So yesterday I drove 5 miles to work like I usually do every day. The TPMS light came on I'd say about a minute after I started driving. Once I saw the light I started driving slower. I drove under 50 on the freeway on the right lane.

Once I got to work, I inspected my car to find the rear passenger tire had absolutely no air. Luckily my job has an air compressor so I was able to add some air and took it to get patched up a couple blocks away. I was surprised at this because the car drove fine. I didn't get any impressions that I had a flat other than the TPMS light being on I'd hoped it was only low on air.

So my question is: Could I have damaged anything not seen from the outside? The wheel looks ok to me. The tires are Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 245/40ZR19 size.

 

Coukd have easily damaged something. Check the inner sidewall as well. Look for any weird bulges or ripples. Hopefully you got lucky.

 

If you had a 30 profile and was driving aggressively I'd say you would have rim damage. Driving slowly for 5 miles or less and a 40 profile...i would say everything is fine unless the wheel fails to balance.

 

Pull tire off see if any rubber comes out

 

I wouldn't sweat it, if anything was damaged you would see your rim wrash on the outside lip....so what you gotta do is get the tire patched or replaced. Simple dont over think anything.

 

if the bead of the tire never broke away from the rim or if there is no visible sidewall damage on the inner or outer face then you are fine. i wouldn't sweat it. 5 miles on low speed isn't going to kill your tire or your rim.

 

If it was completely flat when that light came on then you could have crushed the sidewall, but you'd see some sidewall bulge when it was inflated back to operating pressure. Hopefully you had enough air in the tire to keep that from happening, doesn't take too long to damage them.

 

There was a reason it had no air in it... Take it off and look for a screw (to patch) or just replace the tire.

 

When the low tire light comes on, you don't keep driving unless absolutely necessary to get out of danger. And only until you get to a safe area.

Driving near highway speeds with low tire pressure is stupid and dangerous. More sidewall flex results in high temperatures which can lead to a blow out.

I bet they'll find lots of rubber particles when the tire is removed.

 

Do you not know how to change a tire? I mean I don't know your money but 19" tires are not cheap to replace and the truth is as stated There could be damage to the inner sidewall, etc. And even once you got to work, why not just remove the tire and get it patched properly?

 

you can see from his pic where half of his sidewall is worn from road contact...

 

I let my tire get super low and drove maybe a mile or two on it to the gas station. Ruined the tire. Looked perfectly fine when I went to swap to new rims and then low and behold the inside of the tire there was a ton of rubber dust that fell out. You can tell by the thin band on the sidewalk at least that’s what my mechanic showed me. Your chances of blowout are actually much greater. Get that thing checked or you could be replacing your whole car if not looked into down the road so to speak..