<p>So in my new car, an indicator light comes on when your tires are low. The first time the light came on, indeed I had a flat, and I was happy to have been alerted. The next time the light came on it was when the temp’s dropped into the teens and the air in the tires condensed so I needed about two pounds in each tire. Lately, the light has come on again. When temps went up into the 40’s, the light went out as expected. Now the light is on no matter what the temp, and I don’t want to overinflate them. The mileage has dropped. (There’s also a MPG notifier.) Now - I like good mileage, but in snowy conditions, one wants a slightly less inflated tire, yes?</p>
<p>Here’s my question: do tires simply lose air after the cold cold weather? Should I be inflating these tires regularly? Have I been remiss in the past, pre-sensor indicator light, by waiting 'till I got to Jiffy Lube or similar for the occassional tire check? Have I been driving in winter conditions lo these many years with unintentionally underinflated tires? Will my tires pop if I inflate them to the correct temp on a 10 degree F day and then it warms up to 50 three days later?</p>
<p>go to the gas station and fill up your tires- & why do you go to jiffy lube?
No they won’t pop.
But handling can be compromised if inflation is not at suggested amount- much more important than MPG, I think.</p>
<p>My new car also has this feature - yeah, I think that I often probably just drove with them underinflated because we didn’t check them often.</p>
<p>My husband has a air pressure/condensor whatever-you-call-it machine at home so he inflates them right in our driveway. If I sit in the car, I can actually see the warning light go off after he adds just enough air.</p>
<p>some indicator lights ( I have one for my gas tank) don’t go on or off until they have gone through a few cycles of normal data. So that is something to take into consideration also.</p>
<p>Buy a tire gauge and learn how to measure air pressure from the Internet or your grandpa. Read your owner’s manual for optimal tire pressure. Your tires’ sensor may be overly sensitive or it may need to be reset.</p>
<p>If the light doesn’t go off and you have checked that the pressure is within the guidelines in all of the tires, your car may need a software reset on the sensor. Call your dealer - they should be able to do this in a few minutes at no charge.</p>
<p>Could be a bent wheel rim, (Did you recently hit a big pothole?), or a nail or any other piece of metal sticking in your tire, either would cause a slow leak. Or it could be just a bad sensor. However, the sensitivity to low temperature points to one of the first two.</p>
<p>Do you live in the middle of country that is experiencing the current cold snap? If so the light may be staying on simply because it is so darn cold all day long. The tires never get warm.</p>
<p>As a general rule, every 10 degree drop in temperature equals a one psi drop in tire pressure. The tire pressure for your car is located on a label on your door jam or in your owner’s manual and not the maximum pressure embossed on your tire (that pressure is a warning, not a recommendation). While most cars recommend 30 psi for all tires, there are exceptions. Certain vehicles have a psi differential front to rear. That pressure differential needs to be maintained for the proper handling of your vehicle. Get a decent dial type tire gauge and a portable air compressor to check your tire pressure monthly. Some car and consumer magazines have reported that the monitor light varies widely in accuracy…sometimes allowing five or more psi drops before warning you of a problem. As a check, if the light does flash, use your tire gauge to see how low your tires are as compared to what the recommended pressure should be. </p>
<p>Your 40 degree temperature swing would make a 30 psi tire become a 34 psi tire. You may notice a slightly stiffer ride, but over the course of a month, it’s not a real problem. As temps change, everything averages out.</p>
<p>It would seem reasonable to believe that under-inflated tires would perform better on snow and ice. The contact patch would be increased thus making more “contact” with the snowy pavement. This would be false. Modern radial tires have a stiffer sidewall construction. An under-inflated tire causes the edges of the tire to wear out while the center of the tire makes less contact with the pavement. In dry weather, under-inflated tires may soften your car’s ride at the expense of handling on curves or during turning. As the tires deform to the pavement, under-inflated tires will ride more on the stiffer sidewall portion of the tires rather than the center contact patch where the “meat” of the tire exists. Under-inflation creates less, not more, traction.</p>
<p>Sometimes the bead seal can leak due to corrosion. This shouldn’t be a problem on a new car though. It tends to be a problem in very cold weather. I used to just bring it into NTB to have them reseal it and it would be good for 18 to 24 months.</p>
<p>My car is way too smart for me. I have to push a button to get that darned light to go off once I’ve inflated the tires to the desired pressure. Something to do with resetting the current pressure settings for the vehicle? But I didn’t know that until I called the service department asking why the light wouldn’t go off after I corrected tire pressure issues the very first time it came on.</p>
<p>Temperature drops mess with mine too, but I always check the pressure if that light comes on just to be sure. I keep, and always have kept, a pressure gauge in my glove box.</p>
<p>Those indicator lights are a PITA. Mine did that temperature variable thing, and with nitrogen in my tires, the car had to go to the dealer (GRRR) to get them checked and reloaded. Two weeks ago the light went on while H was driving it. I thought…yep, cold. Got up the next morning to go to the store, got in front of neighbors house, thought the road was awfully lumpy, checked, and found a flat tire (GRRRR). H drove it to a tire place, since we could not refill it at home. Now I have a new tire (GRRRRR)!</p>
<p>Thanks folks. Michuncle, thanks especially for the clarification re/ underinflation decreasing traction. This was new info to me and I’ll get those tires pumped asap.</p>
<p>I go to Jiffy Lube because when I got ****ed with them and stopped going I had much longer waits at our local ride in shop, less service (no fluid fill or vacuum job) and wound up letting the oil change go too long. I figure it’s better for the car to have very regular oil changes than not. My wonderful mechanic requires an appointment even for oil changes, so forget that. I have learned, however, not to have work done at JL - not even a headlight bulb changed, since they seem to use cheap parts.</p>