Can the car still be driven when the 'Check Tire Pressure' warning appears?
3 Answers
Tire pressure warning means the car should not be driven. When the tire pressure warning light comes on, you should stop the car immediately and check the tires, otherwise it may adversely affect driving safety. Hazards of overinflated tires: Reduced tire friction and adhesion, affecting braking performance; causes steering wheel vibration and deviation, reducing driving comfort; accelerates wear on the central tread pattern, shortening tire lifespan; increases vehicle vibration, indirectly affecting the lifespan of other components; overstretches tire cords, reducing elasticity and increasing the load on the tire while driving; decreases puncture resistance. When encountering sharp objects like nails or glass on the road, they can easily penetrate the tire, causing internal cracks or blowouts, leading to a tire burst. Hazards of underinflated tires: Increases friction with the road surface, raising fuel consumption; makes the steering wheel heavy and prone to deviation, compromising driving safety; increases movement of tire parts, causing abnormal heat due to excessive rolling; reduces the functionality of cords and rubber, leading to delamination or cord breakage, and excessive friction with the rim, causing damage to the bead area and abnormal wear; multiplies friction with the ground, rapidly increasing tire temperature, softening the tire, and drastically reducing strength. High-speed driving may result in a tire burst; increases tire deformation, making the sidewalls prone to cracks and causing flexing movements, leading to excessive heat, rubber aging, cord fatigue, and breakage, while also increasing the tire's contact area with the ground, accelerating shoulder wear.
The other day while driving my kid to school, the tire pressure warning light suddenly came on. I immediately pulled over to check and found the right rear tire was noticeably flat. Fortunately, there was an auto repair shop just a few hundred meters away, so I gingerly drove there at a snail's pace of 20 km/h to get it patched. The mechanic said it was actually quite risky to drive like that - an underinflated tire's sidewall can deform excessively, and in hot weather it could blow out any minute. If you ever encounter this situation, he advised not exceeding 40 km/h for more than 3 km, and it's best to call for roadside assistance directly. I remember my neighbor once stubbornly drove 10 km on a flat tire and ended up deforming the wheel rim - the repair cost nearly two thousand yuan!
As a freight driver with twenty years of experience, my procedure for handling a tire pressure warning is quite straightforward: turn on the hazard lights and slowly coast to a safe spot. After getting out of the vehicle, first check for obvious damage like nails in the tire, then use a simple tire pressure gauge to measure the pressure. If the pressure loss is within 20%, you can refill the tire and drive cautiously; if the pressure drops below 1.0 or the tire shows visible deformation, call for a tow truck immediately. Once, on the highway, I noticed abnormal tire pressure and used intermittent braking to reduce speed below 60 before exiting at the nearest ramp to deal with it—never imitate those reckless drivers; losing control during a tire blowout is no joke.
