I recently bought a Kia K5, been happy with the car so far except I noticed that the back left tire was down to 32PSI while I was driving while the other tires were over inflated to 40PSI.
So I’m guessing they overinflated the tires when it was loaded onto a truck or something. I should probably get the back left tire checked out as it might be leaking air slowly. Should I be worried about the safety of the tire as I’ve been driving for a couple thousand miles with different PSI’s??
What is the correct pressure? I wouldn’t worry if 32 is close, set them all to the correct pressure first thing in the morning, then check them periodically to see how fast that tire loses air.
Just have all tires set to the pressure listed on the drivers door plaque . Do you have dash readout of all 4 tires ? If so just keep an eye on them and I doubt if you have tire damage. But you can have a tire shop check it for leaks just to be sure you don’t have a leak.
Even perfect tires can lose pressure over time. I check my car’s tire pressures about every month. In most cases I need to add air to at least one of the tires.
Me curious , this KIA K5 is not what I would have thought a first time buyer would have chosen . Would you mind telling why you chose that and if it is new.
Does this mean you bought a brand new Kia?
Tire pressure should have been checked and adjusted during dealer prep.
Just correct all the pressures before driving. Then check your pressures on your dash read out at least once a week.
At your first scheduled oil change, dealer should include tire pressure check.
I’m not afraid to admit, even as someone focused on getting the most out of tires, that I never paid attn. to the placards on the drivers door or door pillar until I was 30 years old, and had been driving since 16.
Now, whenever I drive a strange car, or rent something, I go to CHURCH.
Every.
Time.
I’m on my knees, studying the info on both stickers (tire and load, and the certification one with the gross axle weights and build date, legal compliance mumbo jumbo, etc.). Or single sticker, if all info is combined on it.
Criticize my example all you want (you know who you are!), that’s y’all problem not mine.
That’s correct. You should be checking your tire pressure regularly to make sure that your tires are safe to drive on and that they wear evenly. To be honest, you should have checked that immediately after getting the car.
Since you’re a first-time owner, I’ll also remind you that you need to check your oil level regularly, as a low oil level will likely cause expensive engine damage. If you haven’t done that yet, do it now.
Definitely, but that is something that is sometimes missed/skipped during dealer prep. When I drove my '81 Citation home from the dealership, one of my first impressions was that it rode like a truck. Yes, I had ordered it with the “handling” suspension option, but it seemed to have an unusually rough ride. As soon as I parked it, I checked the tire pressures, and they were all set to 55 psi.
I’m a little obsessive about pressure (and retired…). I check 8 tires–2 vehicles–every two weeks, and almost always at least one tire needs air. Check oil at same time, top up window wash fluid, and a general “look-a-round” for anything odd.
Speaking of Odd, all I know about cars is what I have learned from Car Talk, and now that is no longer new, I have to keep up with some reading like this here community. Thanks all!
It’s a bit unusual for tires to actually need air this often (except in fall when the temperatures are dropping, perhaps). Have you checked for a leak?
