rdxny

I lose about 4-5 lbs every 2-4 days in one of my OEM 2019 aspec tires. The local tire place could not find the leak... the tire has a previous patch.
so the questions are:
-should I bring it elsewhere to try to find the leak?
-replace just the one tire?
-replace all 4?
I have about 25,000 miles on the car and tires and guessing about half the tread remains.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

there could be a bend in the wheel.

gotta find the source of the leak, or else if it is indeed a bent rim, a new tire will not solve the problem.

Madd Dog

Try another place.

One that will overfill the tire with air, then put it in a water bath looking for bubbles.

NooYawkuh

A leak that size (1-2 psi / day) shouldn't be that hard to locate.

Madd Dog

To save yourself some time, on the odd chance that it might work, try this.


you need a source to pump air back in the tire.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I also had a Schrader valve go bad once...

Madd Dog

It happens from time to time and is dirt cheap and easy to fix.

But I bet there is a puncture that hasn’t been seen yet.

rdxny

I had the local tire shop take it off and look, they found nothing. I will bring it to another place and look again. I'm trying to avoid 4 new tires before they are due! Meanwhile I add air every few days, luckily I have a compressor at home. Thanks all...

NBP04TL4ME

Maybe a bad bead or as mentioned above, a leaking valve.

A "bubble bath" as also mentioned above should solve this.

leomio2.0

I found the best way of finding a leak was overfilling the tire by 5-10psi and spraying soapy water on the tire and looking for bubbles. I would bank on it being a leaky bead. When they patched it the first time, they may not have cleaned the wheel off well enough (or at all), creating a poor seal.

Baldeagle

By "take it off," if you mean dismount the tire, inspect, and remount the tire on the wheel again, that might have fixed any beading problem. You might want to give it a few days.

rdxny

I don't think they removed the tire from the wheel... and the leak is still the same. I will bring it to a more trusted shop next week... they think the rim may have been bent a bit (they can probably fix that if minor)
I am interested though what everyone thinks if I can't fix... replace one tire with a new one? or would I be better served replacing all 4 (since tread is about half).

thoiboi

My bet is on schrader valve as well, go buy a valve tool and tighten down the valve. if that doesn't fix it, it could also be the seal around the schrader valve going bad.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Gotta find the leak first.

gotta crawl before you run.

cant put the cart before the horse...

Once you know where the leak is, then you can proceed...
because it might not even be the tire....
it might be a bent rim, it might be a loose/bad schrader valve.

if it is indeed the tire; then it's a function of money... do you have the funds to replace all 4?
or do you only have enough to cover the 1 tire.

if tight on funds, then only 1 tire.
if feeling generous, shell out for all 4 tires!

Did you like the stock tires? would you replace it with stock tires? or would you want to try a better tire?

Madd Dog

I would not replace only one tire on an awd car. Both tires on the same axel should be as similar as possible.

Jim7707

Easy enough to check the valve at home with some soapy water or saliva.

Baldeagle

If you hit a pothole with enough force to bend the front wheel that it leaks air, it is likely you also hit the same hole with the rear wheel and it may be deformed too. May I suggest you have your tire shop remove both wheels and spin them for a proper visual inspection? Do you feel any imbalance when you drive?

That aside, if this is a leak you cannot fix, I would recommend replacing all four tires. You can always keep two “old” tires on the back and put two identical new tires on the front. If you never rotate your tires, by the time the rear tires are fully worn out, the front tires will probably be close. But there is a major problem with this option. Even on a FWD car, you always want the best tires on the rear. Blow outs, loss of traction, etc. are much easier handle on the front wheels. If the rear tires lose control, the car is far more difficulty to manage. If possible, replace all four.

JB in AZ

The comments above that I bolded seem to be in contradiction. I agree that best tires belong on rear.

Baldeagle

Sorry if I was not clear. You are correct. Let me clarify.

Option one is to put two new tires on the front and keep two old (25,000 miles) tires on the back. Knowing that front tires wear quicker than the rear tires, we usually rotate our tires every 6,000 to 8,000 miles to keep the wear even. However in this scenario, he would not rotate his tires. By doing so, the front tires might last only 35,000 miles. During that time, because the rear tires would wear slower, they might last the same 35,000 miles (have 60,000 miles in total), at which time all four tires would need replacement. While this option would save money, I don’t like it because it implies putting the “better” tires on the front and “worse” tires on the rear.

Option two is to replace all four tires and of course rotate them when needed. That is what I would do.

rdx4me?

5-10 PSI probably isn't enough...put it up to about 50 PSI total and do the spray/look for bubbles approach. Agreed good chance it's a bead leak (a PITA to fix sometimes). Don't drive on it at 50 PSI but off the car it's OK

JB in AZ

Got it! I understand the reason for putting the new tires on front is to try to equalize the wear. I suspect with the partially worn tires on the rear, it doesn't present too much of a hazard.

rdxny

reporting back,
I had the tire removed from the rim and remounted, and an old plug re-done (it had not indicated a leak, but better to change it).
Been a week or so and no loss at all, so for now it's fixed. Thanks all...

NBP04TL4ME