What are the reasons why tires deflate?

In general, tires have an average lifespan of several tens of thousands of kilometers. It is however variable depending on your driving style and the regularity of your car maintenance: it is recommended to check the wear condition of its tires and their pressure once a month.

How do you recognize tires that deflate?

If you want to check that your tires deflate, you can simply carry out a visual inspection of your tires: check the wear indicator, presence of a foreign object. Indeed, a slow flat can remain unnoticed for a long time. This inspection can be accompanied by a check of the pressure of your tires, which you can carry out using a pressure gauge, at a service station or washing station, or at your garage. You will need to compare your results to the standards indicated by your manufacturer, which you will find in your vehicle maintenance book.

But if you want to know for sure, there is another way to check if one of your tires has a flat tire: you will first have to disassemble it and plunge it into a basin of water mixed with dishwashing liquid. The presence of water bubbles at a particular point in the tire will confirm where the flat is coming from.

Other circumstances can also affect the condition of your tires or wear them faster

Initial tire inflation. A problem related to the geometry or parallelism of your wheels. If you don’t use your car regularly, your tires become more porous and prone to cracks. It is better to inflate your tires a little more than the manufacturer’s standard if you already know that you will not be driving for a while. If you drive with winter tires in summer: their composition is not adapted to high temperatures, which can wear them out faster.

It is necessary to quickly identify the cause of the deflation of your tires: worn or deflated tires cause a loss of grip especially in rainy weather, an increase in the braking distance, and consequently an increase in the risk of accidents. Cracks and tears already present on a tire can get worse and cause its explosion: it is the flat tire. Finally, a deflated and undiagnosed tire can affect many other parts of your vehicle, starting with the rims on your wheels, but also suspension and shock absorbers, brake discs and hoses.