Slow leak in tire... do I take it anywhere?

[timvracer]

Ok, stupid question... but I seem to have a slow leak in my right rear tire, losing about 3psi over the course of the day. I have not had any issues with my car to date (other than the damage done by the service center when I did my first annual donation to Tesla in the guise of a annual service appt.)

So what should I do? Should I just take the care into a normal tire shop? Or perhaps remove the tire at home and take in the wheel/tire to the shop?

Which leads to question #2, I will likely need 4 new tires soon regardless, so what do folks do... do you go to Tesla for that, or do I trust a local tire shop?

 

[pedriscoll]

For the tire repair you should be able to take it to any tire shop that knows how to properly jack a Tesla. You can print out the jacking section of the owner’s manual for them if you wish. I had 2 occasions when I had slow leaks due to a nail. My local Tire Barn was able to repair both.

As far as new tires, Tesla will have the OEM tires if you like your current ones. Tire Rack may have them cheaper, though. I went to Tire Barn because I like the local shop when I needed new tires. They sold me a set of Yokohama’s that were rated for the car and were quieter and lasted longer than the OEM Michelin Primacy tires.

 

[Doctt]

Since you are living in California, try to find a America’s Tire store in north California. They are a reputable tire store chain.

They fix leaking tire for free. Yes, they do. I have been using them for over 10 years. Never once upsell me. They will tell you whether they can fix it or not. Normally, if the leak is on the sidewall or the tire is wore out, u have to replace it. Otherwise, it can be fixed. In my years of experience, never once they asked me to buy a tire from them. They just fixed it.

I do buy tires from them (they do price match) because of their wonderful service. Or, u can buy tires from tire rack and they can install it for u for a fee

 

[dhrivnak]

Yes any tire shop should work. Living 200 miles from a service center I have used local people for most things like that.

 

[cab]

One other item. Your Tesla may have the tires with the sound deadening foam in them. Most of the big chains have probably seen them more (especially in California), bu they may freak out a bit if they haven't. Basically, though, they can still be repaired, they just have to cut away a little of the foam on the inside and buff the area down a bit in order to adhere the patch. The tire will have less foam in that spot and may require a tad more weight to balance, but should still balance.

 

[markb1]

My local Discount Tire (same company as America's Tire) almost put the jack pads overlapping the battery pack, which I presume would have caused major damage. Fortunately, I was watching and stopped them before they lifted the car.

Whichever tire place you use, the moral of the story is to make sure they are jacking the car correctly, and watch them carefully!

 

[Barry]

My local Discount Tire (same company as America's Tire) almost put the jack pads overlapping the battery pack,

In the glove box, I carry a print-out of the page from the manual that shows the jack points, along with the lug nut torque spec. I hand that to the clerk at any tire shop I visit. I also carry 4 hockey pucks, in case the shop doesn't have the attachments to buffer the car from their U shaped lift points. Haven't had an issue.

 

[mrbulk]

I remember having very slow leaks in the past a couple of times, but rather than an actual hole in the tire it was either a defect in the rim itself or an object stuck into the tire (in effect plugging it) and then leaking air out faster after I pulled out the offending item.

 

[gaswalla]

Definitely get it fixed asap. The car has too much power to risk a tire malfunction.
And, it's 6 years later since Tesla has been selling cars in volume - just take it to any reputable tire shop

 

[David.85D]

I believe there was a service bulletin to check tightness of the tpms mounting nut... so could be even something that simple.

 

[wwu123]

I had a slow leak in the valve stem itself, about 2 psi per 3 days. I could even hear it a bit when the stem cap was off. Was adding air every week for the past six months, until I just got new tires (which apparently the valve stems get replaced when you get new tires)....

 

[Russell]

Ok, stupid question... but I seem to have a slow leak in my right rear tire, losing about 3psi over the course of the day. I have not had any issues with my car to date (other than the damage done by the service center when I did my first annual donation to Tesla in the guise of a annual service appt.)

So what should I do? Should I just take the care into a normal tire shop? Or perhaps remove the tire at home and take in the wheel/tire to the shop?

Which leads to question #2, I will likely need 4 new tires soon regardless, so what do folks do... do you go to Tesla for that, or do I trust a local tire shop?

I would remove the wheel at home and then take it to the shop. They will plug the tire just like any other tire.
Salesmen will say they have worked on Teslas before but that doesn't mean the technician that gets your car has.

One technician from a chain store in San Jose was about to lift my car with a floor jack from the rear of the car and not the lift pads.
Another technician from a different chain store in Mtn. View used a quick jack lift on my battery.

 

[timvracer]

I did what Russel says above, I removed the tire at home and took it to a local shop, that I now will likely use when I actually do get my new tires. It is in downtown Los Gatos, there were at least 3 Teslas parked at the shop, and they are very familiar with them.

They also showed me the foam insert in the tire (Continental original 21"), which was interesting. I am back on the road, so thanks everyone for the help/advice.