One Tire With Slow Leak, replace 1 or all 4?

[gregtopf]

So one of my tires seems to have developed a slow leak. I'm debating about how best to handle it. My car has 11k on it, and the tires are about 7/32" depth, so they aren't worn out. But one new tire with full depth is going to be pretty drastic. So what do you think I should do? Beyond getting the one tire checked out to see if it can be plugged if it's got a nail in it or something.

 

[Lu Ann]

So one of my tires seems to have developed a slow leak. I'm debating about how best to handle it. My car has 11k on it, and the tires are about 7/32" depth, so they aren't worn out. But one new tire with full depth is going to be pretty drastic. So what do you think I should do? Beyond getting the one tire checked out to see if it can be plugged if it's got a nail in it or something.

I was in a similar situation last week. I was out of town on business and my tire went completely flat. I had intermittently having problems with the TPMS alerts on it but the tire was good. I ended up having to get my car towed about 150 miles to the service center where it was discovered I had a "wheel defect" causing the air to be let out of the tire. I got a new wheel and upgraded TPMS system.

 

[gregtopf]

I'm thinking for now I will see how it is at the end of the day. If it's holding I will just fill it and then make an appointment to bring it in. Worst case if it's flat, I call roadside assistance and they hopefully can swap me out.

 

[jaguar36]

I'd just get one new tire and not worry about it. Dunno what kind of tires you have, but Michelin Pilot Super Sports start at 10/32. 3/32" of tread difference isn't going to be a big deal.

Lots of tire shops will shave down tires to match though if you are really concerned about it.

 

[gregtopf]

I don't feel like this would be a good way to go. Having one oddball tire would, I beleive, mess with the handling and balance of the car. They are the stock tires I'm pretty sure.

 

[bishoppeak]

You are being overly cautious, simply not that big a deal.

 

[Chopr147]

I plugged one of my tires about 5000 miles ago. No problems since. A DYI plug kit is $10 if you are handy

 

[Barklikeadog]

Hrmm. no spare tire?

 

[jaguar36]

Hrmm. no spare tire?

Tesla's (and most modern cars) don't have spares.

 

[brkaus]

Hrmm. no spare tire?

Your right, my BMW 3 series does not have a spare tire. Thanks for asking.

OP, if your concerned about the mismatched tire size, you could change both on the same axle. That is the more critical pair. Likely they will just be able to pull a nail or something and you will be good to go.

 

[The Duke]

Begin at the beginning, what is leaking? Is it the fill valve, a bent wheel, a nail in the tire? You would feel pretty dumb replacing the tire when the tire is not the problem. Not that I have ever done that >.>

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

The best thing about getting it plugged is then your tires will last forever.

Okay, not really. But, I had a slow leak in one of mine at around 5K miles and had it patched. I figured the tires would last like 20K miles or so. But, I'm still on the same tires at 31K.

 

[Zetopan]

Either repair the leaking tire or adjust the valves on the three non-leaking tires so that they leak at the same rate as the leaking tire. Either method will help keep your car level.

 

[CuriousG]

So one of my tires seems to have developed a slow leak. I'm debating about how best to handle it. My car has 11k on it, and the tires are about 7/32" depth, so they aren't worn out. But one new tire with full depth is going to be pretty drastic. So what do you think I should do? Beyond getting the one tire checked out to see if it can be plugged if it's got a nail in it or something.

Take it to Discount Tire (America's Tire) to get it patched for free or at the very least they can tell you what is causing the leak.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Try and get it patched. If it can't be patched, then I think you can get away with replacing only that one tire. 10/32" is a new tire, yours are at 7/32", so 3/32" difference, which is low enough to not affect the handling.

If you were down at 4/32" - 5/32", then you might want to go ahead and replace two tires on the same axle. Start the new ones on the front axle, then rotate them both to the rear axle (and opposite side) after 2500 miles.

 

[Zero CO2]

So one of my tires seems to have developed a slow leak. I'm debating about how best to handle it. My car has 11k on it, and the tires are about 7/32" depth, so they aren't worn out. But one new tire with full depth is going to be pretty drastic. So what do you think I should do? Beyond getting the one tire checked out to see if it can be plugged if it's got a nail in it or something.

plugged my tire had a slow leak from a nail at 3000 miles no issues .....plenty of posts on how to handle... tools for fast job
floor jack, torque wrench, needle nose pliers, lug wrench, air compressor and plug kit... you should have this kit IMHO unless you like waiting for AAA or Tesla to show up ...you can be back on the road in under 30 minutes with this kit
if you don't like to work on your car bring to local repair shop and have them plug the leak

 

[ucmndd]

I know we're all at least sorta well off in that we have Teslas... but immediately jumping to replacing four tires with 65-75% of their useful life left because a single one has an undiagnosed leak is an unfathomable waste of money and resources.

 

[ucmndd]

plugged my tire had a slow leak from a nail at 3000 miles no issues .....plenty of posts on how to handle... tools for fast job
floor jack, torque wrench, needle nose pliers, lug wrench, air compressor and plug kit... you should have this kit IMHO unless you like waiting for AAA or Tesla to show up ...you can be back on the road in under 30 minutes with this kit
if you don't like to work on your car bring to local repair shop and have them plug the leak

+1

One of my OEM Goodyears picked up a nail at about 7k miles. Local tire shop dismounted the tire to patch, discovered the foam inside, and accused me of being a space traveler that brought them a tire from another planet. Refused to accept the risk of applying a patch to previously undiscovered alien technology and sent me on my way.

So I plugged it myself for $10 and happily drove until they were threadbare at 20k.

 

[Jeff Hudson]

On two separate occasions Costco dismounted the tire, removed a nail, plugged and patched my tire for about $10. I also recently bought OEM replacement Michelin tires at Costco for $1,004.87 - $100 (Discount Promotion) = $903.87.

 

[gregtopf]

Wanted to follow up with the closure on this.
This week I managed to calculate that the tire was losing about 5 lbs/day. Went to the dealer today and turns out my TPMS sensor was broken and leaking. So after all that, all it cost me was an hour of my time.