Losing air from one tyre – TPMS concerns - recommendations please

[GrahamW42]

One of my tyres has been losing pressure (at an increasing rate) for literally years now. I thought that the new set of tyres I had fitted last year would sort this out … it didn’t.

It has continued to get worse and now I am topping up this tyre once a week – to the tune of 2 or 3 psi.

I assume that the valve is the problem – but I believe that the valve is an integral part of the Tesla TPMS unit.

So, do I have to go to a Tesla SC (a three hour round trip) or can a local garage be expected to fit a compatible 3rd party replacement ?

Or should I go to a tyre specialist ? (There is a Kwik-Fit nearby).

And does anyone know if a leak of only a couple of psi per a week would be enough to actually be traceable ? Clearly I’d rather have the problem properly traced and fixed rather than just buy a new valve and TPMS unit on the off chance of fixing the problem.



Thanks

 

[WllXM]

I do not know if Tesla would be prepared to do that but they ship TPMS modules through the online store (store.tesla.com).
If you put in a service request, maybe you can ask them to send out a warranty replacement that you could get fitted locally and return the faulty one as a sign of good faith?

 

[Adopado]

One of my tyres has been losing pressure (at an increasing rate) for literally years now. I thought that the new set of tyres I had fitted last year would sort this out … it didn’t.

It has continued to get worse and now I am topping up this tyre once a week – to the tune of 2 or 3 psi.

I assume that the valve is the problem – but I believe that the valve is an integral part of the Tesla TPMS unit.

So, do I have to go to a Tesla SC (a three hour round trip) or can a local garage be expected to fit a compatible 3rd party replacement ?

Or should I go to a tyre specialist ? (There is a Kwik-Fit nearby).

And does anyone know if a leak of only a couple of psi per a week would be enough to actually be traceable ? Clearly I’d rather have the problem properly traced and fixed rather than just buy a new valve and TPMS unit on the off chance of fixing the problem.



Thanks

I could be wrong here but I thought that the valve element of a TPMS could be replaced ... not sure about Teslas versions? Get Googling!

 

[kelvin 660]

Take your car to a tyre place and let them find and hopefully fix the leak. That will be your quickest way to sort it.
However, it could turn out to be a crack in the alloy and that won'tbe covered under warranty...

 

[M1tch]

Could be a crack in the alloy, corroded alloy, the nipple in the valve may not be tight etc etc.

Take it to any tyre garage. They will inflate it over the recommended pressure and pop it in a tyre bath. Look for the bubbles and there is your problem. From there you can attribute blame/cause as you feel fit - or just fix it. To deflate a tyre the nipple needs to be removed each time. It could have been cross threaded at any tyre change you’ve had - but could also be many other things. Start there and see how you get on

 

[Cilonen]

As others have said - get it checked at a tyre place.
I had similar issues with the NSF repeatedly being 2-3psi down, found a 2" buckled section of rim which was largely hidden from view by the aero cover. Probably from 1 of the many potholes on our roads....
Wheel refurb place in Lincoln (Simply Wheels) straightened the rim and no issues since.

 

[mark02115]

make sure that the shop you take it to had works on Tesla(s).... you don't want somebody using a jack that will damage the battery

 

[Skie]

Get a sponge, some soapy water (liberal amount of fairy liquid works best) and wet the tyre and wheel, then look for air bubbles forming. Works best if you can take it off as you can see everything better.

Other option is tyre place and they’ll pop it off and into a bath of water.

 

[NigelT]

I second the people saying to check for bent/cracked rims. I've had three wheels bent so far...

 

[debrooker]

I second the people saying to check for bent/cracked rims. I've had three wheels bent so far...

Ditto, i have had numerous occurrances on various cars over the years.

 

[Jason71]

in addition to the cracked/bent/corrosion ideas which I do endorse there is also the possibility that the wheel is porous due to a manufacturing defect as in the air is litterally escaping though the alloy itself due to a defect in the casting. This is known issue with alloy wheels. I have never heard about it from a Tesla so a crack or corrosion on the rim is probably more likely but it does happen.

 

[15Peter20]

One of my tyres has been losing pressure (at an increasing rate) for literally years now. I thought that the new set of tyres I had fitted last year would sort this out … it didn’t.

It has continued to get worse and now I am topping up this tyre once a week – to the tune of 2 or 3 psi.

I assume that the valve is the problem – but I believe that the valve is an integral part of the Tesla TPMS unit.

So, do I have to go to a Tesla SC (a three hour round trip) or can a local garage be expected to fit a compatible 3rd party replacement ?

Or should I go to a tyre specialist ? (There is a Kwik-Fit nearby).

And does anyone know if a leak of only a couple of psi per a week would be enough to actually be traceable ? Clearly I’d rather have the problem properly traced and fixed rather than just buy a new valve and TPMS unit on the off chance of fixing the problem.



Thanks

I had something similar. It was eventually 'solved' by using a high pressure airline rather than my electric pump.

I assume there was dust on the valve that was blasted away. Very odd. The tyre would stay fully inflated then begin to slowly leak air after a few hundred miles.

 

[Jtechiejp]

Mine was the Valve stem they replaced it and so far so good

 

[Dangerous Fish]

It's good practise to replace the valve assembly every time a tyre is taken off and put back on a rim, but I lot of tyre places skip this. Ask for a 'service kit' for TPMS sensor next time or buy some yourself and keep them in the car.
In this case it could be the rim itself as others have said. Tyre bead not seating properly or crack/rim distortion.

 

[kuruma]

a high pressure airline

Ryanair?

 

[fholbert]

in addition to the cracked/bent/corrosion ideas which I do endorse there is also the possibility that the wheel is porous due to a manufacturing defect as in the air is litterally escaping though the alloy itself due to a defect in the casting. This is known issue with alloy wheels. I have never heard about it from a Tesla so a crack or corrosion on the rim is probably more likely but it does happen.

But would the rate of air loss increase?

 

[fholbert]

I had something similar. It was eventually 'solved' by using a high pressure airline rather than my electric pump.

I assume there was dust on the valve that was blasted away. Very odd. The tyre would stay fully inflated then begin to slowly leak air after a few hundred miles.

I've been a pilot for 51 years, also a former Air Traffic Controller, USAF and FAA.

What the heck is a high pressure airline pump?

 

[fholbert]

It's good practise to replace the valve assembly every time a tyre is taken off and put back on a rim, but I lot of tyre places skip this. Ask for a 'service kit' for TPMS sensor next time or buy some yourself and keep them in the car.
In this case it could be the rim itself as others have said. Tyre bead not seating properly or crack/rim distortion.

I always replace TPMS sensors when the tire (tyre) is replaced.

 

[Jason71]

I've been a pilot for 51 years, also a former Air Traffic Controller, USAF and FAA.

What the heck is a high pressure airline pump?

View attachment 957848

He means a proper air compressor like the ones you would have in a workshop or a filling station that will have a much higher rate of flow than the little 12volt ones you keep in your boot. He is suggesting that the higher flow rate cleared some kind of debris from the valve that was stopping it from closing properly.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

I always replace TPMS sensors when the tire (tyre) is replaced.

It's not necessary to replace the sensor *every* time a tyre is replaced. The battery life in the sensor is anything from 5-10 years.