One of the most important and commonly overlooked items on your vehicle is your Tire Pressure. They even installed little sensors in your tires now (government mandated actually) to remind you to check your pressure when the light illuminates. This technology is known as TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System). Though some systems are more complex than others, the general idea is the same. Low tire pressure can lead to premature and poor tire wear, bad gas mileage, poor performance and handling, and even a blowout! Though the light may seem like a nuisance, paying attention to it can save you life, or someone else. Right on the inside door jamb of the passenger or driver’s door (depending on the manufacturer), you can see the manufacturer specified tire pressure for your car. If you are ever in doubt, you have a reference. It should be in your owners manual as well…but in case you lost that…ha. If you have a TPMS system that can be set without a factory scan tool or something of the like, you are going to want to reset the system after the pressures are set to the correct amount. Once the system is reset, you are safely back on the road. As always, these items are addressed during a regular oil change here at Paul’s Auto Repair. Happy driving!
It didn’t occur to me just how important it is to maintain the tire pressure in a car’s tires before I read this article. I can see why this maintenance item can be so easily overlooked. Usually, I think of taking care of other parts of my car, but I tend to overlook taking care of the tires on my car. I don’t want my tires to fail while I’m driving in traffic, so I’ll be sure to check my tire pressure more often to make sure that they remain in good condition.
I didn’t know that low tire pressure could lead to lower gas mileage. I’m always trying to save on my gas bill. I will definitely have to check my tires and make sure they are at the right pressure.