waiting for a long time to use that one)

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Nope it was assembled in Lake Orion, Michigan using a lot of Chinese parts and UAW Local 5960 workers!

GM Shanghai FTW! ;-)
http://stampingsimulation.com/images...go-300x225.jpg

Could just bring it to discount tire. We do flat repairs at no cost and do a plug and patch