My wife is a fit enjoyer, she's only ever driven them - first car up to now.
She currently has a 2016 EX (i could be wrong about the trim), but she has had an issue which has plagued her in every one of the three she had, from the gen 2 to now the gen 3. One of her rear tires is ALWAYS leaking. She has brought it to multiple tire shops and replaced the tire, had the tpms replaced, etc. Really everything short of completely replacing the oem wheels.
I live in Japan and atm she's in the states, otherwise I'd take more time to diagnose it all myself, but with the cold recently hitting the north east she hasn't been keeping up on manually checking the pressure and it left her flat this morning.
Is this a common issue? Is this just a case of bad luck? I brought up replacing the wheels before but she seems to like the oem ones, but is this a common issue with oem wheels? I'd assume not and i'm a little baffled that the same issue has followed between two different generations and three cars but I'm just not sure. She rarely parks on the road, and i've only ever seen light curb rash on her car so her fucking the wheel up parking is likely not the case.
Any guesses? She loves this car and I've started to really like the fit platform, so if I can learn more about this car while also finding a way to help her with this I'd be super hype. Thanks!

 

Welcome. EX trim level means alloy wheels (LX has steelies).

I suspect the leaking tire has a rim defect which isn't allowing a good bead seal. Hard to believe a tire shop wouldn't catch that, but it happens.

I'd get one newer (not necessarily new) alloy, stick a new tire on it and see what happens.

Hopefully you'll only be out the cost of one rim, not an entire set.

 

He said he replaced the tire. It's probably the old rims losing seal.

 

So you have one rear tire, on three different cars (with presumably different wheels) over an extended time period, losing pressure above-and-beyond the normal rate that all tires experience over time?

That's a pretty weird and extremely unlikely coincidence.

Out of curiosity, how often does this happen (i.e., how long between having to reinflate the problem tire)? Once a week? Once a month?

How often are the tire pressures checked or is she just going by the TPMS light coming on?

Is it always the same side on the rear? What about when you rotate tires - does the problem stay with the tire or the position on the car? Has it been the same side across all three cars? This might point towards something the driver is doing (i.e., bumping curbs, hitting a lot of potholes, etc.) regardless of how the rim looks.

Do you have kids or neighbors who like to pull minor pranks? Would they be devious enough to always and only mess with the same rear tire?

I cannot imagine a scenario where only one wheel/tire would leak across multiple vehicles and (if I'm reading you correctly) it would always be the wheel/tire on the same rear side of the car.

 

This, this and that. Is the car parked such that the offending tire is out of view? That is, the "prankster" is out of view while messing with the tire?
Get a paint marker, put a non-obvious dot on the offending wheel/tire, don't tell anyone about it. Get the wheels rotated (moved to different positions on the car). If the problem follows the marked wheel, that's something a mechanic can work with. If the same position on the car keeps "leaking", that's a social problem.

 

good advice from bobski...alloy wheels are prone to bead leaks caused by corosion.....if you dont drive the car much i would surmise it could be "worse" as the "microcorission" isnt being broken up.....i base this on my old fathers truck....alloy rims dindt drive much...i the end had to get the rim cleaned and reseated

 

I've never heard of that with aluminum wheels. I had a set of (at the time) ~20 year old Prelude factory-option wheels on my CRX during college that had some light surface corrosion, but never had sealing issues. Delaware is definitely a rust-belt state btw. Sometimes the salt was so bad that you had to stop and use snow balls to wipe the crust off your headlights just to see the road.

If you're talking about magnesium alloy wheels, that I can believe. Magnesium is often used as a sacrificial anode to prevent rust (including aluminum corrosion) on watercraft. Magnesium is more rust-prone than any other metal on the boat, so sticking blocks of it on anything metal in the water provides protection until the magnesium is used up. They also stick large replaceable bars of it (or zinc, or aluminum) in steel-tanked water heaters for the same reason.

 

really?...no ..its a thing....steel wheels usually dont do it, but the alloy wheels,if corrosion develops,under the paint at the bead...leak...i battle that a bit with the 90 era konig tantrums and ROH's...and those aren't magnesium....aluminum oxides....really


I could not resist...lol

Aluminum wheel bead leaks are commonly caused by
white aluminum oxide corrosion forming where the tire sits, breaking the air seal, particularly in areas with road salt. This creates a porous surface that causes slow, chronic tire pressure loss. It is repairable by grinding the corrosion, sealing the surface, and remounting the tire.
Causes and Symptoms

• Oxidation: Aluminum oxidizes, forming a rough, white "crust" that allows air to escape.
• Road Salt: Salt exacerbates the corrosion, making it a frequent issue in winter-prone regions.
• Damage: Scratches from tire mounting equipment or road debris expose raw metal, allowing corrosion to start.
• Symptoms: TPMS light comes on, slow leaks (takes days to go flat), and visible corrosion/bubbles if tested with soapy water.

Repair Process

1. Dismount: Remove the tire from the rim.
2. Clean/Sand: Use a wire wheel, emery cloth, or sanding disc to remove corrosion until the aluminum is shiny and smooth.
3. Inspect: If corrosion is excessive and the rim is structurally unsound, the wheel may need replacement.
4. Seal: Apply a rubberized
   bead sealer
   to the cleaned surface to prevent future oxidation.
5. Remount: Reinstall and balance the tire.

Prevention and Tips

• Ensure shops use proper, non-damaging tools for tire changes to avoid exposing raw aluminum.
• Clean, polished surfaces are less prone to, but not immune from, future corrosion.
• In severe, chronic cases, some opt to use an inner tube, though this is rare for modern alloy wheels.

 

Huh. Could be a paint and/or casting issue. I've really only dealt with Enkei and Honda OE (manufactured by Enkei) wheels.

 

its mostly a time+aluminum issue, BUT if the paint job on the wheel is good,,,less of an issue sooner..as stated nissan factory alloys circa 2000 an issue + others