loss of tire pressure every few days

I have a chevy venture 99 van, and I noticed that every few days I find my tire pressure on the front tires down from 35 to about 30.

Its not a slow leak, however I think filling up my tires every 3/4 day is a bit ridiculous.

A friend of mine at work suggested that the seal between the tire and rim could be compromised...I have 109000 km on original tires.....who can confirm this? at 109000 should I get new tires anyway??

You have a puncture tire, just bring it to a tire shop. They would take it off, force air in and you will see where the puncture area is. If its not a bad hole, they can patch it up and you are on your way. Sometimes, the hole is on the side wall or you have drove too much with the nail on it causing more damage to the tire. In these case, they will say its not save to just patch it and tell you to replace it.

Best to bring it in soon.

there might also be a possibility that your rims are dented, so the beads between the rim and tires are not sealed well

Most likely a leak, (whatever caused the puncture is probably still in there, that's why its so slow). My wife just had this on tires that were only about 2 months old. She had a nail or screw on the sidewall of all places...very slow leak, her tire would be down in a week or so. It was un-repairable, so road hazard covered getting a new tire.


Another possibility is that your valve on your stem could also be leaking.

Originally Posted by bell02fantasy

I have a chevy venture 99 van, and I noticed that every few days I find my tire pressure on the front tires down from 35 to about 30.

Its not a slow leak, however I think filling up my tires every 3/4 day is a bit ridiculous.

A friend of mine at work suggested that the seal between the tire and rim could be compromised...I have 109000 km on original tires.....who can confirm this? at 109000 should I get new tires anyway??

I had slow leaks with a couple tires on a car in the past. The tires needed to be remounted on the rims (there was no puncture in the tire itself).

If you have 109,000km on the tires already - they are likely getting close to needing replacement anyways. Any service centre should be able to tell you if the tires are still ok, or if they need to be replaced. They will base the judgement on tread wear, and the general condition of the tires (sidewall cracking, etc.)

If you made it to 109,000km on a set of tires that is unheard of. Excellent wear on tires - first off its time to replace with new set of tires - that would probably change things for you considerably.

Originally Posted by 162

If you made it to 109,000km on a set of tires that is unheard of. Excellent wear on tires - first off its time to replace with new set of tires - that would probably change things for you considerably.

thats what I thought too....perhaps the "life" of tires is coming to an end.
Now, cheapest.......Sam's or Costco?..Sams promises 59 minutes

Originally Posted by bell02fantasy

I have a chevy venture 99 van, and I noticed that every few days I find my tire pressure on the front tires down from 35 to about 30.

Its not a slow leak, however I think filling up my tires every 3/4 day is a bit ridiculous.

A friend of mine at work suggested that the seal between the tire and rim could be compromised...I have 109000 km on original tires.....who can confirm this? at 109000 should I get new tires anyway??

thats good wear on the tires already... it probally going near bald tires anyways.. maybe replace the tires.. since winter is hear wet weather, snow, your all season tire won't have too much grip on the snow. or rainy wet pavment.. if oyu think about it.. it could be a sign of the tire might blow out on you on the highway.. you don't want to be stuck on the highway with a blown tire in the middle of winter.. you -40 below you don't want to take that 20 mins to change a tire.

for the tire for slow leak it could be your beads are not holding the seal.. or warped rim. you can try tha tire sealent they sell at canadian tire for $5-7

Originally Posted by akito925

thats good wear on the tires already... it probally going near bald tires anyways.. maybe replace the tires.. since winter is hear wet weather, snow, your all season tire won't have too much grip on the snow. or rainy wet pavment.. if oyu think about it.. it could be a sign of the tire might blow out on you on the highway.. you don't want to be stuck on the highway with a blown tire in the middle of winter.. you -40 below you don't want to take that 20 mins to change a tire.

for the tire for slow leak it could be your beads are not holding the seal.. or warped rim. you can try tha tire sealent they sell at canadian tire for $5-7

called Sams....micheline 121 + 10 + tax - 130000 speed rated

called costco - 3 choices - bridgestone 102 + tax - 100000
micheline 129 + tax - 130000
bridgestone 105 + tax - 115000

i am leaning towards the bridgestone as they are in the middle of price and tire rating....Anybody else have any thoughts

109,000kms on a van or minivan - your tires are likely shot, actually, probably beyond shot.

Using the tire sealant will only help if the leak is in the tread of the tire, which I doubt in this case. You likely need your tires remounted and resealed at the rims... but... you are wisely going with new ones! Nice!

As for the comparison, it is not very realistic to compare brand to brand and get quality responses. I suppose it could be useful -- but it is like asking do you like Ford or Subaru... as long as you realize this. All things being equal, it's hard to buy a bad tire now. The differences are going to lie in durability, dry traction, wet traction, weight rating and noise level. If you want to get technicial, you could check out reviews of the tire models at www.tirerack.com or similar.

Good luck!

tire sealants are generally used for temporary fixes until you can bring your tire to a shop to get it properly repaired or replaced.

There could be many possibilities for the leak. First you may have a nail in tire, if upon close inspection you can't find anything, it may be leak in the rim, where the rim and the tires contact may have some gap, or the valve may be leaking. You can try to take the tire off and pump it up a bit then slow pour some soap water on it to find where it bubble, or any auto shop will be able to fix it for you for about $10 if you feel that its not time to replace tires yet. But it's about time to replace them.

with that kind of mileage, its definitely time to replace the tires... i suggest you go visit www.tirerack.comp and read some reviews on the best tires for your application which will help you to decide on which ones you should buy

Originally Posted by DJ_Peanuts22

with that kind of mileage, its definitely time to replace the tires... i suggest you go visit www.tirerack.comp and read some reviews on the best tires for your application which will help you to decide on which ones you should buy

So off I go to GM for a quote on tires (very high by the way)...and after shutting off my wipers, they stop in the upright position??????/ I'm like great going to GM to llok and tires and they will tell me its 300 to fix tires....

so i go in and say my wipers work FINE, they just stop in the upright position when i shut them off (hi-low-intermet all work fine)....guys says oh you need a new arm...288.00????