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For convenience, purchase a tire pressure gauge to keep in your vehicle.
Gauges can be purchased at tire dealerships, auto supply stores, and
other retail outlets.
The recommended tire inflation pressure that vehicle manufacturers
provide reflects the proper psi when a tire is cold. The term cold does
not relate to the outside temperature. Rather, a cold tire is one that has
not been driven on for at least three hours. When you drive, your tires get
warmer, causing the air pressure within them to increase. Therefore, to
get an accurate tire pressure reading, you must measure tire pressure
when tires are cold or compensate for the extra pressure in warm tires.
Steps for Maintaining Proper Tire Pressure
1. Locate the recommended tire pressure on the vehicle’s tire
information placard, certification label, or in the owner’s manual.
2. Record the tire pressure of all tires.
3. If the tire pressure is too high in any of the tires, slowly release air
by gently pressing on the tire valve stem with the edge of your tire
gauge until you get to the correct pressure.
4. If the tire pressure is too low, note the difference between the
measured tire pressure and the correct tire pressure. These
“missing” pounds of pressure are what you will need to add.
5. At a service station, add the missing pounds of air pressure to each
tire that is under inflated.
6. Check all the tires to make sure they have the same air pressure
(except in cases in which the front and rear tires are supposed to
have different amounts of pressure).
If you have been driving your vehicle and think that a tire is under inflated,
fill it to the recommended cold inflation pressure indicated on your
vehicle’s tire information placard or certification label. While your tire may
still be slightly under inflated due to the extra pounds of pressure in the
warm tire, it is safer to drive with air pressure that is slightly lower than
the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended cold inflation pressure than to
drive with a significantly under inflated tire. Since this is a temporary fix,
don’t forget to recheck and adjust the tire’s pressure when you can obtain
a cold reading.
It is recommended that the tire pressure be checked at the
beginning of each journey, and at least once per week to
obtain the maximum life of the tires.
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CAUTION
