Mystery Flat tire...

[sudz]

Hey guys!

At work today, someone let me know my tire was flat.

WTF, right? I go out to my car... and its FLAT. Like... rim barely an inch from the pavement. I call the Mazda roadside assistance (first time, super easy/useful/time saving!) and CAA comes within 30 minutes.

They fill the tire, and its holding air no problem for 2 hours now.

Could i have broken the bead going around a corner and not noticed? I thought when you rolled a tire off the rim... it was basically a writeoff for the tire and rim.

They're is SLIGHT wear on the sidewall, No cracks or other obvious damage to the tire, so i'm guessing I drove a km or two with it slightly deflated. (its 27 KM to work, but after i get off 403 theres only about... 2 or 3 km of city driving.... I'm guessing this happened after i got off the highway.

Its the stock 15inch tire with the GS (toyo) and its got about 30,000 clicks on it. Still decent amount of tread left.

I'm just rather confused! The valve checks out (spit on the finger over the valve/stem test), the cap was on.

Anyone have a similar experience? Did i roll the tire and broke the bead or something?

thanks for any input

[SonicBoy]

Are you sure one of your co-workers aren't messing with you? That is really weird but if you say there are marks on the sidewall then perhaps you hit something. If you broke the bead, It's not that easy to just inflate and re mount it. You need a lot of PSI.

You do have a good mystery there.

[KenYork]

Could have a nail in it. You probably parked the wheel in a position where the tire is easier to deflate.

[Ex-Rolla]

I parked on a street downtown a few weeks back with a rental. When i returned to the car a few hours later all four tires were flat. Some asswipe had the air out of them. I crawled to a gas station, filled em up and they were fine.

My guess is someone let the air out. Were you parked in someone elses spot? Also, if you filled you tire with air in the morning, maybe the valve was stuck slightly open (thus letting the air out slowly).

I wouldn't worry too much about it, but be sure to keep an eye out on it over the next week or two.

[Flagrum_3]

Just to be on the safe side, I'd suggest you take it in and have it inspected properly, you wouldn't want it blowing on you on the hiway.


_3


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[sudz]

It was bugging the hell outta me, so when i went to put it in the driveway for the night, i ended up jacking it up and taking the tire off. I inflated to 36PSI and sprayed it with soapy water. No leaks that i can see. CAA filled it to 32PSI, it was 31 when i checked it. Could be difference in gauges (i was using a snap-on gauge... its usually pretty accurate) I deflated to 32 PSI and put it back on my car.

The only thing I can think of is the valve! Some pressure was kept. CAA guy said there was still about 15PSI in the tire. He said the cap could have been holding that in.

Still a mystery. I almost want it to happen again... So i can find the root cause. I put my trusty 1SP (Sudz Power) Compressor (upright bicycle pump) in my trunk incase i run into any issues.

It sucks to have no confidiance in your tires. I was afraid to keep up with traffic on 407 this morning!

As well, I use a mcquires wheel shine... I put it on about 2 weeks ago. I know some of this stuff is pretty abrasive. I picked this one because it doesn't brown your tired. Could it be the root of my problem?

[sudz]

Edit:

I put the tire shine on the day before Masiv monday :-P Just remembered.

[sudz]

Alright... Its losing about 10PSI a day... so in otherwords, i'm filling it every morning and evening Must a nail, i just couldn't find it for the life of me.
Canadian tire is open today, they charge 28 bucks to repair a tire, even if its the stem, includes balancing. I AM apprehensive about them touching my car though! I'm thinking it'll take 10 minutes and i'll be the annoying customer who sneaks into the shop and talks to the mechanics. :-P

[Malcolm991]

I had that problem with my stock wheels, 1 of them kept losing air like yours. I had it resealed 3 times and it still happens when I use the wheels. The air will stay in for a week and then it will go almost flat in the span of a day or 2. Stock wheels are in storage where they belong