How to find a leak in your car’s tire
Nail in a tire causing leak
If you are tired of stopping to fill your car tire up with air every chance you get and you don't want to take the car in to have a mechanic find the leak for you - and you paying for it - there is something you can do.
Finding a leak in a tire is quite easy. If you have air compressor at home you can do it at home, if not drive one more time to the air pump at the gas station with your flat tire on board.
First check to see there is no nail or other sharp object sticking out of the tire. You may need to gently rub your fingers around the exterior of the tire's tread to find the remnants of a nail or screw that may have embedded itself in your tire. If you don't see any let's move on the finding that leak.
Grab a squirt bottle, and fill it up with any kind of cleaning solution that bubbles: 409, window cleaner etc.
Fill up the tire with air. While putting air into the tire start squirting the tire with the cleaning solution. Working with quarter of the tire at one time works great.
You will see bubbles forming where the puncture hole or source of leak is in the tire. Mark that spot and you are ready to get the hole plugged up.
If the leak seems to be coming from the tread area, there is no nail or screw protruding from the tire and the leak appears to be very small, it might be possible to use a product like "Fix-A-Flat" to at least temporarily seal the leak.
If the leaking area appears to be large, you will probably need to bring the tire to a tire store or your local auto repair shop to have them replace the tire.
If the hole is on the sidewall of the tire or is a large one you may need to take a trip to the tire store or to your mechanic to have the problem fixed.
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