In the days before self serve replaced attendants and convenience stores replaced service bays tire pressure was checked every time a customer re-fueled.
Thats not accurate. You are implying that the gas jockey put a tire pressure gauge on each tire for each fill up and that did not happen. As a former gas jockey who went through the Esso training, you looked at each tire as you walked around the car cleaning the windshield and back window.
Before radial tires, it was easy to do a visual check for a low tire. If a tire was suspect, then you checked it and added air as needed. Then you opened the hood and checked the oil level. The tires all got checked with a gauge when the car came in for an oil and lube or anytime a customer asked you to check them.
It was tough to do all that when a customer only wants a “dollars worth” as often happened.
“We checked if they asked. Not as a matter of course.”
Yup!
And, since cars did not have placards displaying the recommended tire pressure in those days, and since most drivers had no clue regarding tire pressure, each attendant inflated tires to whatever he thought was appropriate.
IIRC, I used 26 lbs in every car.
Was that correct?
I have no idea, but I was probably right about 60% of the time (excluding Corvairs, of course).
We didn’t get any commission, but we did have to offer to check the oil, and we had to clean the windshield.
I prided myself on doing a very thorough job with both tasks, even if the configuration of Pontiac V-8s frequently caused me to spill some oil.
Some customers would ask for the radiator to be checked, which wasn’t usually a problem, except for a few turd-heads who didn’t reveal that their cars were overheating!
Our station was located very close to the NJ side of the GW Bridge, and due to summer traffic backups (Chris Christie wasn’t responsible…in those days), it was not unusual for cars of the '50s & '60s–particularly Buicks, I discovered–to run very hot. After one of the attendants almost had his head blown off by a flying radiator cap from an overheating car, our manager put up signs saying “NO radiator checks!”.
If somebody wanted his radiator checked, we directed him to pull over to the service bays where the manager did it himself–AFTER making the customer wait at least 20 minutes in order for the car to cool down.
Back when I was in high school I worked part time at a gas station and policy there was to check all tires, check all fluids, and clean the windshield with any gasoline purchase.
This policy applied no matter how small the gasoline purchase was or how busy the lot was. We used to air them all up to 28 as that was a common recommended number; unless the car owner preferred a slight, within reason variance.
GM does provide a readout of each tire’s pressure in the information center. While I tell my daughters to check the tire pressure every two weeks, they tend to use the TPMS to tell them when a tire is low and then use the hand held tire gauge to confirming it. Since the TPMS is always right, they add air.
@dagosa, “I know we will continually disagree about the politics of this matter.” No, on the contrary, I think we are in complete agreement on the politics of the matter. I think TPMS is nothing but a nuisance, and the haphazard way in which it was brought to market simply negates the very purpose it was designed for. It’s just another warning light to ignore, along with ABS, Trac Control, taillamp out, etc. Whether or not your state safety inspection requires it is also nonsense to me, as state safety inspections in and of themselves are nothing more than money fleecers, far more so than any TPMS system will ever be.
The feds require your car to have a catalytic converter. Let’s say your state emissions program is lax enough that your car will pass a tailpipe test without the catalyst installed. Does that mean you are free to remove it?
I think there may be some marginal benefit given the example of the low tire warning coming on as your driving at 75mph and that making you more aware of an impending problem. But drivers are so damn lax these days I think the percentage of drivers who would slow down and pull over for a look is miniscule.
But none of that changes my position. Say your car has a faulty “low washer fluid” sensor. You can live with the washer light on on your dash, or you can pay me $100 to diag/replace the faulty part. You don’t want to spend that money on that item? That’s fine. But the fact remains that without replacing the faulty sensor, your car is still broken.
Tire Masters (or whomever) may have been at fault by saying you must install sensors under penalty of law, but you have to admire their adhesion to a practice of best standards. If the car came in with TPMS it goes out with TPMS. You can’t expect them to lower their quality of work to match your pocketbook, can you?
@acemaster
Fortunately, our state doesn’t believe it (the car) is “broken” as far as inspections are concerned if no sensors are Installed. If it’s inclusion prevents people from using winter tires ( and it does) broken becomes a matter of interpretation for this item only. A broken windshield fluid indicator might be important in my state where you literally can’t drive safety some days without fluid. But, fixing it does not impose a direct negative influence on other safe practices. Including TPMS in inspection does. I know many who only service their car through the dealer, and buy their winter tires and rims through them. This becomes a 4 times $159 added cost if they choose the winter package when it is mandated. Our dealership just calls it a choice. You may “say” the car is broken but you might be pretty lonely in our state with that definition if the sensors are not installed to begin with. They actually say in so many words, that nothing is broken because the light is working perfectly and indicating there are no sensors, by your choice. ;=()
Townfair tire I believe you were referring to fortunately, did not say " by law". Everyone else stated the situation accurately and gave me, " the choice". I chose to mount snow tires. May I ask, does your state mandate state inspection to include a functioning TPMS unit ?
@asemaster: Your ethos of “fixed is fixed; broken is broken” mames me chuckle a bit.
You know our FAR121 certificated airlines? Do you think evey time a “no smoking” light burns out, the plane’s grounded? Heck no! They have a “minimum equipment list” that allows deferrment of broken stuff…even stuff like thrust reversers, fuel gauges, and flaps (Be-1900 at least).
Granted, there are procedure and performance changes (like starting up with alternating engines with a bad gauge vs always starting the one furthest from passengers enplanement) but rest assured “broken” planes fly daily.
It’s good to know the safety of lives are judged daily on the notion of probability. Cars, planes and trains ! The thing is, getting through the day safely is not an intersection of probabilities but a union or sum of all of them. That’s why so many people die unnecessarily. You may have a slight chance of getting killed flying, but when you add driving to the airport, flying, then driving home and you do things like that on a regular basis, chances are are…pretty frrightening. But not if you fly on Airforce One. Bet next to nothing is broken on their’s. Wonder ? Any TPMS there ?
@dagosa, no there is no mandate in my state for functioning TPMS. In fact, there is no safety inspection at all where I live, which is a good thing. State safety inspections are entirely unnecessary, are nothing more than devices used to pump money into the state economy and have nothing to do with safety. They are just a guise that the politicians have dreamed up to keep money flowing when in fact there is little or no benefit to having them. See, you’ve picked one of my pet peeves. I feel as or more strongly about safety inspections as you do about TPMS.
I’m not sure what cars you drive, but don’t many if not most current systems identify tire location and pressure? It can be quite a time saver for service, for the mechanic and the driver. No need to rely on an inaccurate tire pressure gauge, just read it on the dash. When a guy is driving a car in for oil change service, while he is resetting the oil life monitor he just needs to scroll to check tire pressure to see which, if any, need air. Driver’s seat diagnostics are great.
Incidentally, some cars are now not equipped with engine oil dipsticks. You would think that not having to open the hood and wipe oil on a dirty rag would help people check their oil more often. On the contrary, it seems to have done the opposite. I just don’t understand that.
Thank goodness we both have enough hair to pull out.
Maybe I did not examine my manual close enough. The 04 and my 2013 have NO location indicator, no pressure read out. They blink when a problem of low pressure ocurrs, somewhere, and stay on with a malfunction somewhere, like no sensors present. You have to find it. Just assumed all worked that way. At least, my 04 had a sensor in the spare, the 13 does not.
I have six, tire pressure gauges. Five of them agree within a pound and the six that doesn’t, I leave with my bike tools. Maybe I need to buy a new car to get these wonderful benefits. but, I am not sure why you say these things are more accurate then a decent tire guage ?
Let me say one reason I like inspections in our state. It does get rust buckets off the road and I do see fewer cars with bald tires as well. Other then that, i feel regular service should always check the basics by any mechanic.
Ahh, the 2004 was made before the TPMS federal mandate began in the 2007 model year.
Don’t quote me on this, but all GM, Nissan/Infiniti, many Fords, and a host of other cars have a TPMS system that shows pressure for each tire location. I love driving a car in and seeing that all tires are at 34 psi or whatever. One less thing I have to do during service. Of course, that’s one more thing that needs to be relearned during routine service. I had a lady ask me why the dealer would charge her $44 to rotate her tires. I explained that that would include the relearn procedure to teach the car which tires were located where. Her dealer refused to do the service without the proper relearn procedure. Again, adhesion to best practices, and dealers are held to a higher standard. So you want a system that accurately reports the actual pressure and location of each tire? It’s already here. But it costs to maintain it.
My experience with the $1.99 gauges next to the register at parts stores is such that I’d never trust them. You obviously are more in tune with car service than the average driver, but the fact is most gauges out there are not as accurate as the sensors in the wheels.
I will make an allowance for safety inspections where rust is an issue, but that assumes that drivers are so careless or ignorant that they will drive their cars until they fall apart under them. And if that’s the case, well, they get what they deserve. Other than that, I don’t think there’s any data that supports the supposed safety claims of inspections. They just don’t work.
I have a 2013 Venza and tried out a RAV. Both did not. I made a comment earlier about having a pressure display in all cars of each tire. I would definitely be in favor of maintaining that capability ! I am shopping at the wrong places for cars I guess.
I usually use a more expensive dial guage. I agree you get what you pay for. Many drivers are careless or ignorant about caring for their car bodies. It’s not unusual to see rust buckets with motors with oil change intervals of 2500 miles. The rust and exhaust intrusion are subtle killers that many drivers would do nothing about till it’s too late unless forced to. Am thinking of my super tightwad brother to begin with.
Back when I was in high school I worked part time at a gas station and policy there was to check all tires, check all fluids, and clean the windshield with any gasoline purchase.
That was the policy when I was pumping gas and bending wrenches 1970-1977. Of course if a customer declined the service that was fine. Some were in a hurry. Some performed the checks themselves. One lady stopped on her way to work Monday thru Friday. She always purchased $1 regular. She received the same service as customers who always filled up.
I was one of those guys who always refused the service. Just made me nervous having highschool kids working minimum wage pawing around, looking for the right dipstick under the hood of my car. Just me. I know most were perfectly qualified and capable of these tasks.
"One lady stopped on her way to work Monday thru Friday. She always purchased $1 regular. She received the same service as customers who always filled up."
We used to have a guy who would come in every few days with his hair on fire (figuratively speaking, of course), and it was always the same spiel. He would shout “I’m late for work. Just throw $2.00 worth of regular in as fast as you can”.
I was always tempted to suggest that he stop on his way home from work, when he wasn’t in such a hurry, and then he could actually fill his tank, but…Who wants to listen to the voice of reason if it is coming from a 20 year old?
I was mechanically inclined since I was about 12 years old so working in a gas station was nothing to me. By the time I was 16 I had experience in sheet metal work, electrical, and welding. Even in high school I handled most repairs on my parents and sister’s cars along with my own.
My late father had a little mechanical ability but he absolutely hated to stick his head under the hood for anything other than to check the oil or coolant levels.
There used to be an elderly lady who came into the station once a week and always bought 5 gallons of gas. She was an absolute pain in the neck and I would start cussing every time I saw her hit the lot. Policy was to thoroughly go over every car no matter what so she got the full treatment no matter how much it pxxxxx me off.
ok4450: A shop policy not to put snows on w/o TPMS rims is great for limiting shop liability…but doesn’t it increase customer risk?
I mean, I understand that it wouldn’t occur to politicians, but for a working man…being told his $450 snows are now $800…might prompt him to do without…can’t afford it. Another example of “best” being the enemy of “good.”
but, I am not sure why you say these things are more accurate then a decent tire guage ?