My Acura measures tire pressures, and notifies me when one or more are underinflated. I have been getting the warning signals every time I turn the car on, going around curves, at bumps and stop signs. I took it to a tire dealer and he over inflated the tires. THe pressure is supposed to be 32 psi, but now it reads 33 on really cold mornings, and goes up to 36 after about 30 minutes on the road. I thought I might have had some kind of a slow leak, since the cold temp was sometimes as low as 25 psi, so maybe in a month or so, I’ll lose the extra air. But in the meantime, am I doing anything dangerous or damaging by having the tires so overinflated?
Tire pressures should be measured cold, but “really cold mornings” is aubject to interprtation. How cold?
My guess is that he inflate dthem to the proper pressure. 33 vs. 32 is not significant at all.
Regarding the tire pressure warning, have you checked the owner’s manual for a reinitialization procedure? Read the manual and post back.
Was the pressure in your tires even when the tire dealer checked them?
Keep in mind that you have to add air to tires as the weather cools off because colder temps produce lower pressure. You only routinely check tires when they are cold. (That is, unless you are comparing two tires on the same vehicle because you suspect a leak and they are already warmed up by driving.)
At 3% over the recommended pressure, your tires are not significantly over inflated if they are over inflated at all. How do you know your gauge is accurate? How do you know that the tire dealer’s gauge is accurate?
We have two cars with onboard tire pressure monitors. I have driven cars for a long time, repair my own tire punctures, do my own front and rear wheel alignments and have and use tools for changing tires. Consider the onboard tire pressure monitors a rough indicator of a tire pressure problem; good for + - 2 psi within a correct reading. I am not surprised that you see a 3 psi increase on warmup on a cold day which is anticipated I am sure as I see a 2 or 3 psi change too. Get yourself a decent quality tire pressure dial gauge for about $14 and set your pressures at what the label says on your door jamb or door edge before driving that day and you will be OK.
The reason why we should do two things. Check tires cold, because this is based on average temp at that time of year. In the north we need to readjust our tires cold pressure to the general seasonal temp. In the south not so much. But always check each month. The average temp for the season is what to shoot for ideally. But more important find a bad tire before it hurts you. A bad tire can really hurt the ones you love. Ignore automated BS systems if you know your tires pressure. If you are clueless always ask a pro. I don’t want to be a casualty of your problem.
There is nothing dangerous nor damaging about a few extra psi, so don’t worry about that. Your only real problem is that wacky warning light, which is overreacting. But it is merely a nuisance; you can and should ignore it when it comes and goes. Only when it remains lit longer than a few minutes should you heed it.
Tires are more or less even, within a pound or two. The measure I am using is the car’s electronic system. I never trust the gauges on the air pumps or even my own readings of the one I have. These readings are from a reputable dealer in tires. These tires are now over inflated by just under 10%.
The tires are fairly new, relatively even in pressure. I don’t think I have an impending flat. What I was wondering about is leaking valves.
So the proper pressure (32 psi) allows for the 4-5 degree inflation after driving for a while?? If that’s true, then I’ll just relax and forget the whole thing, until the lights come back on.
Toni, it’s just another government nag light. Put some black tape over it and drive on. Motorists have survived for a hundred years without tire pressure monitors which, by the way are anything BUT reliable. As the systems age, they become more troublesome and expensive to maintain and many disgruntled owners have removed them…
Yes, that’s exactly how it works. Check tires cold, and expect them to go up several psi after driving. They were correctly inflated by the tire dealer.
36 isn’t cause for concern. Even starting out at 35 isn’t anything to worry about.