August 27, 2019

What does the tyre pressure warning light actually mean?

What does the tyre pressure warning light actually mean?

In short it looks like a horseshoe with an exclamation mark in it. Many new cars are equipped with a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) that’s designed to keep track of the air-pressure inside your tyres. Then it will alert you when its low. However, some cars wont alert you automotcially you will need to check your settings. 

tyre pressure warning light

There are two kinds of TPMS, indirect and direct. Indirect TPMS doesn’t actually measure the air pressure in the tyre; instead it works out when pressure is low by using external signs such as individual wheel rotational speeds. Direct TPMS uses pressure sensors on each wheel, either internal or external to measure tyre pressure.

By alerting you to low tyre pressure, either TPMS can help  you avoid the following issues:

  • Tyre wear, as flatter tyres can damage the tyre more.
  • Higher fuel consumption as the wheels and car have to work harder to push the car.  
  • Helps to prevent an accidents.

It does this via a dashboard light, which looks like an exclamation mark inside a horseshoe, or dashboard monitor display. As shown in the picture above.