I don’t want to be harsh here, so I thought I’d start off in song. Under pressure, dun dun dun duh nuh nuh nuh. Your tires, specifically. As this season seems to be one in which Mother Nature is experiencing some mood swings, the temperatures are all over the place. Do you know what fluctuating temperatures mean for your tires? Under pressure, dun dun dun duh nuh nuh nuh. You guessed it! With each change in temp of 10 degrees or more, you should 100% check out your tire pressure as driving with low tire pressure is just throwing money away. I don’t know about you, but I have bills to pay and throwing money away is NOT in my budget. You know what is in my budget? Taking the steps to keep my tires in tip top shape. Which for a tire should be round.

How, you might ask, does one check the tire pressure? Well, I am elated that you asked. It is actually a pretty simple process. Go to your local shopping center with an auto department, or even an auto shop, and get yourself a tire pressure gauge. I HIGHLY recommend the air pressured one, mostly because I have a pretty serious distrust of electronic measurements of any kind. The battery gets low and all of a sudden the numbers are all over the place and not even close to correct.

Once you have your handy dandy tire pressure gauge, go to the tire in question and remove the air cap. Check said cap for cracks or busted threads inside the cap, if there are cracks, etc you can very likely locate replacement caps at the same establishment that you got the tire pressure gauge from. In the event the caps pass your casual inspection you can proceed to check the tire pressure. On the frame of your car, typically on the inside of your driver’s side door, you will find the optimum air pressure of your tires. Alternately, you can check your owner’s manual to find your recommended tire pressure. This range is typically between 30 and 35 PSI(pounds per square inch). If your air is low based on the recommended tire pressure, you can fill up your tires at most gas stations for FREE or you can get a little portable air pump so that you can adjust your tire pressure as needed.

Now that you have determined that your tire pressure is where it should be you can carry on with your life as planned! How exciting is that! Look at you out here being an adult and taking care of your car all by yourself! It’s some exciting stuff, friend. Keep up the good work and if you aren’t sure how your tires are doing and want to get them checked out by professionals, stop by Destination Kia today! Our Service Department will be more than happy to check out your tires for you!