How to Find a Slow Puncture and Patch It

We tend to associate tyre punctures with a huge burst. So, we usually think that a punctured tyre is pretty impossible to miss.

However in reality, there are different types of punctures, another one being a slow puncture. If this goes unspotted, it can present a major safety risk for the driver and anyone else in the vehicle.

But, how exactly do you spot a slow puncture? And, if you do find one, what’s the best course of action to take?

Worry not – keep reading to find a complete guide to slow punctures, from the Watling Tyres’ team.

The main signs of a slow puncture

Although you can easily identify a regular puncture, it is much easier for a slow puncture to go unnoticed. In fact, it’s not uncommon for slow punctures to not be spotted for a considerable time. But, that’s not to say that they don’t still present a significant risk to drivers.

This is because a slow puncture causes the tyres to lose air over time, which creates a drop in pressure. As a result, the tyre can’t perform as it should, impacting steering and comfort (as an uneven road surface will be much more noticeable).

The main tell-tale signs that you have a slow puncture are:

– The car start drifting to the left or right when you’re driving
– You hear a consistent ticking noise when driving (if the puncture is caused by a piece of debris, which is still stuck in the tyre)
– You can feel vibrations from your steering wheel
– If you can feel that your car is less responsive to your steering, braking or accelerating
– A drop in tyre pressure – which you can gauge either through an inbuilt pressure monitoring sensor, or through a manual pressure gauge
– If, when you give your car a visual inspection, the tyre looks out of shape (compared to the other tyres)
– If you can see that your tyre valve is faulty or missing
– If you see an odd level of wear to the sidewall
– If you see a piece of debris (such as a screw, nail or a shard of glass) stuck in the tyre

How to check your tyres for a slow puncture

Not only will regular tyre checks ensure that you and your passengers are kept as safe as possible, but identifying issues like these earlier will help prevent the problem from escalating. That way, the easier and cheaper the repair will be.

By law, modern cars are required to have in-built tyre pressure monitors. These consist of sensors, which alert you (with a TPMS warning on the dashboard) if the pressure of one tyre drops significantly below the others.

But, you shouldn’t solely depend on this sensor – manual tyre pressure checks should be a part of your regular vehicle maintenance, and embedded in your routine for any long journeys.

For this, you should have a tyre pressure gauge, which allows you to check the pressure of your tyres. You can either use a manual foot pump or an automatic tyre inflator to do this.

These devices will show you whether or not your tyre is losing pressure at an accelerated pace. If this is the case, then it tells you that the tyre has a slow puncture.

How to temporarily patch a slow puncture yourself

You cannot permanently fix a slow puncture by yourself. You will need to either get your car to a garage for a full repair, or replace the tyre.

But, you can temporarily patch a slow puncture yourself, so that you can drive it to a garage.

If the slow puncture is caused by debris piercing the rubber (which is the most common cause of this issue), then you can repair the tyre with a rubber plug.

For a temporary home repair, carefully remove the debris that has caused the puncture, and then use the ‘gunk’ in a puncture repair kit to seal the hole.

What to do if you spot a slow puncture

If you spot a slow puncture, the best course of action to take is to call your local garage and either get it booked in for a repair, or arrange to have a new tyre fitted.

If you have any further questions about how to find a slow puncture, or other queries about tyre maintenance, the Watling Tyres team is on hand to help.