Every fall, the same thing happens: temperatures drop and suddenly your tire pressure warning light comes on. It's not a coincidence, and it's not usually a leak.
Tire pressure drops roughly 1 PSI for every 10°F the temperature falls. A tire set to 35 PSI on a 70°F day can read closer to 31-32 PSI once temperatures drop into the 30s — enough to trigger most TPMS warning lights.
Check your pressure with a gauge (or have it checked) and fill to the number on the sticker inside your driver's door jamb — not the number printed on the tire's sidewall, which is a maximum, not a recommendation. Check again after a big temperature swing, since it'll keep shifting through the season.
If one tire consistently needs air more often than the others, that's usually a slow leak — from a nail, a bad valve stem, or a wheel seal issue — not just the weather. Worth having it checked rather than just topping it off every week.
Underinflated tires wear unevenly, hurt fuel economy, and increase the chance of a blowout — especially at highway speed. It's a two-minute check that's easy to ignore.
If your light's been on for a while or you're not sure whether it's just the cold, we can check it on-site along with everything else.
Need tires checked or replaced? We come to you — anywhere in the Richmond area.
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