So, you’re driving down the PCH enjoying the wind in your hair and admiring the sunset with your friends. You start talking about all the exciting trips you plan to take this summer when this little, yellow light pops up on your dashboard; low tire pressure. Uh-oh. What do you do now? You don’t know how to put air in your tires and neither do any of your friends. Great.
To make sure you don’t experience the same setback again, here are a few tips, with a little help from Edmunds:
Start at the gas station and pull up alongside the air compressor. It seems pretty obvious, but make sure that you park your car between the two white lines. This will help you reach all four tires so that you don’t have to keep readjusting to reach the hose to each tire.
Some machines may ask you to pay a small fee, but most of the time it’s free to fill up your tires. Just go inside and ask the clerk to turn on the air.
Do not pump air in yet! You need to check your tire pressure. Somewhere in your car, you should have a tire gauge that will allow you to do this (If not, gas stations usually sell them). The level that your tire pressure should be is usually on a sticker on the side of the driver’s door. If not, you can look in your manual. It’s usually 32-35 psi, but always double-check, since each car model is unique.
Do not just automatically put all the air in at once. Work in short spurts so you can keep an eye on the tire pressure to make sure you’re not going over the recommended level.
While you may have just put air in the tire that appeared to be the flattest, it would be best if you check the pressure of all the tires just to be safe.
You’re set! Checking your tire pressure every month will help prevent driving around with dangerous, under-inflated tires. It will also help your road trips be exactly what they are meant to be – fun on the road.
