These days, cars come fully equipped with tons of features to ensure the safety of everyone on the road. TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) is a great example of a crucial safety feature that has helped to keep drivers safe all over the world. In fact, TPMS is so beneficial and cost efficient that it has been a required feature on every automobile in the United States since 2008. What is a TPMS sensor?
TPMS Defined
The purpose of TPMS is to alert drivers when (at least) one of their tires is unusually low on air pressure. If you’ve ever seen a “Check Tire Pressure” notification on your dashboard, that is your TPMS at work! Usually, this dashboard light comes on if your tire pressure is 25% less than the recommended pressure.
Indirect and Direct TPMS
There are two types of TPMS: direct and indirect. Indirect TPMS mainly relies on antilock brake sensors to determine tire pressure. Essentially, if a tire is rotating unusually fast, the sensors are able to indicate that the tire must be low on pressure. If you are able to check the pressure of each tire on your dashboard, chances are your car has direct TPMS. Direct TPMS is a bit more sophisticated and alerts drivers on which specific tires are low on air.
TPMS Maintenance
Ideally your TPMS will notify you if your tire pressure is low. This will signify that your tires need a routine air replenishment or that you may have a leak in one of them.
Like any part of a car, however, TPMS can require maintenance itself or even replacement. It’s always a great idea to manually check your tire pressure once a month just in case the system is inaccurate. Additionally, TPMS needs to be reset each time you purchase new tires or have your tires rotated. Besides that, the only other usual need for TPMS stems from road wear and tear, and battery/sensor failure after prolonged use. In this case, a dashboard light will alert you of the failure so you can get it serviced by a trusted mechanic.
Maintain Your TPMS with Churchill Auto Care
If you are unsure whether or not your TPMS sensor is malfunctioning, give us a call! We offer excellent service at a fair price for all of your automotive maintenance and repair needs. To schedule an appointment, please visit our site or give us a call at (301) 620-7620