I had a flat yesterday and ended up putting on the spare and the car drove to work fine today. When I left work I looked at it and it looked ok, still full of air. About a mile from work the spare tire goes flat! I put air in it (was near a gas station thank goodness) and brought the car to Goodyear. They said there was no puncture and just cleaned the bead on the first one that went flat (my normal tire) and that the spare looked fine and was holding air. I don't understand why this happened to two different tires/rims. When I put air in the spare I drove about 3 miles and it was holding fine. I'm very concerned now that I can get a flat at any time for no apparent reason. It was the passenger rear and about 10 degrees F out if that makes a difference.

Any ideas?

 

i think u got a leak at the valve stem.

 

Valve stem and tire seat on the barrel. When tires get old, they dry out, allowing the tire to flex on and off tire seat of the wheel barrel, allowing dirt and moisture in. This causes uneven spots on the barrel, allowing air in and out of the tire seat.

You need to have the wheel(s) dunked in a dunk tank to check for leaks.

 

If you have chrome rims that could be the problem too.

 

I have stock rims from 98 and the tires were very pricey and not old at all (a year and a half maybe). The spare I'm sure is older but I'm very worried driving. It is -10F out today!

 

if there was crap on the bead of the rim, that can cause it. some tire shops are lazy and dont clean it before installing new tires. got tires on one of my supras and kept having to add air. finally got fed up and took it back and they blamed it on my "corroded rims" which was a crock. made them clean the bead with a wire wheel on a die grinder and reinstall the tire and guess what, it hasnt gone flat in over a year.

now when i got new tires for the ls back in march, the tire shop cleaned the rims without me telling them (diff shop obviously) and never had an issue.

 

DK, are they chrome stock or the brushed? The chrome can sometimes start to bubble and cause this.

 

Brushed, they are not flashy/shiny, more dull. I have two jobs and my other one is a good 30 min drive and like I said, today is -10F, little concerned. He did say the bead was dirty but I drove on the flat for a few hundred feet thus getting dirt on it. Plus, what are the chances of the spare doing the same thing a day later? I haven't had the shop check the spare so I don't trust that right now, hopefully I can bring that in later.

 

i had original chrome rims ("93) and two tires would not hold air. had them dunk tanked, and rebeaded. still wouldn't hold, though it took a week or so to get seriously low. a tech showed me where the chrome was flaking off at the bead. said they had to be rechromed or it would just keep happening. the cheapest place i could find to do a rechrome was $273 per wheel. so i got some 5-spoke aluminum rims at discount tire for $75 each.

 

Soap water could help find the 'leak'.

 

I would be willing to bet that there is some corrosion around the bead of the rim causing the tire to seperate just enough to allow some air to escape. There is also the possibility of a valve stem that could be leaking as well, but more often it's the bead.

 

I had the same problem it was the chrome rims leaking on 2 rims I had the tire shop use some stuff you can put on the rim it was a liquid rubber which held for a couple of years I finally got some used 2000 Lexus rims and that took care of the problems.