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S&R Tire Center: It’s cold. You should check your tire pressure.

By Admin, BuyLocalBG.com, BuyLocalBg@gmail.com/
Friday, January 9th, 2015 7:00 AM CST

Did you see a strange warning light on your dashboard as you shivered into the driver’s seat this morning? Some of you have called about the low tire-pressure warning on your vehicle and have called thinking you may have a leak or flat. Tire pressure (per square inch) drops between one and two pounds for every 10-degree decrease in temperature, and that can make a big difference to a driver who hasn’t filled up since summer.

If you didn’t recognize the symbol, that’s also understandable because one out of three drivers do not, according to Schrader, a company that makes tire pressure monitoring systems.

The warning for the TPMS lights up when one or more of your vehicle’s tires is 25% below the manufacturer’s recommended pressure. The system is now required on all vehicles starting with the 2008 model year.

The issue here seems to be that the public hasn’t been properly educated on the warning symbol, which is supposed to be “idiot proof” and understandable across a wide variety of cultures and languages. Yet 46% of drivers couldn’t figure out that the icon represents a tire and 14% thought the symbol represented another problem with the vehicle entirely.

Properly inflated tires are vitally important to your safety. Low pressure will affect your braking, acceleration, stability, cornering and fuel economy. The government instituted the TPMS mandate after tire failures in 2000, a controversy that was partly attributed to inadequately inflated tires. Also, for any auto needs call S&R Tire, located at 1101 Lovers Lane, 270.781.8828. Also fan them on facebook.

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