Have you ever seen a vehicle with one or more tires that appear noticeably low on tire pressure? Didn't you want to warn the driver of the situation before that slight inconvenience became a calamity? What if the vehicle with the low tire pressures is the one you're driving? Wouldn't you want to be warned?

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has developed a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that requires the installation of tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) that warn the driver when a tire is significantly underinflated. The standard applies to passenger cars, trucks, multipurpose passenger vehicles and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less, except those vehicles with dual wheels on an axle.

Maintaining the correct tire pressure for a vehicle is an important factor in how much load its tires can safely carry. The correct pressure will carry the weight without a problem. Too little tire pressure will eventually cause catastrophic tire failure.

Tires aren't invincible. They are made of individual layers of fabric and steel encased in rubber. If a tire is allowed to run low on air pressure, the rubber is forced to stretch beyond the elastic limits of the fabric and steel reinforcing cords. When this happens, the bond between the various materials can weaken. If this is allowed to continue, it will eventually break the bonds between the various materials and cause the tire to fail. And even if the tire doesn't fail immediately, once a tire is weakened it won't heal after being reinflated to the proper pressure. So if a tire has been allowed to run nearly flat for a period of time, the tire should be replaced, not simply repaired or reinflated.

Studies have shown that running tires with too little air pressure is not uncommon. It's been estimated that about one out of every four vehicles on the road is running on underinflated tires. This also means that one out of every four drivers is needlessly sacrificing their vehicle's fuel economy and handling, and reducing their tires' durability and tread life.

This has made tire pressure maintenance an important safety issue throughout the automotive industry and caused the U.S. government to pass legislation mandating tire pressure monitoring systems. The main purpose of these systems is to warn the driver if their tires are losing air pressure, leaving the tires underinflated and dangerous.

What types of systems are being used now? How do they work? Which works the best?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides vehicle manufacturers options with which they can comply with the law. One option is to install a direct tire pressure monitoring system that uses pressure sensors located in each wheel to directly measure the pressure in each tire and warns drivers when the air pressure in any of their tires drops at least 25% below the recommended cold tire inflation pressure identified on the vehicle placard. Another option is to install an indirect tire pressure monitoring system that would warn the driver when a single tire has lost at least 25% of its inflation pressure compared to other tires on the vehicle. While direct systems could offer more precise warning thresholds, indirect systems cannot offer the same information or accuracy.

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