We’ve all been there. Going outside to see one of your tires looking visibly low after being parked outside all night, or having your tire pressure monitoring system go off with seemingly no obvious reason. Not knowing why your tire is losing air is a stressful thing. In this article the potential causes for tire deflation will be covered.

Temperature Fluctuations:

The most common reason your tires are fluctuating in pressure is their environment. Tires change roughly 2% in pressure for every 10 degrees fahrenheit in temperature change. With significant changes to weather it’s not uncommon to lose a few PSI. Therefore, it is generally recommended for tires to be inflated when “cold”, meaning the vehicle has not been driven for 3 or more hours.

Acute Tire Damage:

The reason most people think of when they realize their tires are losing pressure. These leaks can range in severity, and while some of them will be easily visible for example if a nail or another sharp object has punctured the tire, sometimes it will be less obvious. For these instances where the leak is not immediately apparent, we recommend using our Pinpoint Leak Detector.

Valve Stem:

An aging or damaged valve stem can cause leaks in tire pressure. It is important to have rubber valve stems replaced with your tires, and if you have metal valve stems to make sure the tire repair shop inspects them when having tires replaced. This is one reason why it’s so important to see a reputable tire shop as some shops will not routinely replace valve stems with tires. This can be problematic as some people will go through multiple sets of tires on one valve stem. It’s easy to imagine someone not knowing their valve stems need to be replaced and ends up replacing their tires prematurely.

Damage to the wheel: 

The wheel itself may also have been damaged or bent which can lead to a bead leak by breaking the seal. This is more common in low profile wheels where they are more exposed to things like potholes and curbs so when they are hit it can cause damage

Tire Bead leak: The bead is the point at which the tire is sealed onto the wheel with pressure and an adhesive chemical aptly called Bead Sealer. This seal can be broken for several reasons including underinflated tires and driving on extremely rough conditions, but the most common reason is improper installation. 

Long Term Tire Damage: 

Some tires have just lost their ability to maintain air pressure and they need to be replaced. The more wear and tear done to a tire leads to things like pitting and cracks on the tread that are visible to the eye. While this damage can appear to be superficial it often insidiously means that there is permeability letting air out that the eye can’t see. Even old tires that have never seen the road can be dangerous to drive on as the rubber breaks down with exposure to the environment. While certain methods of storage can help increase a tire’s longevity such as keeping it out of the heat, ultimately the rubber and steel belts are in a losing battle with time. For this reason most automobile and tire manufacturers recommend 6-10 years after their production date no matter what the tread is looking like.