Practical Tip Tuesday:Tire Pressure Monitor System

Welcome to Practical Tip Tuesday, and sorry this post is late. Today I want to share an easy fix for when this light comes on your dashboard. 

This light is your Tire Pressure Monitor light. Cars newer than 2008 have a sensor built into their tires that will warn the driver with the above light when the tire pressure drops below a certain level. Todays post will show you how to check your tire pressure, fix your tire pressure, and fill your tire up which will make the light turn off. 

First step is to obviously find out which tire is low. You will need a tire pressure gauge. There are a few different ones you can use. Below is shown 3 different type, but they all do the same thing. 

This tire gauge is my fav only because I feel it is the easiest for me to hold and get a good seal on the tire to get an accurate reading. So how do you use this? It's super easy! The gauge fits right onto the tire stem. Line it up with the tire stem and then push it on. One thing to know when checking your tire pressure is that when you put one of these to the tire stem make sure you have a good seal. A good seal means you can't hear any air leaking out when you hook up the tire gauge. If you don't have a good seal your reading on the tire gauge will not be accurate. 

The picture below is showing that my tire pressure is only 20psi. This is really low and needs to be filled up. 

Once you find the tire that is low you now need to find out how much psi needs to go into your tire. Each car is different and there is a sticker located on the inside of the driver side door which will show you how much to fill your tires up too. The sticker will also tell you the size of tires that are best for your car. 

 For my car 33psi is optimal for my front & rear tires and 60 psi for my spare tire. 

 When you go to the gas station to fill up the tire, this tool is attached to their machine. It has 2 ends that do the same thing and depending on your tire and rim  you could use either side. I personally find that the end where the arrow is easiest and works best.

 In order to fill your tire you must get a good seal with this tool also. If you push the tool on and hear air leaking out then you need to change the angle or push the tool on harder. Once you fill up the tire double check again with the tire pressure gauge that the tire is filled to what it's supposed to be. Once you get your tire pressure to that tire pressure goal then you are done. When you get back into your car the light will still be on (most likely), don't worry, you need to drive around a little to get the light to come off.

Once it's off you are now an expert at this light and can take care of it whenever needed(no man involved lol). Most of the time this light will come on when the seasons change from fall to winter and winter to summer. 
Thanks for reading and if you have a question answered or need a tutorial of something let me know, I'd love to help!