Air pressure mysteriously disappears every 2 months

Hello everyone,

I have a 2005 Toyota Camry Le, which I bought in Oct 2004. I barely drive it (has about 13,000 miles), I take it for its regularly scheduled maintenance, oil change every six months. However, I am having problems with the front tire, on the driver's side of the car.

I fill my tires to 32 psi. However, every two months, the front tire on the driver's side loses 6 to 8 pounds of air, hence becoming 24 psi. What can be the cause of this problem? Can it be easily fixed without having to remove the entire tire? Please help.

Carz

Take the car to a tire shop. They will take the tire and wheel combination off the car and submerse it in a tank of water. They will rotate the tire and see if they can determine the source of your "slow leak". Leaks can come form the tire itself, the valve stem, the valve stem core, or even a rim leak where the tire seats on the rim, which is fairly common on aluminum alloy wheels. It could also be from a bent rim. Once they determine the source of the leak, fixing it should only run about $20-$25.

Mike

Mike is giving some good advice. You can always inspect the tread fully on that tire to see if something is stuck in it like a nail or screw. They can cause a slow leak sometimes. Your though sounds more like a leaking valve/valve stem. You can try replacing that itself first if you want for $4 or whatever and see if that fixes it. If you need this car to be dependable, take Mike's advise and bring it to a professional.

davemc

All the above is good advice. You can do some preliminary diagnosis first by removing the wheel, bring the pressure up to 50# (no, it won't explode), then sponging soapy water all over it, paying special attention to the valve stem and rim. If you see bubbles coming out of the center of the stem, a simple tightening of the schrader valve will usually suffice. If bubbles are coming from where the stem goes through the rim or anywhere along the rim on either side, you'll need to a service station or tire place to replace the stem or dismount the tire and clean the rim.
Don't forget to drop the pressure back down before driving on the tire.