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10 flat tires in 2 months!?!? Help!

7K views 25 replies 18 participants last post by  Juliebrenna 
#1 ·
Hi!

I bought my 2008 Smart Fortwo 2 months ago used. It came with 8000 miles. A month ago I went out to my car and the driver back tire was flat, I filled it up at the gas station and paid no mind.

Since then almost every week either that tire or the front passenger will be flat when I go to drive my car in the morning. Nooo I don't have a stalker - checked security cameras and bought locks for my air valves. I've taken it to the dealership 3 times and each time they have no explanation- stating my tires are all fine.

This week since Sunday, it started with one flat, the next day 2, then 3 and this morning all 4 tires were flat. The tires always go flat overnight every day or every other day.

I took it to a local tire place. The driver back tire rim was bent, tire worn and the front passenger was a little worn but both are from me driving on them when they are flat to the gas station to fill them. They too did not have an explanation for the other two going flat.

The tires have no leaks, no holes, the tire is seated correctly I have to buy two new tires to replace the ones that are worn from driving on the flats to the gas station.

Has this happened to anyone else??? Why would my tires be going flat when I'm not even driving the car?? I'm so frustrated and can't keep going to dealership or spending money on this. Please HELP! How can I stop this?? What can I do??
 
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#3 ·
Remove the stupid air pressure sensors from the rims and the bulb from the dash, the air pressure sensors are what is causing all the leaks. Later cars don't have these, I think.
 
#4 ·
I agree with Mike T, you go out, the tyre's flat, you can see it's flat, you don't need a censor to tell you, you could also put in some of this stuff, I have it in my roadster tyres and never had a flat and they keep pressure, British dealers as an option will ultraseal all 4 tyres for about £80 when you buy a new car, but to do it yourself it's about £20 for the stuff, but heard a lot of bad comments about ultraseal, the stuff I have in was on QVC and they ran a car over a bed of nails without the tyre going down, so I thought, "Thats good enough for me":p
ProShine Flat Free Tyre Protector : netparts.co.uk, LOWERING the Cost of Motoring and Giving Your Car the TREATMENT it Deserves
 
#5 ·
Definitely not normal...It could be that something's wrong with the tires that the tire guys missed, or somebody that's letting the air out somewhere...

I don't know but this is not normal by any means
 
#9 ·
The only problem I've had with flats came from a loose valve stem. Any shop worth their salt should be able to identify and correct this problem, however. 3 and 4 flat tires scream vandalism despite the security cameras.

Did you know your 2008 smart should have an air compressor in the passenger footwell area? It sure could be helpful to put air back in the tire without driving on flats to the gas station! If you don't know what I'm talking about, read the owner's manual.
 
#10 ·
BradGarbus had that same issue on here a while back and found the pressure monitoring valve stems needed to be reinstalled properly with the sealant required. This only happened to him when the temperature dipped below a certain level and the tire would go flat. This is old stuff.
 
#12 ·
Had that happening on one of my cars. Figured out the wife was parking too close to the curb. The valve stem would rest agathe curb and let the air out of the tire. I ended up installing shorter valve stems. Happens when I put stem extensions on too. The curbs in this town are too tall. more like walls...
 
#21 ·
Here's a long shot, but worth checking. When you find the tire flat, remove the valve stem cap and check for debris. A friend of mine had a clever Ex who would pick up a small (BB size) stone and insert it in his caps, then replace them. They would push on the valve just enough to cause a very low leak resulting in multiple flats hours later.
 
#25 ·
Thank you all so much for your suggestions!! I found the air compressor which came with a sealant and I used it on all my tires about a week ago and my tires have been perfect! So whatever it was has been blocked.. yay!

Thank you!!!

buddys owner :)
 
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