Tyre Losing Pressure - Tried Everything - Help!
Discussion
Damian-k8d34 said:
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?
It's best to do the springs on both sides together, the car will ride better. The garage will need to advise on the dampers. I only did the full refresh as I am planning on keeping it till they stop pumping oil.tapkaJohnD said:
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.
Not on a 2008 bmw I don’t believe. It uses the steering angle sensor and the traction control/abs reluctor rings to note a difference in wheel speed left to right when the steering wheel is straight. There is no sensor in the wheel. Or at least that’s how my 2008 1 series did it. 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.
I had almost the same problem with an Insignia some years ago.
Turned out to be a faulty TPMS ( dying battery).
Always alarmed out on the same bit of Motorway 15 minutes in.
However the Tyre never actually lost pressure, just the car said it did!
The fault always followed that particular wheel when I moved around though.
£70 fixed it, other 3 were fine until I swopped the car in!
Turned out to be a faulty TPMS ( dying battery).
Always alarmed out on the same bit of Motorway 15 minutes in.
However the Tyre never actually lost pressure, just the car said it did!
The fault always followed that particular wheel when I moved around though.
£70 fixed it, other 3 were fine until I swopped the car in!
One of my cars suffered from pressure loss, it took me a while to get to the bottom of it, the local scroats had put a tiny pebble in the centre of the valve cap, it was very slowly letting out air. Obviously when I checked the pressure I removed the problem, I’d blow it up, and test with water, again with the valve cap off, to check the valve as well.
One of two other people I knew had the same, we parked in the same train station car park...
One of two other people I knew had the same, we parked in the same train station car park...
So which wheel/tyre combo is currently on the driver's side rear and losing pressure? If its the old wheel and tyre that used to be on the passenger side maybe that one is leaking around the bead too and suffering the same corrosion problems that the other wheel had. Why not have that wheel taken off and dunked in a tank of water to see if it is bubbling too?
Damian-k8d34 said:
Matt_E_Mulsion said:
You've still not told us how you are measuring this 10psi pressure drop.
I did in an earlier post. I know what psi I fill it up to and when the dash light comes on I go to the garage to use their air machine and as soon as you attach it it reads the current psi.Is it worth buying your own pressure gauge to monitor on a more regular basis?
MB140 said:
Not on a 2008 bmw I don’t believe. It uses the steering angle sensor and the traction control/abs reluctor rings to note a difference in wheel speed left to right when the steering wheel is straight. There is no sensor in the wheel. Or at least that’s how my 2008 1 series did it.
Thank you, MB140! Learn something every day.To the OP, if that applies to your car, then that, with your evidence of a lower ride on that side and that exchanging the wheel doesn't move the problem, points to a suspension, not a tyre/wheel problem.
Just found this old thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
And this one: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45... Quote, "Prior to and including 2009 BMW furnished cars with the Indirect TPMS."
Edited by tapkaJohnD on Thursday 25th June 10:30
Edited by tapkaJohnD on Thursday 25th June 10:32
tapkaJohnD said:
Thank you, MB140! Learn something every day.
To the OP, if that applies to your car, then that, with your evidence of a lower ride on that side and that exchanging the wheel doesn't move the problem, points to a suspension, not a tyre/wheel problem.
Yes, given that the rear drivers side is lower and that’s the wheel I keep losing air from the wheel regardless of which wheel I put in there perhaps does point towards the spring/suspension being damage and causing all of this. I still don’t understand though how a damaged spring/suspension would cause air to escape from a wheel?
Just found this old thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
To the OP, if that applies to your car, then that, with your evidence of a lower ride on that side and that exchanging the wheel doesn't move the problem, points to a suspension, not a tyre/wheel problem.
Yes, given that the rear drivers side is lower and that’s the wheel I keep losing air from the wheel regardless of which wheel I put in there perhaps does point towards the spring/suspension being damage and causing all of this. I still don’t understand though how a damaged spring/suspension would cause air to escape from a wheel?
Just found this old thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Edited by tapkaJohnD on Thursday 25th June 10:30
Matt_E_Mulsion said:
So which wheel/tyre combo is currently on the driver's side rear and losing pressure? If its the old wheel and tyre that used to be on the passenger side maybe that one is leaking around the bead too and suffering the same corrosion problems that the other wheel had. Why not have that wheel taken off and dunked in a tank of water to see if it is bubbling too?
I’ve got replacement alloy on the drivers rear as there was no point having a different alloy on there once I discovered the problem didn’t follow the alloy but instead remained on the drivers rear. Yes, I think I’ll have to get this wheel dipped but given the problem doesn’t follow the alloy I don’t think it’s the alloy leaking. I’m leaning towards the problem being the spring (as the car is lower this corner) but I don’t understand how a potentially damaged spring can cause air to leak.Damian-k8d34 said:
...but I don’t understand how a potentially damaged spring can cause air to leak.
It can't. The only way air can escape from a tyre is through a leak on the rim, a puncture in the tyre or a dodgy valve.My advice, get it dipped in a tank to check for bubbles. If there isn't any it can't be leaking. So then get yourself a proper tyre pressure gauge so you can check the pressure properly. If it isn't leaking then it can only be a fault with the TMPS by my reckoning.
As said by various other posters, it can ONLY be:
Faulty Valve
Cracked/corroded/buckled alloy wheel
Punctured/ faulty tyre
Malicious behaviour by someone letting your tyre down.
There is no chance of it being anything else.
Take the wheel off and spray it with soapy water you will see where/if it is losing air.
Faulty Valve
Cracked/corroded/buckled alloy wheel
Punctured/ faulty tyre
Malicious behaviour by someone letting your tyre down.
There is no chance of it being anything else.
Take the wheel off and spray it with soapy water you will see where/if it is losing air.
I've read this from the start.
Conclusions.
There is no leak.
OP believes dashboard information.
OP believes Forecourt Tyre Gauge.
OP wont buy cheap Tyre Pressure Gauge.
OP believes all tyres leak when moved.
OP is clearly deluded, thinking he is going to save money on a much needed TPMS replacement or reset at a Costly Garage.
These are my conclusions.
I'm guessing this will soon be a quiet post.
Conclusions.
There is no leak.
OP believes dashboard information.
OP believes Forecourt Tyre Gauge.
OP wont buy cheap Tyre Pressure Gauge.
OP believes all tyres leak when moved.
OP is clearly deluded, thinking he is going to save money on a much needed TPMS replacement or reset at a Costly Garage.
These are my conclusions.
I'm guessing this will soon be a quiet post.
Edited by mickyh7 on Thursday 25th June 12:20
Had a similar impossible to find leak some time ago.
I let out the air, took out the Schroeder valve, put in about 20cc of A/C dye, put it back together and a few days later the UV light showed that in my case there was a slight leak from the valve stem.
https://www.amazon.com/FJC-4910-Universal-Fluoresc...
I let out the air, took out the Schroeder valve, put in about 20cc of A/C dye, put it back together and a few days later the UV light showed that in my case there was a slight leak from the valve stem.
https://www.amazon.com/FJC-4910-Universal-Fluoresc...
NMNeil said:
Had a similar impossible to find leak some time ago.
I let out the air, took out the Schroeder valve, put in about 20cc of A/C dye, put it back together and a few days later the UV light showed that in my case there was a slight leak from the valve stem.
https://www.amazon.com/FJC-4910-Universal-Fluoresc...
On all of your Tyres?I let out the air, took out the Schroeder valve, put in about 20cc of A/C dye, put it back together and a few days later the UV light showed that in my case there was a slight leak from the valve stem.
https://www.amazon.com/FJC-4910-Universal-Fluoresc...
To be fair to the OP, if you aren’t handy with the spanner’s this can be really frustrating AND inconvenient, especially on a daily driver
There is some really good advice here though and the main thing is to buy a cheap digital pressure gauge and check all the tyres on a daily basis until the problem is nailed.
From what I have read I would suspect a prank / idiot letting the tyre down or putting screws in the tyres etc or a cracked alloy, which can be really tricky to diagnose
There is some really good advice here though and the main thing is to buy a cheap digital pressure gauge and check all the tyres on a daily basis until the problem is nailed.
From what I have read I would suspect a prank / idiot letting the tyre down or putting screws in the tyres etc or a cracked alloy, which can be really tricky to diagnose
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