# Strange issue with Flat tire at Dealership.



## GTOtbird (Mar 4, 2006)

Took GTO in for 6,000 mile service which included tire rotation.
I asked Shop to also check for the infamous "strut rub."
Service advisor reported no signs of stut rub--this is not the problem just information for those concerned about the strut rub.

Problem was: Drove car directly home 10 miles in a gentle rain, regular roads, no excessive speed or spinning tires, just playing my Rhett Miller CD a little loud. Parked GTO in garage, and next day it rained, and I was home alone organizing my computer room. About 1 p.m. decided to tackle the garage and noticed right rear, passenger side tire was flat. Crap!, I can't remember the last time I had a flat on my car. So, I pulled out manual to find jack point, jacked up GTO. Decided that the mini spare would look like crap and so I decided to inflate the tire and see if was still leaking before putting on the spare. Also, knew it would be hard to find a tire place open the Saturday before Christmas. Inflated tire to 36 psi and began calling, of course Pontiac dealer was closed, and after about 6 phone calls, found a BFG dealer open. Checked tire pressure and still at 36 psi. Drove to shop, this where it begins to be strange--THEY COULD NOT FIND A LEAK! Verified correct tire checked, drove home and emailed Pontiac service advisor (SA). I have checked tire pressure on all four tires about every six hours and tire is holding pressure. Over the last 5 days tire is down about 1/2 pound, most likely because of frequent checking the tire. Anyway, talked to SA and Service Manager and they have no explanation. I have discussed with many others and thought about this for days and my only conclusion is that tire must have been deflated BEFORE I left dealership. When car was returned to me I did not do a walk around and did not see the RR tire. Main reason I know tire was deflated was when I opened the garage door I saw a dual mark in the concrete driveway going into the garage and it ended at the rr tire. Obviously made by the rim. The outside of tire looks O.K. and I was on vacation so did not drive GTO until today.

I am scheduled to take GTO back to dealer Saturday Morning, as this was my first and may very well be my last trip to this Pontiac dealer. The Service Manager has agreed to pull the tire, soak in the "water vat" and then take tire off the rim, and see tire is damaged.

Leason learned: ALWAYS do a complete walk around before leaving any service establishment.

Please only reply if you have ever had something like this happen--that is a tire goes flat for no apparent reason but then after inflating the tire it holds pressure.


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## gtx76 (Jun 29, 2006)

My wife's 03 PT Cruiser had a tire that would do that. No problems for a month or two at a time then the front driver's side would just go flat. I took it to Goodyear and they could not find any problems, they even took the tire off the rim....nothing! Now that I think about it, it did seem to do it after driving in the rain. Strange...never did figure it out. so I traded it in for my GTO.


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## speedwrenchx10 (May 6, 2006)

GTOtbird said:


> Took GTO in for 6,000 mile service which included tire rotation.
> I asked Shop to also check for the infamous "strut rub."
> Service advisor reported no signs of stut rub--this is not the problem just information for those concerned about the strut rub.
> 
> ...


Possible that if they checked air pressure the schreader valve did not reseal and when you aired it back up the valve sealed.If they cannot find a puncture request a new valve stem.The only other poss is a small object like a staple or something in the tread that only leaks when the tire is positioned just right.Spray it with dish soap and water mixture.


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## nagoat (Oct 21, 2006)

you may need a new rim. i had two flats on my right rear tire after the first one i replaced all 4 with blizzacks for the winter. about three weeks after that i had one on the same wheel come apart under heavy accelleration wich i suspect was because tire had lost air. i needed a new rim after that because it was destroyed. haven't had any trouble since.


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## bg2m8o (Jul 25, 2006)

Speedwrench has it. I'd say about 98% chance it is one of the two items he mentions. Pull the wheel and have a very good look at every square inch of the tire. If you cant find an artifact, cut, crack or anything else untoward, then put a new valve stem in it and keep your eyes peeled.

This happened to my old PU which has tube type radials mounted on two piece wheels (split rims) It was a bad valve stem, which of course meant a new tube.


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## nagoat (Oct 21, 2006)

i would certainly exhuast every other possibility before considering new rim.
over 400$ from dealer. had no choice in my case though. could have been the valve stem wich also was new with the rim.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

*Check the Valve Stem for cuts or air leakage around the stem at the wheel. 

Check the needle inside the stem for leakage, use soapy water all around the stem area and flex the stem back and forth to cause movement. If there is a leak the soapy water should bubble.

Could be the leak is so slow and the rotation of the tires causes flexing and that causes just a slight flex that it takes a long period of time for air to escape.*


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## GTOtbird (Mar 4, 2006)

Thanks for the tips. It's raining hard today, so I'll wait until next year, ha ha, to get the tire checked...


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