Tires seem to require very frequent air addition?

[holeydonut]

Just posting here to see if any one else is encountering this weird phenomenon.

Wife bought a 2021 Model 3 Performance in August 2021. Since then we've only put 3,000 miles on the odometer with mostly freeway driving and errands (aka no track days). Stock uberturbines and tires. I'm in Northern California and the car is parked in a garage. So maybe it's gotten down to 40F but this thing has never seen snow.

The tire pressure keeps dropping from the factory 42 psi down to 36 psi every 1,500 miles. And it's every tire coming down in pressure at the same rate. All 4 basically went down to 36 psi a few months, and the TPMS warning (orange indicator) popped on. I got a Milwaukee 12v digital air compressor and roadside patch kit since the Model 3 doesn't have a spare. I've already used it to refill all 4 tires from 36 to 42 psi, and now I had to do it again.

I've owned a bunch of cars leading up to this, and I've never seen this. IIRC back in the 90s, there was a push by stealerships to put nitrogen into tires to help keep this from happening, but that was a load of baloney. Regular atmospheric air shouldn't be leaking this fast.

Is this normal for all of you with Model 3 Performance? Like you just gotta keep topping these tires up?

 

[neurocutie]

not normal. have a tire place check it out, or use the standard soapy water test to find the leak.

 

[Adam3]

Adding air every 3.5 months seems perfectly normal.......

 

[jjrandorin]

Just posting here to see if any one else is encountering this weird phenomenon.

Wife bought a 2021 Model 3 Performance in August 2021. Since then we've only put 3,000 miles on the odometer with mostly freeway driving and errands (aka no track days). Stock uberturbines and tires. I'm in Northern California and the car is parked in a garage. So maybe it's gotten down to 40F but this thing has never seen snow.

The tire pressure keeps dropping from the factory 42 psi down to 36 psi every 1,500 miles. And it's every tire coming down in pressure at the same rate. All 4 basically went down to 36 psi a few months, and the TPMS warning (orange indicator) popped on. I got a Milwaukee 12v digital air compressor and roadside patch kit since the Model 3 doesn't have a spare. I've already used it to refill all 4 tires from 36 to 42 psi, and now I had to do it again.

I've owned a bunch of cars leading up to this, and I've never seen this. IIRC back in the 90s, there was a push by stealerships to put nitrogen into tires to help keep this from happening, but that was a load of baloney. Regular atmospheric air shouldn't be leaking this fast.

Is this normal for all of you with Model 3 Performance? Like you just gotta keep topping these tires up?

I have had to add air at least once every "winter" and I also park in a drywalled garage with similar temps to what you mention in it. Never lower than about 40-45 (even though it gets colder than that here at night sometimes during the winter) and never warmer than about 90 in the garage.

Now that I think about it, I have to put air in these tires a couple times a year. Enough that I check my tire pressure every 4-6 weeks now, and when I was driving the BMWs we had, I never did that (although I knew I should have).

I put air in my tires around november of last year, and have checked them a couple times since then but so far so good. I have the 20 inch PS4S tires, on Zero G wheels from the sunseted tesla referral program. Only mentioning that because I dont have uberturbine wheels.

 

[rpiotro]

Temperature change?

 

[EVRider-FL]

Losing 1-2 PSI per month is perfectly normal, especially if the temperature drops. I check my tires every month, and usually need to add a little air. Same for every other car I’ve ever owned.

 

[holmgang]

Just posting here to see if any one else is encountering this weird phenomenon.

Wife bought a 2021 Model 3 Performance in August 2021. Since then we've only put 3,000 miles on the odometer with mostly freeway driving and errands (aka no track days). Stock uberturbines and tires. I'm in Northern California and the car is parked in a garage. So maybe it's gotten down to 40F but this thing has never seen snow.

The tire pressure keeps dropping from the factory 42 psi down to 36 psi every 1,500 miles. And it's every tire coming down in pressure at the same rate. All 4 basically went down to 36 psi a few months, and the TPMS warning (orange indicator) popped on. I got a Milwaukee 12v digital air compressor and roadside patch kit since the Model 3 doesn't have a spare. I've already used it to refill all 4 tires from 36 to 42 psi, and now I had to do it again.

I've owned a bunch of cars leading up to this, and I've never seen this. IIRC back in the 90s, there was a push by stealerships to put nitrogen into tires to help keep this from happening, but that was a load of baloney. Regular atmospheric air shouldn't be leaking this fast.

Is this normal for all of you with Model 3 Performance? Like you just gotta keep topping these tires up?

Literally never had to re-pressurize my tires, and im pretty fastidious about monitoring the pressure.
Where I live the car is also exposed to way larger temperature swings than in Northern California.

Maybe you have an ultra-slow leak. Possibly remounting the tires after cleaning the tire bead and rim edge may help.

 

[hellocar]

My tire pressures stay the same forever, other than what's driven by temperature change. Same with my previous car (BMW). I'm pretty picky about the pressures, so I always end up letting air out a couple of times in the spring, and adding some air back once or twice in the late fall. Is it possible that's what's happening to you? Depending how temperatures fluctuate, what your garage is like, and when you check it might be possible to get confused. Seems unlikely that all 4 tires would have an identical slow leak.

I do remember losing pressure over time in my previous cars, independent of temperature changes. Dunno what's changed, but I'd imagined that newer tires and alloy wheels just do a better job of holding the air in.

 

[holeydonut]

Lol it sounds like experience is all over the place. Thanks for the feedback and data/observations!

I don't really buy the temperature change scenario since a change in temperature shouldn't cause air leave the actual tire... change in temperature just changes the pressure of the air in the tire right? My only tires got back to 36 PSI after driving 50 miles.

Or maybe the bead of the uberturbines allows for a very slow air loss?

Or maybe Schrader valves have a tough time holding air at 42 PSI vs 35 PSI?

FWIW, I have a Volvo that hasn't had service at a dealership in 8 months parked in the same garage that is driven 2x as much as the Tesla. And It's held 35 PSI at all 4 tires for the entire duration of the 8 months. Wacky stuff...

 

[GtiMart]

Tires are not perfectly "airtight", losing 1psi per month is to be expected. On top of that real loss, you lose 1 psi of pressure per 10F reduction in temperature. That is pressure change due to temperature, not a loss of air molecules, but it also affects the reading. Both are normal.
If you lose more than 1psi per month plus whatever the temperature change, then there is something wrong. As all 4 tires react the same way I'm leaning towards a normal situation. Would do the same with all cars, you have the information more handy on a Tesla.

 

[BigNick]

Maybe grab a valve stem core tool at an auto parts store and make sure they're tight? I've seen loose valve cores cause slow pressure loss before.
Probably not going to be the case with all four tires, unless someone is screwing with you.

 

[gearchruncher]

Maybe grab a valve stem core tool at an auto parts store and make sure they're tight? I've seen loose valve cores cause slow pressure loss before.
Probably not going to be the case with all four tires, unless someone is screwing with you.

My stock M3P wheels leaked slowly- I tightened the TPMS module valve stem (not the core, the outer part) and it stopped. Not super surprising if they are all leaking, they were likely all installed by the same person with the same tool on the same day.

 

[holeydonut]

My stock M3P wheels leaked slowly- I tightened the TPMS module valve stem (not the core, the outer part) and it stopped. Not super surprising if they are all leaking, they were likely all installed by the same person with the same tool on the same day.

Ooooo interesting. I'll give that a try. Just a normal box wrench will do? I forget what the valve stems look like.

 

[neurocutie]

temperature makes a huge difference, but in both ways (as things warm up, psi should rise). otherwise 1psi loss per month is on the high side and anything above is definitely a leak. shouldn't have to add air more than 1 or 2 times a year, if at all.

 

[gearchruncher]

Ooooo interesting. I'll give that a try. Just a normal box wrench will do? I forget what the valve stems look like.

I used a socket, but pretty sure an open end will get down there too. 11mm I think? Don't over-tighten, just go a bit tighter than they are right now.

 

[Johnny Boy Mtl]

I have the exact same car, 2021 Model 3 Performance, stored in November and just took it out today. I inflated the tires to 48 psi before storage, was surprised to read that they all went down to 40 psi. So I guess it's normal to lose 1-2 psi per month.

 

[snowthewitch]

Been driving since December through a winter, haven't had to fill it up once.

 

[GtiMart]

Tires lose around 1psi per month normally, as rubber isn't perfectly "airtight". Also, tires change roughly 1psi per 10 degrees F temperature difference, higher temp = higher psi.

 

[Gulfcoaster]

Is this problem possibly due to Tesla stretching the Pirellis to fit on the wider Uberturbine rims? Maybe air is leaking around the bead? My 2021 M3P pressure dropped a lot too. No other car I've owned has dropped off like the M3P has.

 

[jrmt23]

Check your local costco. They might have a nitrogen fill station there. I've found that using that has yielded more stable tire pressure than just standard compressed air.