Strange Tire Pressure Issue On TV

[mattskav]

So a week or so ago I towed our '16 footer about 120 miles on a balmy New England summer eve - 75 degrees . The next day I went to move the van (2014 Honda Ody) and the low tire pressure light was on.

I always carry a bike pump and to my surprise both of the back tires had around 27 lbs of air in them, down from 35. The front tires were fine. These are all relatively new Michelin Premier LTX 103's.

I did find a nail in one of them but the other one seems not to have an issue and hasn't leaked down since I pumped it back up.

I'm trying to figure out if this is just a strange coincidence or if there is an actual issue. The trailer is within the specs for the Honda, I've never heard of air being pushed out of tires, and the nail explains what happened on at least one side.

Thoughts before I go trade it in for an F150 SC EB??

M

[Wayne&Sam]

Do you know what the pressure was when you started towing, other than the warning wasn't on?

Did you go for an oil change recently? Really, they check your tires when they a warmed up and you don't end up with the correct cold temp, which you would have had the next morning.

[dkottum]

You've got two back tires with leaks. You found one, the nail. Or the other one was not pumped up completely. The Airstream has nothing to do with it.

[Rich W]

Sometimes you get air leaks at the rim of the wheel. I had one that had a very slow leak in the winter, not much in the summer. It was very annoying. As soon as the temperature would drop the low air light would come on.

The best way to tell is to take the wheel off, lay it flat and pour a mix of water and dish soap around the rim. There will be bubbles if there is a leak. Make sure to do both sides. If you don't find it there, stand the tire on it's tread and pour the mix along the tread and check for leaks.

If you find one your local tire repair shop will have break it down and sand the rim of the wheel, then apply sealer and air it back up.

[Jacob D]

I don't trust commercial shops and their worn out tire pressure gauges.

[kb0zke]

Your vehicle has a tire pressure monitoring system, and I'm guessing that you have the original tires and sensors. It is possible that one of the sensors has gone bad. Do you have a tire gauge? If so, one of these fine mornings go out and read the tire pressures from your instrument panel. Write them down, and then go out and check the pressures with your gauge. You probably won't come up with the exact same numbers, but they ought to be close and all should be off by the same amount and in the same direction.

As was mentioned above, tire pressures should be set when the tire is cold. You can check them when hot, but NEVER adjust the pressure based on those numbers. About all a hot check will tell you is if you have a low tire.