Hello everyone!
I purchased my 2005 TL till 3 weeks ago and have had to fill up the rear tires 3 times. Upon further investigation I took the wheels off the car, over filled them with air and stuck them into a tank of water, but no bubbles emerged. Any ideas?

 

the obvious response is that you have a puncture in your tire that is causing the leak, however, since you can't readily see this while the tire is dunked under water, it could possibly a rim leak (at the bead seal)...these are not always/easily detectable. the likely culprit for these leaks is corrosion build up along the seal point. my suggestion, have the tire dismounted, take a wire brush and clean any possibly corrosion, and then apply bead sealant. also replace the valve stem at this time...just because.

 

Couple of things.

How are you determining they are low.

Is it more than one tire?

Run them till they show low again then fill to 32 etc then spray them with a mix of water and soap and look for bubbles.

 

That may very well be it although I dont see any signs of corrosion. Would I be able to see it with the tire mounted?

 

would you be able to see the corrosion? definitely not with the tire mounted. it would be along the tire bead and the lip of the rim (where the bead seats). don't worry about finding the leak yourself. just take it into a tire shop and tell you have an air leak and that u suspect you have a rim leak. since you say you're not sure, they'll check the tire for any punctures, and will also clean the wheel with a wire brush, apply bead sealant, and replace your valve stem. if it were me, i'd tell them that (what i just listed) is what you want them to do. i used to work in the bizz for some years and 9 times out of 10 when someone was having a leak they couldn't seem to find - it was a rim leak, and a simple cleaning and some bead sealant almost always solved the problem.

this is all done on the inside of the wheel btw...don't let the wire brush on wheel freak you out or anything.

 

Ok great. Thanks. How much do you think they'll charge me?

 

Just take it in and let them inspect the assembly for the leak. They'll make a determination as to whether the tire needs to be unmounted and the wheel cleaned or it's something else. Even though most mark the tire location on the wheel if it is removed, but I'd have them rebalance the unit as the reinstall isn't always 100% correct.
As far as cost, it can vary greatly depending on what needs to be done to correct the problem, maybe $10-$30.

 

I know Discount Tire charges $15

 

we have a hibdons here and they dont charge anything to plug a hole. =-] Not sure what theyd charge for rebalancing though.

 

Well its not really plugging a whole, the leak is probably coming from the seal.

 

Discount tire direct? That would involve me shipping the wheels no? I kind of need those to get around.

 

Just go to a local shop, but if there is a punture don't them plug the hole, they need to use a plug-patch.

 

I would go with corrosion as well...

My girls lexus has the same effin problem....slow leaks in 2 rims and both corrosion....Lexus wanted a ton of money so we took it to a local tire store and did the following to make sure it was corrosion....

unmounted the tires and remounted - issue still remained
changed the valve stems - issue still remained
checked for puncture/leaks - none - issue still remained

the only option was to buy new rims when I said, lemme try something out....

used this:


ISSUE SOLVED

 

yes. take it anywhere that does tires really. this is a very standard procedure. they buff the wheel with a tire brush and apply bead sealant and remount the tire and you're all set.

if they do happen to find a puncture in the tire, make sure you find out what they are planning to use to correct this because, as turbonut said, they need to use a plug & patch combo (it's actually all-in-one at more places).

 

I was thinking about trying this, but Ive never seen it used before. Thanks everyone. Lets see which plan works.

 

its like 8 bucks....what do you have to loose LOL....tried it on the lexus and it works perfectly well...

 

Just an FYI-I realize the OP has an '05, but if a car is equipped with TPMS sensors, no sealant is to be used.