So with my luck, I got a tack in the sidewall of one of my tires on my new HHR that I've had less than a month. It's unrepairable which really sucks because I don't have the money for a new tire at the moment due to me about to pay off the $1500 down payment I agreed to. Anyways.... I put on the spare yesterday (rear drivers side btw) and I noticed on my way to work that the PSI of the front drivers side went from 31 PSI to 45 PSI. Is this normal due to the spare being on the back and it not being the same size as the rest of the tires?

Also, on my way home from work I got a service light on my dash saying "SVC TIRE MONITOR"... I'm hoping this is also due to the spare being on and that I'm not in for bigger problems within my first 45 days of owning the vehicle. Any help is always greatly appreciated.

 

No.


You are correct.

 

TPMS FAQ

 

Thank you. After I can afford a new tire for the back, I'm gonna have them all rebalanced and an alignment done.

 

As I stated in another thread, I got a tree branch through the sidewall of one of my tires the other day (really, about 3/4 in diameter sticking out of the sidewall -- the tire store folks were really impressed). My wife found a used tire on Craigslist identical with the others and about the same 45% tread remaining. I got it for $10 and spent $20 at the tire store having it mounted, balanced, old tire disposed of and TPMS retrained. So, for $30 I felt like I got away pretty well. Try searching Craigslist.

 

I suppose that there could be more slippage occurring to one of the fronts (think shorten one table leg by a quarter inch), thus causing more heat related pressure increase.

If that is what is going on, then bad things. overheated tire, overpressure tire, traction uneven, Not to mention the obvious handling/safety issues.

Depending on your local laws there are probably used tire outlets around, in parts of VA they abound. look for "usada llantas", One chain that I know the name of is "Ron's".

 

For Future use Have your Spare tire pressure checked.
It should be 60lbs. not 45lbs.

SF

 

The FAQ says there's no sensor in the spare, so while your (Silverfox) point is correct, that's not what the system was picking up. To get a 14psi gain in another tire, something else is going on, and it ain't good, like donbrew said.