My wife called me from our local supermarket. She was standing in the innermost part of the parking garage with a flat deck. It was the which was on the screen. Puncture - right front tire pressure was 0 PSI.
When was the last time you punctured?
I'm sure many will answer "never". In fact, it happens so rarely that most of us no longer drive around with a spare wheel. Many do not even have a tire repair kit with them, - nor a jack and wheel winch. If you get a flat tire inside the Oslofjord Tunnel on a Friday afternoon, good advice can be expensive.
The Tesla 3 is not equipped with any puncture aids. No tire fix. Flat tire means to call Tesla - who requests a tow truck. But the recovery vehicles do not enter the parking garage. So I thought it might be nice to get the car out of the parking garage.
But how would I get air into the tire?
The Tesla 3 must have a tire pressure of 42 psi. I came to think that it's about the same pressure I have in my bike tires. As cyclists, we have to have a proper bicycle pump in the garage - the kind that stands on the floor and has a tire pressure gauge.
Would it work on the Tesla?
"Crazy man!" someone probably thought, when they saw a guy pumping up the Tesla with a bicycle pump. There is more air in one car tire than a bicycle tire. To prevent the pump from getting hot and burning up the rubber gasket, it pays to take a couple of breaks along the way. But, keep in mind, it worked fine! I drove home and parked outside. Since the air was slowly seeping out, I didn't dare drive to the deck hotel on the other side of the Oslofjord tunnel.
Flute
I have not yet acquired either the jack or the adapters between the jack and the jack mounts. Thus, I could not dismantle the wheel myself and have it fixed at a workshop. I had to call tow truck. Embarrassing. Really embarrassing.
Fixed "on site"
The tow truck found the cause of the air leak. Not hard to see! A screw was firmly embedded in the tread of the tire. Fortunately, we didn't have to transport the car anywhere. The tow truck had equipment to plug the tire now and then, - and had clearly done this many times before. A few minutes later the tire was fixed. External plugging may not be as good as plugging from the inside, but then at least I can get to the tire change and permanent fix on Vianor in a couple of days. Let me also mention that we fortunately punctured one winter tires. Factory-fitted tires from Tesla are filled with noise-absorbing foam. It dampens the noise, but presents problems when plugging.
Fake error messages
I asked my wife if she had not received any warnings before the tire went flat?
- After 300 meters I got a message about low tire pressure, but you said that I should just drive on and tell you when I get home.
It is not unusual to receive a message about low tire pressure at one time or another. Those of us who drive a lot with a rental car experience this quite often. False tire pressure messages are a problem.
Another common problem is that the winter tires are not able to hold the air. This makes it necessary to top up the air several times during the winter.
Winter tires that leak air
Our last two Audis have been letting air out of their winter tires constantly since they were new. It's annoying to top up, so you end up adding a little extra to keep the air pressure up for a few days longer. In the old days, we had tubes fitted to the tires. They don't do that anymore. You can't count on the dealer following up on the issue as a problem either. They just top up. Paradoxically, it just seems like it's the overpriced alloy wheels – and wide, low-profile tires – that don't hold air. Previous cars with narrow winter tires on steel rims never let any air out.
No solution found
The fact that the problem is more noticeable with low-profile tires may be due to rim and tire solutions not having taken sufficient account of salt and dirt. If you consult a tire store instead of the car dealer, you can probably get a recommendation for winter tires and rims that can withstand salt better than others. There is reason to believe that the problem of air loss is exacerbated by the less rubber there is between the rim and the road surface – and by large temperature changes. So if you do not want to drive on narrow, high winter tires, it may be unavoidable to check and refill frequently.
Alternative tire fix
Finally, let me recommend a proper bicycle pump - floor standing with pressure gauge. Should you lose air in a tire overnight, you can top up the air so that you can at least move the car, perhaps drive to a petrol station or tire repair shop. If you lack a tire repair kit, you can put a box of tire foam together with the bike pump in the boot. Fine-fine tire fix. But don't blindly trust either the tire pressure shown in the car or the bicycle pump.
Keep checking the air at the gas station!
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