Front left tire loses air pressure at highway speeds.
10-16-2018, 07:49 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Front left tire loses air pressure at highway speeds.
We just bought a used 2013 C250 and the tire pressure management system started giving us alerts of low tire pressure, A few times over the week we put in air but realized with a flat tire this morning when we woke up that something was wrong so took it to the repair shop.
They root caused it to a defective valve stem apparently whoever at the dealership put these new tires on before they sold us this used car they did not put the valve on correctly and they did something to the O ring to damage it.
After putting on a new valve stem assembly the repair shop tested everything with the soapy water and found no more problems and so it drove all day on a city with no problem.
Within a couple of minutes of getting on the highway TMPS alarm sounded that we had low pressure on the front left tire started to slowly drop from 34 down to 17 at which point we were able to get off the highway and put in air that get it back up to 34 PSI
Only had 2 more exits to go highway and it started to do it again but it leveled off at 17 PSI and stayed that way through all the surface roads until we got to our destination. Cooled off the tires and a 1/2 hour and fill them backup again with air and the car sat there for 2 hours with 0 problems but as soon as we started to drive it on a highway again and happened all over again.
So it appears something with the 91 degree heat or centrifical force with these tires has anybody seen anything like this before?
They root caused it to a defective valve stem apparently whoever at the dealership put these new tires on before they sold us this used car they did not put the valve on correctly and they did something to the O ring to damage it.
After putting on a new valve stem assembly the repair shop tested everything with the soapy water and found no more problems and so it drove all day on a city with no problem.
Within a couple of minutes of getting on the highway TMPS alarm sounded that we had low pressure on the front left tire started to slowly drop from 34 down to 17 at which point we were able to get off the highway and put in air that get it back up to 34 PSI
Only had 2 more exits to go highway and it started to do it again but it leveled off at 17 PSI and stayed that way through all the surface roads until we got to our destination. Cooled off the tires and a 1/2 hour and fill them backup again with air and the car sat there for 2 hours with 0 problems but as soon as we started to drive it on a highway again and happened all over again.
So it appears something with the 91 degree heat or centrifical force with these tires has anybody seen anything like this before?
10-17-2018, 08:14 AM
#2
Member
Did they check the wheel for corrosion or damage around the bead seal at all?
It's odd indeed but I've seen where bead seals would leak when tire flexes, only way to really know is to break tire down off rim and do a rim inspection. Of course inspect tire bead to make sure no gashes as well.
It's odd indeed but I've seen where bead seals would leak when tire flexes, only way to really know is to break tire down off rim and do a rim inspection. Of course inspect tire bead to make sure no gashes as well.
10-17-2018, 08:53 AM
#3
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Yes they just now took the wheel off took the tire off of the rim saw just a couple of teeny tiny spots of pitting and put silicone on it sealed it up but the tire back on inflated it to 36 and I took it on the highway and within one minute the pressure already started dropping I got off at the next to exit and it was down 10 pounds once I get back on the surface streets at leveled off in a did not drop any further just very strange they've never seen anything like this.
So right now what he is doing as they've taken the tire off the rim again in their resealing completely totally all the way around both sides of the Room with the silicone and I will give it another shot and see how it looks.
They are also going to see if they have another tire they can put on just to see if the problem follows the tire or if the problem follows the rim.
So right now what he is doing as they've taken the tire off the rim again in their resealing completely totally all the way around both sides of the Room with the silicone and I will give it another shot and see how it looks.
They are also going to see if they have another tire they can put on just to see if the problem follows the tire or if the problem follows the rim.
10-18-2018, 05:28 PM
#4
Super Member
So did they originally or somewhere down the line put 60 psi in the tire/rim and immerse in a good old water filled tire trough ?? Might add a twist to this old school test by leaving the rim on the car and jacking it down into the bath fully weighted..would have to rotate the tire 90 degrees or so enough times to immerse all of tire..up...down..up...down.. I've missed smaller leaks with soapy water spraying a few times. Leaning towards the tire being the problem.
10-19-2018, 08:46 AM
#6
Junior Member
Thread Starter
I still think the ramis slightly bent out of whack from a previous accident with a different owner and it's probably microscopic because we can't see it.
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10-19-2018, 01:09 PM
#8
Junior Member
Thread Starter
No the problem is solved I have no idea why it was typing in like that crossed through and I don't know how to undo it either
10-19-2018, 01:15 PM
#9
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2010 C300 4MATIC........ 2011 C63 AMG.............. 2015 CLS400 4MATIC.....
Here:
They did do a water test and showed nothing wrong at all it was very baffling to them so then they took the tire off found some micro pitting on one part of the rim and used silicone we road tested it and it still didn't work so they took a tire back off in sealed the other side of the rim that didn't even look like it needed anything and that solved the problem. The tire has not had a problem since then.
I still think the rim is slightly bent out of whack from a previous accident with a different owner and it's probably microscopic because we can't see it.
I still think the rim is slightly bent out of whack from a previous accident with a different owner and it's probably microscopic because we can't see it.
03-20-2020, 06:45 AM
#10
Reasons - Why tires lose air:
• Hole in a thread
• Poor seal where tire attaches to the wheel
• Problem with tire valve
• Tire damage
Things to do to know the root cause
Locating the leakage - Spray soapy water on the tire and watch for bubbles.
Resolving Issue
• Repair the tire
• Repair valve stem
• Restore or repair the rim
Some repairs are temporary, it’s mandatory to have a suggestion from a mechanic. If your tires are continuously leaking, then there it would definitely affect your engine performance.
• Hole in a thread
• Poor seal where tire attaches to the wheel
• Problem with tire valve
• Tire damage
Things to do to know the root cause
Locating the leakage - Spray soapy water on the tire and watch for bubbles.
Resolving Issue
• Repair the tire
• Repair valve stem
• Restore or repair the rim
Some repairs are temporary, it’s mandatory to have a suggestion from a mechanic. If your tires are continuously leaking, then there it would definitely affect your engine performance.
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Jeff Ostroff (03-20-2020)
03-20-2020, 01:48 PM
#11
Junior Member
Thread Starter
PROBLEM SOLVED! PROBLEM SOLVED! PROBLEM SOLVED!
Here is everything we went through to solve the problem:
We bought this car in October, 2018 used, had continuing problems late October, 2018 and first reported this issue of the tire losing air only at highway speeds over 60 MPH. Our repair shop guys finally siliconed the tire to the rim after running water tank tests that found nothing, and soap spray tests.
The silicone helped for many months, we thought we had the problem beat, then the problem came back in August, 2019 when my daughter and I were driving across the state to take her to college in Ft Myers.
October, 2019: A few people had suggested to me the wheel rim might be cracked, even though numerous water tank tests, and soap spray tests showed nothing. The car had been in a wreck by the previous owner. A few experts on forums had mentioned you can have a crack beneath the paint of the rim and not see it. So I bought 2 new 3rd party rims for $368.55 for front of her C250. Took her 2013 C250 to a local tire shop near her college in October 2019, and they installed the rims, balanced the tires, $150.
Next day, problem returns, problem seems to follow the TPMS to the new rims, whenever we drive 5 minutes somewhere and park, we lose PSI down to 13 PSI, we have to use our compressor every time we take the car out now, it's worse! We take the car back to the tire shop and they said it was the TPMS/valve not seated right, they re-seated it no charge, problem seemed fixed, we high fived, I traveled back home. Then problem returned 2 weeks later.
Month later, November 2019, daughter home from school, we take the car to local Mercedes dealer figuring they will know what to do when all other shops failed. They said the TPMS needed to be re-seated and was not torqued to correct Mercedes spec by previous shops. $60 charge. We high fived.
Daughter goes back to college after Thanksgiving, and guess what...problem returns. Arrrrrg!
Daughter comes home for Christmas December 19, 2019, we take car back to Mercedes and tell them to fix it. Mercedes dealer runs more soap tests and finally discovers corrosion and wear in the TPMS, which means I have to buy the whole ripoff priced kit of the TPMS sensor, the aluminum valve, all gaskets, that worn down. Dealer said the corroded sensor was leaking out the valve stem, the part number is:
Most online sites charge about $109 for this part, but I wanted to be certain I had a warranty on the repair which I can't do on my own without tire removal machine, and I wanted to be certain it was the original Mercedes part. Also, I have heard horror stories from other people trying to get 3rd party sensors to be recognized and activated by your car, so for a $253 overpriced repair for a stupid valve stem, if it meant the problem goes away forever, shut up and take my money. A few local tire stores told me they refuse to do Mercedes, saying it has to be OEM TPMS, no third party TPMS parts, so letting the Mercedes dealer do the work was the best decision.
Great news, after 3 months, not one problem! So looks like paying Mercedes that $253 to install the new TPMS solved the problem!
Now after spending $1000 on this problem I finally have peace. Still have 2 OEM rims on Craigslist and Ebay.
And stupid thing is when we pulled off the 2 old front rims last October, one of them was 8" wide, the other was 7" wide, how in the world did this car ever drive right!!!!
I'm just glad it's over and I hope this helps anyone else who gets caught up in this major head scratcher that baffled numerous top tire shop experts.
Trying to root cause intermittent failures that only occur at highway speeds is difficult when all tests are run at 0 speed.
Here is everything we went through to solve the problem:
We bought this car in October, 2018 used, had continuing problems late October, 2018 and first reported this issue of the tire losing air only at highway speeds over 60 MPH. Our repair shop guys finally siliconed the tire to the rim after running water tank tests that found nothing, and soap spray tests.
The silicone helped for many months, we thought we had the problem beat, then the problem came back in August, 2019 when my daughter and I were driving across the state to take her to college in Ft Myers.
October, 2019: A few people had suggested to me the wheel rim might be cracked, even though numerous water tank tests, and soap spray tests showed nothing. The car had been in a wreck by the previous owner. A few experts on forums had mentioned you can have a crack beneath the paint of the rim and not see it. So I bought 2 new 3rd party rims for $368.55 for front of her C250. Took her 2013 C250 to a local tire shop near her college in October 2019, and they installed the rims, balanced the tires, $150.
Next day, problem returns, problem seems to follow the TPMS to the new rims, whenever we drive 5 minutes somewhere and park, we lose PSI down to 13 PSI, we have to use our compressor every time we take the car out now, it's worse! We take the car back to the tire shop and they said it was the TPMS/valve not seated right, they re-seated it no charge, problem seemed fixed, we high fived, I traveled back home. Then problem returned 2 weeks later.
Month later, November 2019, daughter home from school, we take the car to local Mercedes dealer figuring they will know what to do when all other shops failed. They said the TPMS needed to be re-seated and was not torqued to correct Mercedes spec by previous shops. $60 charge. We high fived.
Daughter goes back to college after Thanksgiving, and guess what...problem returns. Arrrrrg!
Daughter comes home for Christmas December 19, 2019, we take car back to Mercedes and tell them to fix it. Mercedes dealer runs more soap tests and finally discovers corrosion and wear in the TPMS, which means I have to buy the whole ripoff priced kit of the TPMS sensor, the aluminum valve, all gaskets, that worn down. Dealer said the corroded sensor was leaking out the valve stem, the part number is:
000 905 72 00 Tire Pressure Monitoring System TPMS Sensor
Most online sites charge about $109 for this part, but I wanted to be certain I had a warranty on the repair which I can't do on my own without tire removal machine, and I wanted to be certain it was the original Mercedes part. Also, I have heard horror stories from other people trying to get 3rd party sensors to be recognized and activated by your car, so for a $253 overpriced repair for a stupid valve stem, if it meant the problem goes away forever, shut up and take my money. A few local tire stores told me they refuse to do Mercedes, saying it has to be OEM TPMS, no third party TPMS parts, so letting the Mercedes dealer do the work was the best decision.
Great news, after 3 months, not one problem! So looks like paying Mercedes that $253 to install the new TPMS solved the problem!
Now after spending $1000 on this problem I finally have peace. Still have 2 OEM rims on Craigslist and Ebay.
And stupid thing is when we pulled off the 2 old front rims last October, one of them was 8" wide, the other was 7" wide, how in the world did this car ever drive right!!!!
I'm just glad it's over and I hope this helps anyone else who gets caught up in this major head scratcher that baffled numerous top tire shop experts.
Trying to root cause intermittent failures that only occur at highway speeds is difficult when all tests are run at 0 speed.
Last edited by Jeff Ostroff; 03-20-2020 at 02:05 PM.
The following users liked this post:
xsever (03-20-2020)
