Wife came home and told me that a dashboard light came on. I checked the app and saw one tire has only 24psi. I can’t tell if/where there is a puncture but I assume there’s one given the sudden decrease in psi.

Now the dilemma: it’s Friday and I can’t get to the dealer until Monday morning. Can I safely (a) let it sit over the weekend and (b) drive it to the dealer? Dealer is app. 5.4 miles away.

Also, am I right in that if they can’t repair the tire I will need to replace all 4?

 

I would not rely just on the app. Use a tire gauge. If low add air and check later with the tire gauge to see if and how quickly it’s losing air.

Call a local tire shop and get a quote for replacement.

 

Good point re gauge and adding air. I don’t really trust the local tire shops (Brooklyn), but don’t you have to replace all 4 at the same time?

 

Also, don't be afraid to overfill the tire, you won't hurt anything at all. Go ahead and put like 40 to 45 psi in it. This will buy some time to deal with the flat. As mentioned monitor with a tire gauge how fast it's leaking so you can estimate when it would be 'time' to put more air in it. If you do discover what has caused the leak, such as a screw or nail, leave it in place as pulling it out will surely make you lose air more quickly. Mark the sidewall of the tire to indicate where the hole is located to help the tire repair guy out. You can drive the car with as little as 20 psi at city speeds so 30 mph, and not do any serious harm.
If you have a second car you could go out to buy an electric compressor that plugs into the 'cigarette' 12 volt outlet. So you have it on hand to put air in. Nothing worse than using a good ol fashioned hand pump in the hot humid weather, been there done that, bough an electric pump!

Wish you all the best! Take a breath and realize there's only so much you can do. Understand that the dealer may be the only source for an equivalent Bridgestone RFT if you need to replace, Some have commented that they're in short supply in some areas.

The Lexus app and the onscreen tire pressure display will only be as accurate when the car was last driven. So when you stop and shut off the car it doesn't actually keep receiving tire pressure info from the TPMS sensors in your tires, so it quickly becomes an 'old' reading. Actual gauge best way to go.

 

If you can’t see a nail/screw .. the tire might have been low to begin with and calling for air. Add air when the tire is cold and check it after a short ride to confirm a puncture or was it low to begin with. Use a quality gauge and the onboard monitor system to check the pressure.

 

Going down to 24 psi is a fair drop, the car is looking for 33 psi as a set point, so dropping to 30 would most likely set off the low pressure warning - now it's at 24 so it's losing air at a pretty good rate, unless no one's noticed for a while.

Discuss with a reputable tire shop that sells Bridgestone tires maybe, and work with them to determine if a repair is possible. If these tires have only 5 - 10 k miles on them and aren't measuring too much tire wear you may get away with buying 1 tire. 1 or 2 mm's of tread depth variation on a set of 4 isn't that much at all, so introducing a new one shouldn't cause any issues.

 

We had a run-flat tire repaired at America's Tire on our BMW X3 and never had an issue. My understanding is that if the puncture is not on or near the sidewall, it can be repaired.

 

What pressure PSI do you put into your front and rear tires under the normal circumstances?

I have 36 psi on all 4 wheels, I see the sticker on the door says something like 33-34 …

I don’t feel rude harshness though and thought more air may save fuel and electricity.

 

You can safely let it sit, but air it up before you drive it. YOU ONLY WANT TO DRIVE A RUN FLAT TIRE ON "NO AIR" IN AN EMERGENCY. if you drive a RFT on no air if ruins the sidewall and even only 5.4 miles you might need to replace.

If you ait up and it is a simple puncture, the puncture can be repaired and you can continue safely to use the RFT and not replace it. Remember again ,"air up" before driving to tire shop.

Good Luck,

YMMV,
MidCow3

 

Thanks everyone for the good tips. It is a screw in the tread. I am planning to take it tomorrow morning to a local shop that is an authorized Bridgestone dealer. Will inflate beforehand and take it easy on side streets.