Tyre pressure monitoring: The important safety feature your new car might not have

What does a car's Tyre Pressure Monitoring System do, and why is it important?

Manufacturers of news vehicles are forever including new and interesting safety features to their latest products. They do this to not only make the cars safer for users and pedestrians, but also to achieve/maintain the five-star safety rating that is considered essential for successful sales.

While the usefulness of some of these features is debatable, there’s no denying that most of them make motoring safer for all of us.

Systems like anti-lock braking (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC) seat belts, airbags, collapsible steering columns and the like are all lifesavers – while a reminder to check the back seat of the vehicle before exiting is more an indicator of whether you should be allowed on the road at all.

There’s one system that is not so common in new cars because it isn’t required for a five-star safety rating, but is probably more essential than any other. That is a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS).

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While some of you are crying out that you check your tyres every week and everyone should do the same, you'd be in the minority. Most drivers on the road have no idea what pressures their tyres are at, or even what condition those tyres are in.

Tyres are out of sight and out of mind for the majority of road users.

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Why is tyre pressure so important?

The tyres on your car are they only point of contact between the car and the road, and they're subject to many different loads, in different directions, when the vehicle is turning, accelerating and braking.

Add to these variables, the variety of driving conditions including wet, dry, gravel, damaged, icy, hot and cold roads and you begin to realise the important task those four relatively small tyre contact patches have in safely controlling the dynamics of your car.

While many of the newer safety systems such as ABS, ESC, lane keeping, electronic traction control (ETC), and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) are all designed to better control the way a vehicle performs on the road and reduce the probability or risk of an accident, these systems still rely on a proper and appropriate connection of the four tyres on the road surface.

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tyre tread

Every new-fangled safety system in your car still relies on a proper and appropriate connection of the four tyres on the road surface.

A vehicle manufacturer can employ the world's most advanced chassis-control systems in their cars, but the effectiveness off those systems will be limited if the vehicle’s tyres are not in optimal condition.

A good TPMS constantly monitors the temperature and pressure within the individual tyres on the car and will warn the driver if any exceed or drop below the set temperatures and/or pressure. The best systems have a display on the dash to give a constant or daily reminder of their status.

In the Ford Ranger I currently drive daily, the pressures are permanently visible up in the gauge cluster, so I always know where they are at. The SsangYong Musso that I used to drive would randomly flash the TPMS screen up on the dash to remind you of what pressure they were at, or the TPMS display could be called up at the press of a button.

The Musso sounded a warning when the rear tyres got hot and exceeded their pre-set pressure on a particularly hot country road, and issued another warning when one of the tyres developed a slow leak – which I was then able to monitor before getting it fixed at a tyre store.

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Warnings that a tyre is outside of its safe working parameters could be life saving!

At the very least they could alert you to a problem with the tyre before it gets worse and destroys the tyre. Tyres are a consumable item and good tyres aren’t cheap, so no one likes having to buy new ones.

Not sure what pressure your tyres should run at?

This information is generally available on the tyre placard which you will usually find in the door jamb or the owner’s manual. Still not sure? Ask at your dealer the next time you take the car in for service or at any major tyre store.

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Tyre pressure monitoring systems come standard in some cars and are optional in others, and it's not just in premium vehicles you’ll find them. As mentioned, the Musso ute has an excellent TPMS as standard equipment.

It is a feature that operates all the time and something that has more potential to save a life than a 'check rear seat' reminder.