[240vPlug]

Hello everyone. About a week ago I started noticing my right rear tire was losing pressure. Every two or three days its down about 8 psi and I have to add air to it. I was thinking I should make an appointment at the dealer to have the issue sorted however I am afraid they are going to tell me that I need a new tire vs. attempting to repair it. I know these are self-sealing tires and I know there is a pdf with the repair procedure but I am interested to know what others have experienced when having their tires repaired.

 

[redpoint5]

8 PSI per day is quite a leak, and will be easy to diagnose.

First just look at the tire for anything obvious, and listen. The only 3 places for a leak is at the bead (where the tire and wheel meets), from the valve stem, and in the rubber somewhere.

If you don't locate the leak that way, put a little soap in a spray bottle and spray the tire. You'll find the leak easily that way.

If the leak is in the tread, put a tire plug in it and consider it a permanent fix. If it's in the bead, you'll probably need to have a tire shop remount the tire. If it's in the sidewall, you need a new tire.

Plug kits are like $3, and a repair can be made in 5 min or less. It will be easier to do all this if you remove the wheel.

 

[XJ12]

this happened to me a few weeks ago. pulled the car forward a few inches at a time with the wheels turned to expose the tire until I found a nail. pulled the nail and it sealed. has been holding pressure ever since.

 

[240vPlug]

This is what was in my tire. I removed it and sprayed soapy water. It looks like a very small amount of air is still leaking out (tiny bubbles). We will see if it actually seals when I drive it a little. Depending on how often I have to add air I may just let it go. Filled it with air this morning and it is still holding pressure so we will see.

 

[XJ12]

This is what was in my tire. I removed it and sprayed soapy water. It looks like a very small amount of air is still leaking out (tiny bubbles). We will see if it actually seals when I drive it a little. Depending on how often I have to add air I may just let it go. Filled it with air this morning and it is still holding pressure so we will see.

Well there's your problem!

The sealant in mine seemed to work after pulling the offending object and fully inflating the tire. Supposed to work up to 1/4" diameter.

 

[discodanman45]

I had a nail in my tire and had the same issue of losing pressure during the first few weeks of ownership. I found the nail, pulled it, and it self sealed. 50,000 miles later the tire is still fine. BTW I am at 52,000 miles and my tires look great. They should last another 30,000 miles.

 

[redpoint5]

The Acura was leaking air at such a tiny rate that it took months for the pressure to drop a noticeable amount, and soapy water barely produced the smallest trickle of bubbles. It's so easy and cheap to repair though that it was worth it to me to ream the hole bigger and insert a tire plug. Identifying the hole and removing the object is the most time consuming part. Reaming the puncture and inserting a plug takes about 1 minute.

It's literally more time consuming to post a forum reply than to fix a puncture with a plug kit.

 

[BoltFan]

Take it to a tire store and get it patched. This happened to my wife over the weekend; I got an Onstar update and called her; the passenger side front was reporting 26 PSI by Onstar notification; tire shop repaired it for free. She was good to go. Without Onstar it would have been a call to AAA and then a tow to a tire shop if there was one open on Sunday in small community where she was visiting. Glad we got the notification on Sat. They removed a small screw from the tire and patched it.

 

[JD4JC]

I had a very slow leak on '17 Bolt, couldn't find the puncture, and took it to a "Big O" tire store--a Michelin dealer--and they wouldn't fix it, saying that the self-sealing tires are not repairable. I corresponded with Michelin, and they sent info on how to plug them, but refused to intervene with the dealer. I tried a local Chevy dealer who doesn't sell EVs, and they turned me down.

Now that I've traded the '17 for a '19, the problem went away (for me at least!).

 

[BoltFan]

I had a very slow leak on '17 Bolt, couldn't find the puncture, and took it to a "Big O" tire store--a Michelin dealer--and they wouldn't fix it, saying that the self-sealing tires are not repairable. I corresponded with Michelin, and they sent info on how to plug them, but refused to intervene with the dealer. I tried a local Chevy dealer who doesn't sell EVs, and they turned me down.

Now that I've traded the '17 for a '19, the problem went away (for me at least!).

Interesting to note that although they didn't know the OEM procedure to fix the tire, the tires are repairable because other shops do read the service bulletins and are up to date on how to fix them. So it's good to know what some of us have already found out through experience, the tires are repairable and the OEM confirms this. :laugh:

 

[redpoint5]

I had a very slow leak on '17 Bolt, couldn't find the puncture

What method did you use to search for the leak? Soapy water method from a spray bottle is very handy. Failing that, you can submerge the entire wheel under water, though the soapy water trick works for even extremely slow leaks.

If the damage is not in the tread, no tire shop will repair it. Punctures in the tread should self-heal though, so that makes me wonder even more where the leak was.

 

[240vPlug]

Knock on wood I haven't lost any pressure since I removed the screw. I'm hoping it's sealed itself as designed.

 

[Sean Nelson]

I had a very slow leak on '17 Bolt, couldn't find the puncture, and took it to a "Big O" tire store--a Michelin dealer--and they wouldn't fix it, saying that the self-sealing tires are not repairable.

I've printed out the official Michelin Self-Sealing Tire Repair Procedure so that I can keep a copy in the car for situations just like this.

 

[240vPlug]

Well I had planned to ditch the self-sealing tires when it comes time to change them out...but...I have now been sold on them. The tire hasn't leaked anything since I pulled the screw out. This saved me a trip to the tire shop and fixed itself. This is enough to sell me on the self-sealers and I will definitely get the same tires when its time to replace mine.

 

[XJ12]

Well I had planned to ditch the self-sealing tires when it comes time to change them out...but...I have now been sold on them. The tire hasn't leaked anything since I pulled the screw out. This saved me a trip to the tire shop and fixed itself. This is enough to sell me on the self-sealers and I will definitely get the same tires when its time to replace mine.

^Likewise.

 

[stanwagon]

My recent experience (few months ago): just put snow tires on. The display said rear left was getting low. I kept checking and it was fine. But then, on an excursion, I saw that the front left was almost flat (using the display for the other tire, there was 5 psi in the tire!). So the tire shop failed to have the sensors relearn the order of tires. I limped two miles to gas station and filled with air and it held up to get home. Next day the tire shop discovered that there was a small problem in the valve stem causing the leak. They fixed that and they did the relearning thing properly.