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  You want to catch an air pressure issue long before it starts showing up on your tread, and fortunately a dashboard indicator will light up to let you know as soon as tire pressure drops to an unsafe level (about 8 psi lower than the manufacturer’s recommended operation pressure). I was absolutely guilty of ignoring this symbol myself, but low tire pressure causes the following dangerous and/or money-wasting issues:

  • Wastes fuel. Expensive!

  • Increases braking distance. Unsafe!

  • Lowers your vehicle’s stability. Unsafe!

  • Causes uneven wear on your tires. Expensive!

  • Can cause hydroplaning or slipping on wet roads. Unsafe!

  • Makes your vehicle more prone to a flat or a blowout. Unsafe and expensive!

  When that tire pressure indicator lights up, get yourself to a gas station or to your local mechanic ASAP. A mechanic will probably do the job for you for free, and at a gas station, you’ll be able to refill your tires yourself for around a dollar. You can also invest in an inexpensive portable compressor (see box, page 200) so you can refill your tires as needed without going out of your way. Unfortunately, one thing your dashboard won’t tell you is that you’ve overfilled your tires, something I see at almost every Girls Auto Clinic car care workshop. To learn more about how to avoid making this common mistake, see page 191.

  Don’t Mess Around with PSI

  I once got into a five-minute argument during a defensive driving course with a police officer who told us that the optimal tire pressure was marked on our tires’ sidewalls. This common misconception is not only false but dangerous. The correct operating tire pressure is located on a sticker on your car’s driver side doorjamb. (The average on all passenger vehicles is 33 psi.) The number on the sidewall is the maximum allowable air pressure in the tire.

  By law, passenger cars manufactured since 2007 are equipped with tire pressure monitor systems (TPMS), a move that was a partial response to the Ford Explorer/Firestone Tire “rollover” crashes of the 1990s. (Firestone claimed that Ford kept the tire pressures artificially low in order to stabilize the top-heavy SUVs; Ford countered that the problem was with the Firestone tires. The U.S. Congress agreed that tire pressure was at fault, and established a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that requires the installation of a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) that warns the driver when a tire is significantly underinflated.

  Not having the proper air pressure inside their tires is the single most common mistake drivers make. So make refilling your tires a regular part of your life. There’s no standard frequency for tires needing to be refilled; waiting until the TPMS light illuminates on your dashboard is just fine. You may get a few false alarms. Because warm air expands and cold air contracts, the air pressure in a tire often drops significantly overnight, especially as seasons are changing and tires are exposed to wider ranges of outdoor temperatures. Some mornings, the tire pressure warning light will come on, but after driving for about 2 miles, the air inside the tire warms up and the TPMS light goes out. If it stays on for longer than five minutes as you drive, check your tire pressure. And be sure to measure tire pressure only after you’ve driven for more than 2 miles. Pro tip: It may also take a few miles of driving to turn the warning light off once you’ve filled the tire to the correct pressure.

  TIP: If you’re driving an older car that doesn’t have TPMS, check your tire pressure once a month when you fill up on gas; see page 191 for how. Seem like too much of a chore? At least take a walk around your car and have a peek at your tires. When pressure is very low, the car will droop and the tire or tires will be visibly deflated.

  Flat Tires

  Flat tires aren’t entirely preventable, but you’re more likely to catch one if your tires are underinflated, overinflated, and/or worn down. Maintaining proper tire pressure, rotating your tires, and replacing tires when necessary will significantly decrease your chances of catching a flat, while creating a smoother and more efficient ride. But flat tires can happen to even the most well-prepared #shecanic, which is why we’re going to learn how to change a tire on page 203.

  Tire Leaks

  If your dashboard tire pressure light reilluminates a few days after you’ve refilled a tire, you probably have a small leak. Check your tires again. If the same tire is low twice in a row, take your car in to your PCT. A small leak may have you refilling your tire every few days or every week, while a large leak may have you refilling your tire every day or two. Small leaks can be plugged and/or patched, an inexpensive job, whereas larger leaks will usually lead to a tire replacement.

  Leaks often result from some unlucky contact between your tire and a nail or other sharp object—but they’re more likely to occur on tires that are underinflated, overinflated, or worn down. (Starting to get the picture?) Leaks can also occur if the tire bead (where the rubber tire touches the metal wheel) or valve stem is broken. Faulty tire installation can cause tire bead problems, and tire valves and tire beads can also leak due to failure or rough handling.

  A broken tire valve can be one cause of a leak.

  Uneven Wear

  In an ideal world, all four of your tires will wear evenly. That way, you’ll only need to replace your full set of tires every five years or so. Uneven wear may not seem like something you can control, but it actually has four main causes, all of them avoidable.

  1. Incorrect Tire Pressure. See the previous section.

  2. Skipping a Scheduled Tire Rotation. Most of the car’s braking is done by your front brakes, so the front tires wear out faster than the back tires. They’re the car’s workhorses, generating the friction that enables you to come to a stop. To boot, cars are heavier in the front, because of the engine, transmission, and all that other good stuff under the hood. More wear and tear on those front tires. That’s why we have our friendly PCT rotate our tires, swapping out the front and back tires to the tune of around fifteen to twenty-five dollars. The easiest way to remember to rotate you tires is to get them done every other oil change. You should rotate your tires at least once a year.

  3. Wheels in Need of Alignment. Steering and suspension parts wear over time and get bent out of place from driver abuse. This problem can lead to uneven wear on your tires, requiring both a realignment and a tire replacement or two.

  4. Unbalanced Tires. Every tire has slight weight imbalances that alter its rotational path. If tires are or become unbalanced, you will notice vibrations or shaking coming from the steering wheel and your seat when driving at speeds over 40 miles per hour. Anytime a tire is removed from the wheel, whether for replacement or for repair, it must be rebalanced by your mechanic after it is replaced.

  Common Wheel Problems and Fixes

  If you forgot all about the wheels those tires are attached to, you’re not alone. Since they’re not in contact with the ground, wheels get a lot less action than tires do. Unlike tires, they don’t require regular maintenance, but every once in a while they may still need a little TLC.

  steel wheel

  alloy wheel

  lug nut

  Made of steel or alloy (short for aluminum alloy), each wheel is attached by four to six lug nuts to the wheel bearing, a suspension part that causes the wheel to spin. Also attached to the wheel bearing are the disc or drum brakes. Once the tire is mounted to the wheel, the whole operation (including the brake disc) spins together as the car moves forward or backward. Alloy rims are nice and shiny and don’t corrode over time. Steel rims corrode and often wind up looking rusty—which is why they’re covered with plastic hubcaps that make the wheel look nice and shiny.

  The tire takes most of the beating, but hitting curbs or going over potholes can visibly bend the metal wheel out of shape, which can cause a tire to leak air. When this occurs, you’ll need to either have a mechanic bang out the dent or purchase a replacement wheel. Wheels come new or used; since they’re just hunks of metal, go for used and save some money. Or knock yourself out with the rims of your dreams. No ju
dgment!

  Wheel Alignment Issues

  The road of life may sometimes be bumpy. But when it comes to our cars, bumpy, pothole-ridden, and uneven roads can mean death to our tires and our steering and suspension systems. Anyone who has driven on poorly maintained streets knows the pain.

  When all four wheels are traveling on an even plane, tire life and fuel economy are maximized and vehicle handling is steady and predictable. In order to ensure that all four tires remain on the ground in any type of road condition, the steering and suspension systems underneath your car are bolted together and set to certain angles when the car is brand-new. But over time, those angles will change slightly, making the car hard to steer and rapidly accelerating tire wear.

  This happens with normal wear and tear, but also with damage to the steering and suspension systems. Running over potholes, large bumps, high curbs, and other hazards of the road can knock the steering and suspension components out of place. Once the angles are changed, tire wear happens extremely fast, and steering and suspension parts will start to wear faster as well.

  A wheel alignment is the fix that returns the steering and suspension components to their original angles and placements. Your PCT should check both the front and rear wheels, though almost all alignments are needed on the front wheels only. An alignment is sometimes also needed after steering and suspension parts are replaced. Your PCT will let you know.

  Signs Your Car Needs a Wheel Alignment

  • You feel the car frequently pull, wander, or drift to one side of the road or the other and you have to correct course to continue to drive straight. (A pull to the right or left that occurs during braking is a sign of a brake issue. If you feel the pull while in motion, it’s the alignment.)

  • You feel a vibration or shimmy while driving, especially at highway speeds.

  • The tires show uneven wear (see infographic on page 195). Do not place new tires on a car and then skip the alignment. The tires will wear out extremely fast (maybe in a matter of months).

  Wheel and Tire Maintenance and Repairs

  Rotating Tires. Rotate your tires every other oil change or at least once a year. Average cost: $15–$25.

  Aligning Wheels. Most alignments are clean and painless for PCTs, so they cost less than $100 and can be done in less than forty-five minutes.

  Fixing a Bent Wheel. A mechanic can bang out a dent, but a wheel may need replacing if it is bent out of round. Average cost: $100 or less for a used wheel, $200 or less for a new wheel.

  Patching a Small Leak. Your PCT may be able to repair a small hole or tear in your tire by inserting a plug, patching the area from the inside of the tire, or using a plug-patch combo. Average cost: $25.

  Replacing a Tire. When their tread is worn down, tires need to be replaced. Ideally, we want this wear to happen evenly so that the tire can last 50,000 to 60,000 miles. And on page 194, I’ll teach you how to check your tire tread using only a lucky penny. Tires with large punctures, long straight cuts, irregular gashes, or punctures in the shoulder of the sidewall cannot be repaired—they must be replaced. New tires should be the same size as your old ones, so if you’re heading to the store yourself, snap a pic of the tire’s sidewall, where identifying information is printed, so you have it on hand. It is best practice to match tire brands, too. Average cost of labor and replacement tires: $150 or less per tire for smaller cars, $200 or less per tire for large cars.

  TPMS Battery Outage

  The tire pressure monitoring system, which lets you know when one of your tires is in need of a puff of air, doesn’t itself need much special care. But the battery-operated sensors attached to your tires will give out and need replacing every seven to ten years. The TPMS light will flash instead of illuminating steadily on the dashboard to indicate that the sensor is broken.

  Common Auto Airhead Mistakes: Tires

  I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve personally made four out of these five mistakes. But I expect more from you, #shecanics.

  • Ignoring the low tire pressure dashboard light.

  • Not rotating tires.

  • Not checking the spare tire for air pressure—check pressure yearly. Note: In order to make up for its smaller size, the spare’s recommended psi is higher than that of a regular full-size tire.

  • Driving over 50 miles an hour on a spare.

  • Filling up tires without measuring pressure before and after (see page 191).

  • Not having caps on your tire valve stems. Moisture and dirt can enter the tire through the valve stem and cause corrosion at the wheel.

  Signs of a Tire or Wheel Issue

  Blisters, wobbly heels, slippery soles . . . Your shoes give you feedback when they’re getting worn down, and the same goes for your tires and wheels. Look, listen, and feel for the following signs of a tire or wheel issue.

  PROBLEM: Vibration in seat or steering wheel

  CAUSE: Tires need balancing or lug nuts are loose. The second possibility is dangerous and needs to be addressed ASAP! See step number 8 on page 206 for instructions on tightening your lug nuts yourself.

  PROBLEM: Pull or drift of car to one side when driving straight

  CAUSE: Steering and/or suspension components are incorrectly angled, and a wheel alignment is needed.

  PROBLEM: Correcting the steering wheel to drive straight

  CAUSE: Steering and/or suspension components are incorrectly angled, and a wheel alignment is needed.

  PROBLEM: Sliding when braking in wet road conditions

  CAUSE: Tire tread is low. Tires need to be replaced.

  PROBLEM: Leak

  CAUSE: Tire has a puncture and may need a patch plug, a valve stem replacement, a remounting, or a replacement.

  Your Wheels, Your $$$: Don’t Buy Used Tires

  While you can generally buy used wheels without a problem, I wouldn’t take the risk with tires. Tires are tied with brakes as your car’s most important safety features, and you can’t stop a car without two functioning pairs.

  Used tires, commonly available at independent shops, can sit around for a while. And just like rubber bands, they can crack and lose their plasticity over time from heat and sun. If you have a really trusted PCT, then you might be okay. Just don’t play around in this area if you don’t know how to pick a good, safe tire.

  Special Tires and Fancy Air

  There are lots of technical-sounding words in the world of tires. My focus is on getting you to take care of your tires, but here are few distinctions you should understand. Trust me, your wallet will thank you.

  All-Wheel-Drive Transmissions. Most AWD vehicles must be equipped with tires that have the same tread depth all around. What does that mean for your wallet? That if your tires have acquired a half-worn tread over 25,000 miles of use, and a single tire requires a replacement due to a flat, blowout, or leak, all of the tires must be replaced. You generally can’t do a single tire replacement on an AWD vehicle, because driving with one tire whose tread is thicker than the other three can cause expensive transmission damage. Skip AWD vehicles if you don’t live somewhere with snowy winters, lots of hills, or dirt roads.

  All-Season Tires. Also known as mud-and-snow tires and appropriate for year-round use, these tires are designed to provide traction in light snow or mucky mud conditions.

  Snow Tires. Designed with extra tread and made of a rubber compound that remains pliable at very low temperatures, snow tires should not be used all year—the rubber wears out faster during hot summer months and may not perform as well on wet roads.

  Run-Flat Tires. Run-flat tires look like conventional tires, but they’re designed to be able to function for a little while without any air in them—meaning they won’t deflate immediately after a blowout or a large leak. Sounds great, right? But as you probably guessed, there’s a catch. They run on empty for only a limited distance, about 50 miles. After which there’s an even bigger catch. Run-flat tires are really expensive—two to three times the price of a conventional tire. (I once
dealt with a car whose run-flat tires were going to cost four hundred bucks each, plus labor, to replace.) Some auto manufacturers use run-flat tires as their defaults, to save on space and weight by eliminating the spare. Know what you’re getting, because it may cost you later.

  Directional Tires. Designed to optimize tire performance when your car is traveling forward, directional tires look exactly like regular tires but with a tread pattern in the shape of a V. An arrow on the tires’ sidewall designates which way is forward, but your PCT should know how to properly mount and rotate these tires.

  Low-Profile Tires. The tire of choice for speed lovers, fans of the Fast and Furious franchise, and daredevils everywhere, low-profile tires have less sidewall than conventional tires do, giving drivers great control when going around curves at higher speeds. But less tire means less air, and a rougher ride over bumps and potholes. Sports cars with low-profile tires really aren’t meant for city driving or intended to be driven every day—a friend of mine who regularly drove his Mustang through Philly traffic was catching a blowout almost every two weeks. And replacing low-profile tires is very expensive. Know what you are getting yourself into, speed demons!

  Nitrogen Air. Some shops carry 100 percent compressed nitrogen, and they recommend using it over regular compressed air to fill your tires. They’re right. Pure nitrogen is better for your tires, mainly because the oxygen in regular compressed air seeps out through your tire walls over time. The tire filler of choice for race car drivers, nitrogen is more expensive than regular air, which costs little to nothing. Nitrogen shouldn’t be mixed with regular air, so if you’re going that route, you’ll need to be consistent. (When mechanics fill tires with nitrogen air, they’ll place green caps on your tire valves to let you know.) Since only some shops offer nitrogen, I’d advise skipping it—unless you really are planning to race that hot rod.