Peger Road Auto Repair
1904 PEGER RD FAIRBANKS, Alaska 99709 | (907) 479-6162
Question:
My tire pressure warning light came on recently. What does that mean?
Peger Road Auto Repair Answer:
It means that one or more of your tires has low air pressure. The dashboard warning light, which looks like a cross-section of a tire with some lines in it, comes on when the tire pressure is 20% below what the recommends. So if your recommendation is for 35 psi (pounds per square inch), the light will come on when your pressure falls to 28 psi.
It's to note that 20% below recommended pressure is significantly under-inflated. This means that you will be experiencing degraded handling and that your tire will be running hotter than it should. This can not only be a safety hazard, but your tires will wear prematurely and could even suffer a heat related failure.
Fairbanks drivers should not use only their Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) warning light as their trigger for checking their tire pressure. They should still check their tire pressure at least once a month.
Some Fairbanks drivers mistake the tire pressure printed on the side of the tire as the recommended pressure for the vehicle. This is not the case. The information on the tire is the range the tire can handle. The correct pressure for your vehicle is on a plate or sticker on the driver's side door or door jamb. This is the pressure your tires should have to match the engineered handling capacity of your vehicle. Please note that the pressure may be different for your front and rear tires.
You TPMS does not have a regularly scheduled maintenance interval. However, be aware that the batteries in the sensors mounted in each wheel will eventually die (we recommend replacing all 4 when this happens), illuminating the warning light and necessitating replacing the sensor(s). Sensors can also be damaged by road salt and other contaminants and tire change overs if you run summer and winter tires.
Some TPMS systems indicate tire pressures for individual wheels which will tell the driver which tire is low – as long as the system has been reset after rotating the tires. Other systems will simply give a warning and it is up to you to check all your tires (including the spare). For more information, talk to your friendly and knowledgeable Peger Road Auto Repair service advisor.
The government mandated TPMS systems to reduce tire-related accidents, property damage, injuries and deaths. The automotive professionals at Peger Road Auto Repair in Fairbanks recommend that you have your tire pressure checked at least once a month to maintain your vehicles safety and increase tire life.
Give us a call
Peger Road Auto Repair
1904 Peger Road
Fairbanks, AK 99709
(907) 479-6162
http://www.pegerauto.com