Okay, so the other day I noticed my car’s tire pressure light was on. Annoying, right? I filled up all the tires, light went off, and I thought, “Problem solved!” But a couple of days later, bam! Light’s back on. One tire was noticeably lower than the others, but I couldn’t see anything obviously wrong – no nails, no screws, nothing.
So I started my little investigation. First, the visual inspection, I got down, look close. I looked all over that tire, feeling for anything sharp stuck in there. Nope. Nothing.
The Soapy Water Test
Next, I remembered this trick my dad showed me years ago: the soapy water test. I mixed up some dish soap and water in a spray bottle – nothing fancy, just a good squirt of soap and filled it up. Then I sprayed the entire tire, I mean, I drenched that thing. Valve stem, sidewalls, tread, everything. The idea is that if there’s even a tiny leak, the escaping air will make the soapy water bubble up.
And guess what? After a few minutes of staring like a hawk, I saw it. Tiny, tiny bubbles, almost invisible, forming right where the tire meets the rim. Not on the tread, not on the sidewall, but right at that bead.
It was such a slow leak, that’s why I didn’t notice it at first, and the soapy water test is what found it. You would need to do that, seriously, if you have the same issue.
So, I took the car to the tire shop. Turns out, there was a little bit of corrosion on the rim, preventing a perfect seal. They cleaned it up, resealed the tire, and so far, so good! No more low-pressure light.
It was a good reminder that sometimes the simplest solutions (like soapy water!) are the best. If you use this method, I bet you can find the leak. Just try it and you will figure it out.
