That first really cold day as winter approaches, you bundle up and walk out of your McHenry home planning to drive to work or the store but your trip is cut short when you see that you have a flat tire. The assumption is that you picked up a nail or something from the road and your tire has a puncture. That’s a logical thing to think but it isn’t necessarily the case. It’s quite possible that the cold is the culprit.

How could the cold cause a flat tire?

Do you remember science class at McHenry East or West High School, or whatever high school you attended before moving to McHenry? Remember how you could affect chemical changes by the application of heat or cold? Temperature changes have real influences on materials outside of the science class, too.

In the case of your tires, the cold will cause the air contained inside the tire to contract. Additionally, as the air temperature drops, tire rubber stiffens. As it loses its pliability, the seal with the aluminum rim may break. There’s no puncture in the tire but the air escapes where the wheel seats in the beads of the tire.

It’s generally more difficult to get a good seal on an aluminum rim. It can be done, which is why you drive most of the year without a problem. But it’s also possible to lose that seal when temperature changes affect the rims.

Thankfully, it’s not generally a recurring problem; if you have a rim leak due to cold weather, when your trusted auto repair shop reseats the tire on the rim, it should last through the winter. When reseating the rim, the shop should take care to clean the seat in the rim and the bead of the tire. Some may even use products to help ensure a good seal.

Once your tire is reseated and filled with air, you should be ready for the McHenry winter ahead.