What is a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)?
A Tire Pressure Monitoring System is a new safety device that measures, identifies and warns the driver when one or more tires is significantly under-inflated. 100% of all 2008 model year vehicles are required to come equipped with a TPMS system.
Citing tire pressure maintenance as a key safety issue, in 2000 Congress passed the TREAD Act (Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation) requiring that new vehicles have a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) that measures, identifies and warns the driver when one or more tires becomes significantly under-inflated. All 2008 models must comply, while the phase in period calls for 20 percent of all 2006 vehicles and 70 percent of all 2007 models to be equipped with a TPMS system.
Why Monitor Tire Pressure?
Tires are one of the most critical safety features on a vehicle and most people ignore them. There is a flat tire for every 46,000 miles driven with more than half due to under-inflation and more than two-thirds of all tire problems are due to a slow loss of pressure. A loss of 3 PSI relates to an increase of tire wear by 1.5 percent and the life of the tire is reduced by 10 percent.
Tires influence the vehicle’s ability to handle, steer, brake, and maintain stability. If the tires are under-inflated, vehicle safety is compromised. Sudden tire failure can have serious consequences, especially at high speeds. For example, a 32 PSI tire with a 25 percent loss runs at 24 PSI. At 32 PSI the tire can support 1085 lbs. per axle–at 24 PSI it can only support 900 lbs. per axle and the car will be dangerously overloaded resulting in potentially catastrophic tire failure. Besides improving safety, monitoring tire pressure can save at the pump and improve overall vehicle performance as vehicles with properly inflated tires run more efficiently.
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A complete line of TPMS replacement parts including pressure sensors, mounting hardware and valve stem kits.
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