Tyre Problems

Thought I'd share my problem.  I got a set of 4 Kumhos from a reputable tyre shop on Sunday morning and had them fitted/balanced, etc.  Drove home and left the car in the driveway, and it has stayed there since.  Tonight (Mon) I went out to walk the dogs and came home, passing my car in the process.  Two tyres are flat!  Could be faulty valves, as it's happened before on a brand new tyre when I got home, but on two it seems a big surprise.

 

I called the the tyre place and they told me to bring it in, so I have tried to get my first flat wheel off to put a spare on, but I can't get the tyre iron in the holes!  Previously it went in when I changed it to go to the tyre place!  Now it doesn't fit???  The holes seem circular and not distorted.  Doesn't make sense.  The tyre iron will go into the holes of the three other wheels, just not this one, any of the holes.  I've tried using a socket from my tool kit but it feels like I'm gonna break my wrench if I keep trying.  Have used some spray to try and loosen it.

 

So I'm hoping the tyre place can send someone out to help, or at least use a portable compressor to get some air into them so I can drive it over.  Or maybe I'll just have to limp to the servo to do it.  Will it be okay if I go reeeeal slow, you think?

 

Any thoughts?

Message 1 of 10
Latest reply
9 REPLIES 9

Tyre Problems

Yes if it's a slow leak and you are only travelling a few klms, should be fine to get to the tyre place.

image host
Message 2 of 10
Latest reply

Tyre Problems

cq_tech
Community Member
Next time your tyre place refits your wheels, ask them NOT to use the compressed air-powered rattle-gun as these have a nasty habit of excessively tightening your wheel nuts, as you have already discovered. To loosen an overtight nut, slide an extension bar onto the end of your wheel wrench which will make it longer and therefore give you considerably more leverage to untighten the nut.
Message 3 of 10
Latest reply

Tyre Problems

If the tyres are totally flat do not try and "sneak" the car anywhere or you will ruin the sidewalls of your new tyres and make

 

them unserviceable.

 

Are the rims aftermarket ( ie mags) or are they the original rims? If they are aftermarket/secondhand rims then this may

 

explain your tyre iron problem.

 

It is more probable that the tyres have leaked between the bead and the rim. This will often occur if an inexperienced or

 

inattentive fitter does not  initially over pressurize the tyres when fitting to ensure that the bead and rim are correctly

 

contacted.

 

It can also occur if the rims had some rust scale around the bead line and it was not cleaned, or not correctly cleaned.

 

 

 

atheism is a non prophet organization
Message 4 of 10
Latest reply

Tyre Problems


@bubblegh wrote:

 

 I called the the tyre place and they told me to bring it in, so I have tried to get my first flat wheel off to put a spare on, but I can't get the tyre iron in the holes!  Previously it went in when I changed it to go to the tyre place!  Now it doesn't fit???  The holes seem circular and not distorted.  Doesn't make sense.

 

Any thoughts?




When the tyre place changed your tyres it is more likely that the wheels did not go back onto the same axles. So if you

 

have previously checked all the rims to ensure that your tyre iron goes into the holes of each rim including the spare the

 

only other possibilty is that the tyre place got one of your rims mixed up with another vehicles rims when they were

 

changing them.

 

If you had not  previously checked to see that the tyre iron fits into each and every rim then you may have always had

 

an odd sized nut access rim on the vehicle.

atheism is a non prophet organization
Message 5 of 10
Latest reply

Tyre Problems

Thanks for all the tips, everyone.  The tyre shop sent a guy out who helped me get the wheels off so I could put two spares on, then I went down to the shop.  They tested the rims and found cracks on two of them and offered me a staff price on a new set of wheels and free labour to change over the rubber, so I went with that.  Very nice outcome as a service experience, just a bit down on more $$$ now.

Message 6 of 10
Latest reply

Tyre Problems

That's great you had a good outcome but honestly part of the tyre fitting process invloves immersing the rims and newly

 

fitted over inflated tyres ( typically to the maximum pressure inscribed onto the tyre) into water to check for bead

 

leaks/cracks etc which obviously show up as bubbles..

 

There are other methods for rim crack detection but they are quite expensive afaik and normally reserved for rim

 

wholesalers and rim repairers.

 

I find it highly unlikely that cracked rims that allowed tyres to become deflated in (at most?) a 30hr period were not

 

bubbling their head off when tested post fitting.

 

That two rims also decided to crack at the same time is also unlikely with the common denominator being the fitter and

 

the fitting machine.

 

I wondered, out of interest, what type of rims ie. steel or alloy and what brand of vehicle?

 

NB. If the rims are 20's or 22's then the damage during fitting scenario is a definite possibility because some of them

 

appear to have the structural integrity of used aluminium foil.

atheism is a non prophet organization
Message 7 of 10
Latest reply

Tyre Problems


@bubblegh wrote:

  They tested the rims and found cracks on two of them and offered me a staff price on a new set of wheels and free labour to change over the rubber, so I went with that. 


That would have seen me asking questions as to me that's stating that they stuffed up,(if you over inflate to get

 

it to bead correctly then any air escaping should have been noticed).

 

They use a lubricant on the bead of the tyre so it slips on easier and any air escaping should be noticed.

 

IMHO they caused the cracks during the fitting process.

 

They also used too much pressure on tightening the wheel,(hence why the nut would've gone in too far and

 

you couldn't get it out).

 

Aluminium can be "fickle" and vary in strength when too much pressure or load is placed on it,(they now make

 

these rims and cross pieces thinner than ever which means they lose part of their strength).


@colic2bullsgirlore wrote:

That two rims also decided to crack at the same time is also unlikely with the common denominator being the fitter and the fitting machine.

 

I wondered, out of interest, what type of rims ie. steel or alloy and what brand of vehicle?

 

NB. If the rims are 20's or 22's then the damage during fitting scenario is a definite possibility because some of them

 

appear to have the structural integrity of used aluminium foil.


There are so many "dangerous" tyres out there due to the lack of strength in those rims,(there is now a high

 

number of flat tyres that are being caused by a crack in the rim).

 

Second hand rims are being sold on a regular basis and a number of those would be faulty,(so they sell them

 

with tyres already on them so that they can say that they didn't know they were damaged),stubborn_smiley_by_mirz123-d4bt0te_zps12f1a5a3.gif

 

It seems to be all about the "look" these days and manufacturers don't seem to care.

 

 

Message 8 of 10
Latest reply

Tyre Problems

 

 

I am an auvis examiner... in NSW your vehicle needs to pass a stringent test to be regregistered.... That's why I was

 

interested in the rim brand. I will put ithem on my list that is headed .."look once and then check again.. and.. if you're still

 

not sure knock it back."

 

http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/roads/registration/inspections/

 

 

 

atheism is a non prophet organization
Message 9 of 10
Latest reply

Tyre Problems

colic, they are 5-spoke 19" Avanti Racing wheels bought more than 7 years ago.  The crack is on the inside lip of both rims which face into the middle of the car.  The cracks look almost identical, seemingly in the same spot.  Pretty consistent.

 

Message 10 of 10
Latest reply