I'm turning in my lease at the end of the week and my right rear tire has a slow leak in it from a plug I had put in about 2 years ago. It used to be I'd have to refill the tire from 22 psi to 38 psi once every 2-3 months. Now it's like every 4-6 days the light comes on. With the "inspector" coming to see my car, I don't want to be billed $300 for a tire, if he goes out there and it's flat.

So what should I do? Go by the dealer the day I know he's coming and pump it up that morning? I don't know if I could make it and I'd have to bring a pumping kit... I guess I could pull it off to save $300.

I was also thinking of buying some cheap fix a flat stuff and shooting a little bit into the tire, hopefully just enough to slow the leak down a few weeks time. However I'm concerned he may check the tire pressures and possibly see the sealant come out? I don't know how it works since I've never used it, and I don't even know if they will check the tire pressure...

Should I have a fix a flat place take the tire off and spread some glue all over the inside and then remount?

I just don't know.

Feedback please?

 

It might be worth ten bucks to have a garage fix the tire with a new plug...

 

Good point but they said I was lucky getting it in the first time because its right on the edge of the tread and the sidewall.. Plus if its just that I could just stick some glue over the outside of the plug. It may just be that plug or I'm concerned I may have driven over another spike or nail or something which is creating a second slow leak...

Anyway all opinions welcome.

 

Follow your heart, at the end you need to be at peace with yourself.

 

Spray the old plug down with a soapy water solution and verify that the leak is from the old plug. If it is leaking from the old plug then glue up another plug and shove it in there next to the old one. However, you may have a new leak that you need to find. It is not the ideal solution but it will get you by, ideally the tire needs to be pulled and patched from the inside.

 

Check out this pricey "Continental ContiComfortKit" on the Tire Rack site:

http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/...tkit/index.jsp

It also seems to be single use, so equally expensive replacement parts are required:

http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/...eplmtparts.jsp

This looks like an elegant solution, but the price is probably prohibitive.

 

Another reason not to buy a lease return or "former daily rental"?

Pete

 

Why would you not consider filling it up with air the day of the inspection? The inspectors don't really inspect it that closely. I think the guy who inspected my last lease took at total of 3 minutes, mostly taking pictures, especially if the car is clean.

 

just make sure you have air in it when you do your lease return... they are going to look at the tread they are not going to check tire pressure. do not put sealant in the tire as this will ruin the tire sensor, they will charge you for a new one...not cheap plus install.

 

it's not like the dealer is going to sell the car the following day to an unsuspecting buyer. they'll probably discover the issue within a few days or a couple of weeks and fix it before they ever sell it. whether they patch the tire or replace it , who knows. they might still discover the plug and its location during their inspection and expect reimbursement to replace the tire under the conditions of the lease. and in the event a customer buys the car and shortly thereafter detects there is a leak from the plug, the dealer will still likely be responsible for the repair.

actually, former short term leased vehicles (e.g. the daily rental) are often great buys because they are often value priced and come with the remainder of the warranty. my daily driver is an off lease car and it runs like a top. at just over a year old w/ 28k miles the price was less than half the original msrp.

 

Well the dealer is my friend and they are turning it back into Chrysler who apparently then will auction it off. He doesn't even care about the cars condition really and he'll help me cover it up. So what I'm going to do is try putting some heavy duty rubber cement over the plug and see if that works. The whole issue is because I've heard it takes 2 weeks to get an appointment with the inspector and by then it will be flat. Then the whole other half of it is the lease doesn't end for a few months... so I have a few months to make repairs myself based on what they say needs fixing. Good but bad because I need to find a more permanent solution to the tire issue.

 

Are you REALLY trying to skirt out from under YOUR responsibility? Shame on you.