[vfpeter]

I have Chevy Volt 2017 with about 15,750 miles (owned it for about 18 months). For past few weeks I noticed that the Driver side front side tire air shows up as losing air few PSI every few days. As of today, the stats as as follows:

D Front : 30 D Right: 35
P Front : 36 P Right: 37

I went to Auto Nation (my dealer) few days back and they could not find anything wrong with the tire.

p.s. I had filled all the tires at 40 PSI 2 weeks back.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Pete.

 

[vfpeter]

I just filled all tires to 39. But what is really strange is that the reading on the dash for tire pressure is all reversed. My front Driver tire pressure is actually my rear driver tire pressure (and vice versa) and my front passenger tire pressure is the passenger rear tire pressure (and vice versa).

How do I know this? I was trying to inflate my front driver tire and it showed as 30 on the dashboard. But my rear tire pressure was increasing and went up to 42. Glad I noticed that and did not blow up my tire.

Did the guys at AutoNation mess it up when they rotated the tires few days back?

 

[Steverino]

Given the range of current psi, first I'd say you are not very accurate/consistent filling tires with air. Or you have leaks in 3 tires, which is possible but unlikely. So instead I'll say that all 4 started within 2 or 3 psi or so of 40 PSI, rather than all at 40 PSI. Then colder weather came and you "lost" about 3 PSI due to the temperature drop.

Now, given the inconsistency of your 3 tire pressures, perhaps you were even less consistent on the 4th? Or, despite whoever checked it, you do have a slow leak due to a puncture, tire rim bead issue or valve stem.

I'd have them pump the tire to 45 psi or more and try again. And slowly, carefully with a bright LED examine the tread for a small wire, paperclip, or such sticking in the rubber (I do this with my own tires when I rotate the wheels). It may only let air out as the tire rolls and flexes.

Or, simply fill all 4 tires to 40 again and see the the one drops again. Then for sure there is a leak.

 

[bentbiker]

Did the guys at AutoNation mess it up when they rotated the tires few days back?

Yes, they failed to do a "Relearn" after rotating the tires. Instead of dealing with a car dealer, I'd suggest you see a TIRE dealer. Almost any tire dealer will do a relearn for you for free or on the cheap. Discount Tire/America's Tire dealers will find the leak for free; they can sometimes prove difficult to find (took me 3 trips to find one).

 

[Jefferios]

Spray the tire with a soapy solution, if you see bubbles forming then you'll find the leak. Make sure you check around the TPMS valve.

 

[vfpeter]

Thanks Guys for the insight. I will have it checked with a tire dealer.

 

[ClarksonCote]

Since you realized the pressure was being reported for the wrong tire, did you have them check the tire that actually was lower on pressure?

As noted above, a tire rotation was likely done without properly relearning the sensor locations.

If they still don’t find a puncture, sometimes a tire bead can lose its seal resulting in a slow leak. A tire place would probably pick up on this and reseal the bead if no other puncture was found.

 

[Upper5Percent]

Dashboard display is no excuse not to have one of these...

 

[cougsfan]

I'd suggest you try a different tire shop if you don't want to mess with it yourself, particularly if it was the same shop that rotated your tires that checked for leaks. I agree they probably checked the wrong tire for a leak after someone didn't reassign the sensors. All in all it sounds like incompetence, as a competent tire shop would have verified proper sensor assignment before even checking for leaks.

 

[caronjeff]

The most basic car maintenance, any car, is checking air pressure and inflating tires. Surprising ( or not ) how many car owners lack the most basic of tools, a pressure gage and an air compressor. Learn how to set all 4 at 40 psi and top them off yourself as needed.

 

[llninja]

I’ll suggest a left of center idea, don’t rotate your tires any more. I stopped doing them decades ago, resumed when I bought my volt, but stopped after the first tires replacement.

Rotating tires attempts to even out the wear where the volt goes through front tires quicker than rears. But at 36k miles, after I put a brand new set of 4 on, I left them where they were until 85k miles when the fronts needed to be replaced. I put my old, barely worn rears on the front and put new tires on the rear.

Advantages:
1. one set of tires went about 50k miles, my rears that moved to the front will probably make it to 70-80k miles.
2. Fewer meatheads to possibly overtorqued your lug nuts and warp your rotors
3. Tires keep spinning the same direction, instead of spending part of its life going one direction, then getting moved to another positio
4. Money saved from not paying the tire shop
5. No relearn tool needed.

 

[siai47]

Once you get your TPMS relearn figured out and you confirm which tire is leaking you need to consider a leak in the wheel, not just the rim. As the wheels start as a casting there is a possibility that air can slowly escape through a poorly formed part of the casting. This is usually found in newer wheels as corrosion inside the rim can stop the leak. If that is the problem, try cleaning the inside of the wheel and coating it with clear lacquer paint and the problem will go away.

 

[Steverino]

I’ll suggest a left of center idea, don’t rotate your tires any more. I stopped doing them decades ago, resumed when I bought my volt, but stopped after the first tires replacement.

Rotating tires attempts to even out the wear where the volt goes through front tires quicker than rears. But at 36k miles, after I put a brand new set of 4 on, I left them where they were until 85k miles when the fronts needed to be replaced. I put my old, barely worn rears on the front and put new tires on the rear.

As a counterpoint, I rotate my own tires every 7500 miles. I have 65,000 miles on them and the tread is still in the green zone (5/32" to 6/32") on all 4.

 

[llninja]

As a counterpoint, I rotate my own tires every 7500 miles. I have 65,000 miles on them and the tread is still in the green zone (5/32" to 6/32") on all 4.

I change tires a far in advance of the legal tread limit because hydroplaning can easily happen with 6/32 inch. It’s not worth it to me to eek out a few more miles as the cost is what, saving $50-100 or so of extra tread life? You will need a $600 set of new tires sooner than later, and I want my family safe.

Once you get your TPMS relearn figured out and you confirm which tire is leaking you need to consider a leak in the wheel, not just the rim. As the wheels start as a casting there is a possibility that air can slowly escape through a poorly formed part of the casting. This is usually found in newer wheels as corrosion inside the rim can stop the leak. If that is the problem, try cleaning the inside of the wheel and coating it with clear lacquer paint and the problem will go away.

I’ve had a cracked rim from hitting a pothole or railroad tracks, or something abrupt enough to break the wheel.

 

[Andy00778]

I believe I experienced this casting leak with my volt. All tires would leak over a period of a month ( not temperature issue) but after 2 years I do not notice this as much now. As a side note I am watching the new Michelin self sealing tires that have come out now. Most tire shops don’t list the as a replacement tire when you type in the car model etc, but a few do.

Once you get your TPMS relearn figured out and you confirm which tire is leaking you need to consider a leak in the wheel, not just the rim. As the wheels start as a casting there is a possibility that air can slowly escape through a poorly formed part of the casting. This is usually found in newer wheels as corrosion inside the rim can stop the leak. If that is the problem, try cleaning the inside of the wheel and coating it with clear lacquer paint and the problem will go away.

 

[dannycamps]

I will say this - recently my Journey was slowly losing air from the passenger side front tire (going from 40 psi to 20 in about two weeks). I took it to a place and they said there were no nails, etc... in the tire and everything looked fine.

Finally after about two months of having to put air in the tires every other week or so, I took it to another shop and they found that there was an ever so slight leak in the beading around the rim. The resolution was basically to remount the tire to the rim. It's been fine since.

 

[Steverino]

I took it to another shop and they found that there was an ever so slight leak in the beading around the rim. The resolution was basically to remount the tire to the rim. It's been fine since.

When I first got my Volt, the tire pressure recommendation was 36psi (since raised to 38). I was topping off the tires regularly to replace lost air. I raised the air pressure to 42 psi and the tires held steady. I suspect the low 36psi inflation was aggravating a bead seating issue. I have also read some posts about a barcode sticker on the tire bead that might be a culprit. I have seen said sticker. not sure if it can sometimes cause a leak.

 

[cougsfan]

This summer I had a slow leak on one of my RV tires. One tire shop couldn't find it, another shop finally found it, it was where the valve stem met the rim (not the valve stem core). You have to consider everything that holds air when looking.

 

[SanCarlosJeff]

Advantages:
1. one set of tires went about 50k miles, my rears that moved to the front will probably make it to 70-80k miles.
2. Fewer meatheads to possibly overtorqued your lug nuts and warp your rotors
3. Tires keep spinning the same direction, instead of spending part of its life going one direction, then getting moved to another positio
4. Money saved from not paying the tire shop
5. No relearn tool needed.

I also stopped rotating tires many years ago, more due to laziness than anything else. Still need do the relearn when moving tires to the front though, so I don't understand your point 5.

 

[Barry]

The problem with not rotating is that you will eventually have a significant mis-match in tread depth between the front and rear tires. It is better to have matched tires so that you have safe and predictable emergency handling in all conditions.

Another benefit of even wear is that when you replace the tires, you do all 4 at once. Discounts on tires are often offered only for sets of 4, so you can save money.