What Causes Abnormal Tire Pressure on the Dashboard?
2 Answers
Abnormal tire pressure on the dashboard is caused by either overinflation or underinflation, requiring you to stop and check the tire pressure. Indirect tire pressure monitoring systems determine tire pressure by comparing the rotational speeds of the four wheels. However, this method has some limitations—it cannot specifically indicate which tire has insufficient pressure and may produce false alarms under certain conditions. Therefore, any factor that causes inconsistent wheel speeds can trigger a tire pressure warning. For example, after replacing a single tire, the new tire may have a slightly different diameter from the old ones, causing the new wheel to rotate at a different speed. If the speed difference reaches a certain threshold, the tire pressure monitoring system will illuminate the warning light. Similarly, when driving on sand or icy roads, if a wheel slips and spins excessively, the system may interpret this as abnormal tire pressure and trigger an alarm.
The other day when I was driving to work, a tire pressure warning suddenly lit up on my dashboard, which really gave me a scare. This kind of thing usually means a tire is leaking—maybe it got punctured by a nail on the road, or the pressure dropped due to colder weather. After pulling over to check, I actually found a small nail in the tire. Luckily, I caught it early; otherwise, driving on the highway could have led to a blowout, which is extremely dangerous. Now, I always keep a small tire pressure gauge in my car and check the pressure regularly to maintain it at the manufacturer's recommended level (usually marked on the door frame). If the warning light stays on, it might be a sensor issue, and sometimes resetting it does the trick. In short, don't ignore it—address it promptly to avoid bigger problems.
