Tyre Losing Pressure - Tried Everything - Help!
Discussion
There’s nobody letting the tyre down, it’s parked in our garage each night.
I’ve just got back from a 4 wheel alignment appointment as I thought that could be something to do with the issue and the garage showed me that they couldn’t attach the alignment wheel clamp to the drivers rear wheel as the the wheel arch was lower on this corner and there wasn’t enough space between the wheel and the arch to get the device clamped. They looked under the car in that corner but they couldn’t see anything wrong or why this corner would be slightly lower than the passenger rear side. Could this corner being slightly lower be a reason as to why I’m losing tyre pressure? Does anyone know about this corner being a problem on 3 series’?
I’ve just got back from a 4 wheel alignment appointment as I thought that could be something to do with the issue and the garage showed me that they couldn’t attach the alignment wheel clamp to the drivers rear wheel as the the wheel arch was lower on this corner and there wasn’t enough space between the wheel and the arch to get the device clamped. They looked under the car in that corner but they couldn’t see anything wrong or why this corner would be slightly lower than the passenger rear side. Could this corner being slightly lower be a reason as to why I’m losing tyre pressure? Does anyone know about this corner being a problem on 3 series’?
The sensor that sends a warning when the pressure falls has a battery in it, which eventually runs down!
And you get a fault warning, not necessarily a "Low Battery" one, more likley, "Low Pressure"
Your car is 12 years old, and the batteries in sensors last about ten years.
A dealer will charge you a lot to replace it! A tyre place, especially if you need a need tyre anyway, may charge you nothing, as the time to replace the sensor is tiny compared with taking the wheel and tyre off. Buy a new sensor online.
And you get a fault warning, not necessarily a "Low Battery" one, more likley, "Low Pressure"
Your car is 12 years old, and the batteries in sensors last about ten years.
A dealer will charge you a lot to replace it! A tyre place, especially if you need a need tyre anyway, may charge you nothing, as the time to replace the sensor is tiny compared with taking the wheel and tyre off. Buy a new sensor online.
Damian-k8d34 said:
There’s nobody letting the tyre down, it’s parked in our garage each night.
I’ve just got back from a 4 wheel alignment appointment as I thought that could be something to do with the issue and the garage showed me that they couldn’t attach the alignment wheel clamp to the drivers rear wheel as the the wheel arch was lower on this corner and there wasn’t enough space between the wheel and the arch to get the device clamped. They looked under the car in that corner but they couldn’t see anything wrong or why this corner would be slightly lower than the passenger rear side. Could this corner being slightly lower be a reason as to why I’m losing tyre pressure? Does anyone know about this corner being a problem on 3 series’?
Pics?I’ve just got back from a 4 wheel alignment appointment as I thought that could be something to do with the issue and the garage showed me that they couldn’t attach the alignment wheel clamp to the drivers rear wheel as the the wheel arch was lower on this corner and there wasn’t enough space between the wheel and the arch to get the device clamped. They looked under the car in that corner but they couldn’t see anything wrong or why this corner would be slightly lower than the passenger rear side. Could this corner being slightly lower be a reason as to why I’m losing tyre pressure? Does anyone know about this corner being a problem on 3 series’?
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/pkNmuKXA.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/Mo4CU6eF" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/Mo4CU6eF.jpg)
Oldandslow said:
What type of TPMS?
ABS based:
How are the shocks at the back? My GF's old boss used to get tyre pressure warning on a particular road because one of his wheels skipped about.
Actual transmitters:
Do they need reprogrammed if wheels moved around?
How old are they?
Sorry, I don’t know what TPMS is?ABS based:
How are the shocks at the back? My GF's old boss used to get tyre pressure warning on a particular road because one of his wheels skipped about.
Actual transmitters:
Do they need reprogrammed if wheels moved around?
How old are they?
I believe the shocks are fine as nothing was mentioned on the MOT and I also had a major service at BMW 12 months ago and nothing was picked up.
If for some reason there’s extra weight on that corner or the whatever the reason is for that corner being half an inch lower, could that be putting extra pressure on that wheel which is causing air to leak from somewhere even if there’s nothing wrong with the tyre or wheel?
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System. You do know what it is, you're going to the garage when it tells you to 
Re: pressure on the wheel causing air leaks. Very unlikely, as they ought to be capable of holding a lot more pressure than the standard pressures for your car.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-TSTPG9-Pressure-Po...
Buy that, see what's actually happening to the pressure...
Re: pressure on the wheel causing air leaks. Very unlikely, as they ought to be capable of holding a lot more pressure than the standard pressures for your car.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-TSTPG9-Pressure-Po...
Buy that, see what's actually happening to the pressure...
Pretty sure being a 2008 BMW they were not using TPMS here and only using ABS based monitoring, certainly ABS speed sensor on my 2012 E91 3 series...
Had a leaky valve on mine last week, after months of pumping it up, took a while to diagnose - if you've tried this apologies, cba reading the other thread history
Had a leaky valve on mine last week, after months of pumping it up, took a while to diagnose - if you've tried this apologies, cba reading the other thread history
Many BMWs are lower on the passenger side from the factory, it is said that they are made that way to compensate for the weight of the driver and they cannot be bothered to alter it for RHD cars.
Not sure whether to believe it, however my E36 and E46 were both like this.
As for the pressure drop then the wheel needs to go back in a water tank and be checked for bubbles, its not rocket surgery, I suspect tampering though.
Not sure whether to believe it, however my E36 and E46 were both like this.
As for the pressure drop then the wheel needs to go back in a water tank and be checked for bubbles, its not rocket surgery, I suspect tampering though.
kev b said:
Many BMWs are lower on the passenger side from the factory, it is said that they are made that way to compensate for the weight of the driver and they cannot be bothered to alter it for RHD cars.
Not sure whether to believe it, however my E36 and E46 were both like this.
As for the pressure drop then the wheel needs to go back in a water tank and be checked for bubbles, its not rocket surgery, I suspect tampering though.
Mines lower on the drivers side...Not sure whether to believe it, however my E36 and E46 were both like this.
As for the pressure drop then the wheel needs to go back in a water tank and be checked for bubbles, its not rocket surgery, I suspect tampering though.
Are you regularly driving up a kerb or similar on that side? Sometimes the bead can be momentarily unseated and you lose a short blast of air. It’s happened to me a few times where one tyre is down low for some reason, pump it up and no further problems. A persistent and consistent issue would be a bit of a stretch here but I guess is possible.
Green1man said:
Are you regularly driving up a kerb or similar on that side? Sometimes the bead can be momentarily unseated and you lose a short blast of air. It’s happened to me a few times where one tyre is down low for some reason, pump it up and no further problems. A persistent and consistent issue would be a bit of a stretch here but I guess is possible.
No, I’m not driving up any curbs. The pressure will still drop if the car isn’t even being driven. You've got two things going on that I can see, the attitude / stance of the rear of the car and whatever is happening to the tyre in the OSR position.
Firstly, on the stance of the rear. It will be a broken spring the garage who checked haven't been able to see. I had exactly the same problem on an E36 that had passed two MOTs in my ownership without picking it up before I took it for a 4-wheel alignment where they couldn't clamp the gauge on the wheel - and that place didnt see it either. I thought the car's stance was normal because I had seen so many others like it. Later on, I had the suspension refreshed and that revealed the broken spring.
In terms of the pressure loss, you say it happens regardless of which wheel it is on that corner, so it must be something to do with the stance and geometry of the car at that corner. It could be that rear stance is changing the suspension geometry enough to do one or all of:
- open a hair line crack in the wheel (even the new one)
- break the bead enough to let enough air out
Take it to a decent independent specialist and get them to tear down that corner till they find what's wrong. There’s a list of specialists here on the BMW page https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Firstly, on the stance of the rear. It will be a broken spring the garage who checked haven't been able to see. I had exactly the same problem on an E36 that had passed two MOTs in my ownership without picking it up before I took it for a 4-wheel alignment where they couldn't clamp the gauge on the wheel - and that place didnt see it either. I thought the car's stance was normal because I had seen so many others like it. Later on, I had the suspension refreshed and that revealed the broken spring.
In terms of the pressure loss, you say it happens regardless of which wheel it is on that corner, so it must be something to do with the stance and geometry of the car at that corner. It could be that rear stance is changing the suspension geometry enough to do one or all of:
- open a hair line crack in the wheel (even the new one)
- break the bead enough to let enough air out
Take it to a decent independent specialist and get them to tear down that corner till they find what's wrong. There’s a list of specialists here on the BMW page https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Collectingbrass said:
You've got two things going on that I can see, the attitude / stance of the rear of the car and whatever is happening to the tyre in the OSR position.
Firstly, on the stance of the rear. It will be a broken spring the garage who checked haven't been able to see. I had exactly the same problem on an E36 that had passed two MOTs in my ownership without picking it up before I took it for a 4-wheel alignment where they couldn't clamp the gauge on the wheel - and that place didnt see it either. I thought the car's stance was normal because I had seen so many others like it. Later on, I had the suspension refreshed and that revealed the broken spring.
In terms of the pressure loss, you say it happens regardless of which wheel it is on that corner, so it must be something to do with the stance and geometry of the car at that corner. It could be that rear stance is changing the suspension geometry enough to do one or all of:
- open a hair line crack in the wheel (even the new one)
- break the bead enough to let enough air out
Take it to a decent independent specialist and get them to tear down that corner till they find what's wrong. There’s a list of specialists here on the BMW page https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Thanks for this, it’s very insightful. When you say spring, do you mean the big suspension spring? If it is indeed a broken spring as you mention, do you have a rough idea of how much that would cost to fix including garage labour? What did you have to end up paying? ThanksFirstly, on the stance of the rear. It will be a broken spring the garage who checked haven't been able to see. I had exactly the same problem on an E36 that had passed two MOTs in my ownership without picking it up before I took it for a 4-wheel alignment where they couldn't clamp the gauge on the wheel - and that place didnt see it either. I thought the car's stance was normal because I had seen so many others like it. Later on, I had the suspension refreshed and that revealed the broken spring.
In terms of the pressure loss, you say it happens regardless of which wheel it is on that corner, so it must be something to do with the stance and geometry of the car at that corner. It could be that rear stance is changing the suspension geometry enough to do one or all of:
- open a hair line crack in the wheel (even the new one)
- break the bead enough to let enough air out
Take it to a decent independent specialist and get them to tear down that corner till they find what's wrong. There’s a list of specialists here on the BMW page https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Edited by Damian-k8d34 on Wednesday 24th June 17:35
Damian-k8d34 said:
Thanks for this, it’s very insightful. When you say spring, do you mean the big suspension spring? If it is indeed a broken spring as you mention, do you have a rough idea of how much that would cost to fix including garage labour? What did you have to end up paying? Thanks
This was all done in 2017. The whole suspension refresh was £1400, a rear spring on its own was about £125 including labour & VAT, springs and dampers on both sides was about £400. Edited by Damian-k8d34 on Wednesday 24th June 17:35
Collectingbrass said:
This was all done in 2017. The whole suspension refresh was £1400, a rear spring on its own was about £125 including labour & VAT, springs and dampers on both sides was about £400.
Thanks. I’m assuming that if I did have a damaged spring then all I’d need doing was having that replaced and none of the other stuff you mentioned that you had done?Gassing Station | Home Mechanics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff