There are few things as frustrating as walking out to a car with a flat tire when you need to hit the road. Keeping an eye on our tire pressure is a great way to avoid this, but if there’s a leak, you will probably have to get it fixed. If your tires are leaking, but you aren’t sure where the leak is coming from, follow these five quick steps to finding the leak in your car tire.

Find Your Tire Leak in Five Steps

Step 1: Check Tire Pressure

While it’s important to check your tire pressure every few weeks throughout the year, you should check the tire pressure when you think you’ve got a leak to see how much air has been let out. If you notice you have one tire that regularly has less pressure, you’ve most likely got a leak.

Step 2: Check Out the Tire

Keep an eye on your tire tread throughout the year, but if you’ve got a leak, check for cracks, cuts or splits. You might be able to see objects embedded in the tire if your leak is caused by a nail or other item that punctured the tire. Use a white pencil or chalk to mark any parts of the tire you think might be leaking.

Step 3: Re-Inflate Tire to Recommended Pressure

Re-fill the tire to the recommended pressure using an at-home air compressor or an air pump at a gas station. Before going to the next step, listen for the high-pitched hiss of a leak. If you can hear this, then you know your tire needs servicing or replacement.

Step 4: Use Cleaner Bubbles to Locate Leak

If you can’t hear a leak, use any kind of spray cleaner and spray around the tread covering only the visible part every time. Wherever you see bubbles appear, you know air is leaking from inside the tire. Circle these locations with the white pencil or chalk.

Step 5: Plug the Hole and Have it Repaired

Consider the size of the hole when deciding how it is best to repair it. If the leak is very small, you can probably purchase an affordable tire repair kit at the store. However, if you feel that the hole is bigger than you can handle, or the tire is worn in too many places, schedule an appointment with our service team to get things patched up.

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Schedule Tire Repair and Maintenance Kenosha WI

If you think you’ve got a leaking tire, or it’s just time to have them replaced, give us a call. Our service experts will help you get your car back in great shape. We’ve got an online tire store and scheduling tool that makes it quick and easy to get your car into the shop for whatever you need.