Bent Rim Not Leaking Air But Will It? [ANSWERED]

The chances are if you are reading this article, you have driven over a pothole, and upon checking your wheels and tires, you notice a rim is bent.

Firstly you need to make sure you have done a thorough inspection of the wheel and the tire. What you see facing outwards may be a lot worse on the inside of the rim. 

If the front rim is damaged, at least you can turn the steering wheel to get a look behind the wheel, but if it is on a rear wheel, you might have to get under the car to give it a good inspection.

It’s always good practice to check the inside of any tire or rim after hitting a pothole. Even if there is no additional damage to the rim, you may see bad damage to the tire sidewall.  

A badly damaged tire is more dangerous than a bent rim.

So let’s assume that your tire is in good condition, that there are no cuts or bulges, and that the bead where the rim is bent is still seated under the rim lip.

Firstly are you sure that it is still holding air? I asked this because if you take tire pressure readings at a different time of the day or before you have driven your car and then after, the pressure will be different. 

Cold weather reduces tire pressure, and tires that are driven and warmed up will have higher pressure readings than before. 

Let’s assume that the tire pressure is stable and not leaking out of the bent rim. 

I suppose the question is, will the pressure hold, or will the bent rim eventually leak air?

A bent rim that has held constant air pressure for more than a day is unlikely to leak in the future. This only holds if you are not experiencing any vibration and your wheel is not out of round.

So how badly can a rim be bent? As the rim has been weakened, any further encounters with uneven roads and potholes will make it more prone to leak than a rim in perfect condition.

It is always best to ensure your spare rim and tire in the trunk are in good condition and that you have a jack to hand in case your rim starts leaking as you are driving.

The best course of action is to replace or repair the rim even if it’s slightly bent and isn’t leaking because, as mentioned, any small further damage to the rim could be enough to make the tire leak.  

You are far better off being in control of when you have to replace a tire than waiting for it to fail as you are driving and being forced to change a tire at the side of the road.

Also,  bent rims have been weakened and are liable to crack. This will not always be obvious and may be hidden by the tire. Even hairline fractures can turn into something more serious, so I would always recommend getting bent rims checked over by a specialist to see if they can be salvaged.

Other damage can be caused at the same time as a bent rim include:

If your bent rim isn’t leaking air, but the ride has become choppy, and the steering wheel is shaking, it’s time to replace it anyway.

It’s a false economy to continue driving as not only can your tire and rim fail, but the bad ride will also put more strain on the suspension on that corner. 

If you are replacing a rim, make sure you get one of good quality. They vary in standards, and although all rim brands will have reached a safety minimum safety standard, some will be made from superior alloy and better withstand potholes and damage in the future. 

You may well find that your car is now pulling to one side. It may only be subtle, and one way to check for sure is to drive in a straight line and take your hands slightly off the steering wheel.  

If your car starts to wander toward one side, this indicates that the wheels of your car are misaligned. If left, it will cause uneven tire wear and make your car less stable. 

Steel wheels are easier to knock back into shape than alloy wheels. Aluminum rims require a more detailed and technical repair. 

Rim specialists employ two different techniques to repair rims. These are cold roller technology and hydraulic assistance technology. 

The cost to you, the customer, in parts is absolutely nothing as you have provided them with your rim. All the cost is their time and the overheads – such as the purchase cost of the rim repair machine, shop rent, etc.

Bent rim repairs cost between $70 and $400, depending on the rim size, alloy compound, and the level of damage to the rim. 

Often it’s just as cost-effective to buy a new rim as long as the style is still being made; otherwise, you’ll have a mismatch with the other three. This isn’t such a big deal if your spare is also a match, but the spare in the hood is often on a steel wheel and not a matching rim.

In Conclusion

If your bent rim has lasted more than a day without losing air, it is unlikely to soon. As a bent rim is weakened, all it may take is to drive over another pothole to bend it enough to allow air to be forced past the rim and the tire bead.

Other signs that your rim is bent are a poor quality ride, a car wandering over the road, or uneven tire wear.