Can I fill completely flat tires? - 1

I have a 2003 Ford Focus with all season tires. There's some corrosion around the rims, and in cold weather my tires get soft. I generally just keep filling them up in the cold weather and avoid driving as much as possible, because I can't afford new tires.

Anyway, we had an extreme cold front come through, -47 degrees celsius, and overnight my 2 front tires went completely flat. The rims are sitting directly on the rubber.

I have a spare, but I only have 1, and I have 2 flats. I have an emergency air compressor that plugs into the cigarette lighter, and I tried using that to get enough air to be able to drive to the gas station to fill it up, but it's not working. Is it possible it's still too cold? It's -17 today, and I know rubber compresses in the cold air.

I've never had the compressor not work before, but I've also never had tires this flat before. The guage doesn't move from zero… Is it possible to fill a completely flat tire or will I have to get them replaced? I guess what I'm asking, is it possible that the tire is too flat to fill?

Also, will a car sitting, not moving, on flat tires, cause more damage? I'm worried about leaving it, but I don't have the money to tow it and replace the tires right now either.

The beads around the wheel probably broke their seal so there's no way you'll be able to air them up with them on the car. The only way to seal the bead is with them out from underneath the weight of the car.

Sorry but you will need to get replacement rims + tires… Maybe from a wrecking yard, online ad or?

Did you try taking the air compressor into the house to warm it up first before trying to inflate your tires?
There's a product called "bead sealer" that is applied to the rim after wire brushing the corrosion off of it which will seal leaking tire beads.
Don't move the car until the tires are inflated or you will ruin the belts in the sidewalls which causes blow outs.

The answer is to get rid of the corrosion on your wheels. You don't need to replace the tyres but your local tyre shop won't charge much just to break the seal on the tyres and wire brush the corrosion on the rims.

If the tires are completely flat the bead has been broken and can't be sealed with the tires on the car.

The tires have detached from the rim bead and you will never get them to start filling.

So;

- take tire of vehicle
- lay tire on a flat secure surface
- remove the valve core
- squirt a wee bit of butane or propane into the tire
- introduce a spark to the mixture
- the resultant mini explosion will seat the tire
- reinstall valve core and inflate tire.

CAUTION - use a very small amount of gas or you will blow the tire right off the rim with resultant injury.

No, they won't be too flat to fill. But with the pressure completely removed from inside the tire, and the rim hitting the ground, whatever leak may exist at the bead, may have been enough to break the bead, which means the air would leak right back out. Those small compressors put out almost no air, and are not designed to run for long periods (I mean come on, the cigarette lighter is rated at best for 5A at 12V) so in any case, it could take a long time to air up in the best of conditions.

Rim corrosion could be an issue (again it will be a bead problem) but so can the tires. The 8 year recommended replacement for tires is no joke. The micro-cracks that develop (sometimes called dry rot) over time WILL leak air as they penetrate the tire, which is why tires that old need to be replaced. When a tire like that fails, it will be catastrophic failure, which at best will ruin the wheel, and depending on speed/location, may cause an accident.

To test for leaks, get the tires aired up, make a mixture of dish soap and water, and douse the tire with it. Any leaks will show up as bubbles, plus you will normally hear it with the addition of the liquid. Make sure to hit the bead too, although the inside one is normally impossible to reach.

Leaving it sit won't make it any worse, but I would recommend first testing for leaks, if ANY are seen/found along the bead, that those tire/wheel assemblies are taken to a tire place, tire removed, bead cleaned, and have the tire reinstalled. If there are leaks through the tire itself, the tire is DEAD.

Edit: And I didn't clarify. Letting the tire sit on the rim (flat) CAN lead to more problems with corrosion along the bead. It is best to leave the tires aired up, or at best, keep the wheel from getting water on it if the tire is flat.