purebliss

I have OEM 16ich Chrome rims form the factory ( they were lexus wheels they were even on the MSRP so I know there the real oem ones) Well anyway I have had them on the car for about 2 years and the front one went flat on me and when I went to goodyear they showed me oxidcent on the rim and said it is really common on chrome wheels so they scraped the inside of the rim and got all the white stuff off and they scrubed the tire because there was some oxidcent on it also.Then they resealed it. Well it has held pretty welll. But today my rear tire was complety flat and I can't seem to locate a nail or anything. So I think maybe the rim has done the same thing to the real. Is there anyway to prevent this other then not getting chrome rims? I drove the car in about an 3 inchs of snow yesterday could that have done it? Also I still have the horriable good years that it came with it on it! So I guess maybe I need to have the other 3 all resealed and cleaned so they seal right. Has anyone else heard about this? I had chrome wheels before on another lexus and the same thing would happen and I just thought it was because I bought after market lexus rims. SO this time I made sure I ordered them with the car and look what happened. Do you think Lexus will cover it to reseal all 3 tires since the car is only about 2 years old. I mean it's there rims that are doing it plus I just bought a RX330 yesterday but from a different dealer!

squarehat

I had a very similar problem with the stock (non-chrome) rims on my '96 ES. I would lose 5 or so PSI a week on two of them, yet the dealer claimed there were no air bubbles that would indicate any leak I eventually went with aftermarket rims this past spring (17"). Now I find out that two of them are bent (see other thread) I'm not seeming to have much luck with rims...
Anyhow, I always thought the issue on my stock 15's was with the valvestems, as I never gave much issue to the seal/bead since they were non-chrome ( I had heard about issues with the chrome corroding causing a bad seal, especially on wheels that had been chromed after the fact).

purebliss

Thanks for the reply. Yea me 2 thats why I made sure that when I got the car they came from japan and not from the lexus dealer. Infact I know for sure they did because I have a spare chrome rim. I think it might have to do with the cold weather. Because I can remember when I had my first 00 GS300 with dealer installed chrome rims it snowed and the same thing happend. I jus thought it was because they were aftermarket o***s. I bet it has to do with the cold. But I am going to call the new dealer where i bought the RX and see if he will cover it!

LexusTech

It may be the tire valve. Get a spray bottle filled with soapy water,inflate the tire to like 40 PSI,and spray around the valve area. If you find bubbles theres your leak.

wolver1ne

You might have one of few problems...

1. small tire puncture
2. cracked rim
3. broken bead on tire itself
4. bead setting on rim may need to simply be ground clean to help tire bead to set tightly to rim.
If none of the above resolves this ... then the old rims (being of aluminum alloys) just can't hold air any more due to corosion/ware n tear.

Hope this helps...

SoCalSC4

Two other ideas:

1) Porosity in the aluminum casting
2) Chrome integrity has been compromised in the tire bead-seat area, allowing air to escape
by essentially slipping underneath the chrome (yes, this happens)

Most tire shops have a 'dunk tank.' I'd have the wheel/tire assembly submerged in one of these dunk tanks (they are filled with water)- you should be able to see bubbles which will lead you to the source of the air leak(s).

Pianoman72

How much is it, generally speaking, to have a new valve stem put on if that's the problem?

wolver1ne

dirt cheep