Winter is here, which could mean unexpected TPMS issues for your customers. In some parts of the country, arctic temperatures and massive snowfall create nasty driving conditions, opening the door for tire pressure issues to form and sensors lighting up dashboards.

In this Tire Review Continental Tire Garage Studio video, we review why your customers’ TPMS dash seems to light up more during the winter months.

Tire pressure is one of the most important things your customers should keep their eyes on in the winter. Temperatures can affect tire pressure, and sometimes subtle changes in pressure due to temperature could trigger a TPMS sensor.

For each 10°F of temperature change, tire pressures will change by about 2% or about one psi. So, say the seasons change from 70ºF to 20ºF – this could mean a difference of five psi and an illuminated TPMS warning light.

Cold weather can affect a vehicle’s gas mileage, too. The EPA says that underinflated tires can lower gas mileage by 0.3% for every one psi drop in pressure of all four tires.

Even though TPMS now comes standard, most systems are only meant to signal when a tire has very low pressure. If the temperature drops too much, it would make sense for your customers to see the TPMS light on their dashboard.

If your customer doesn’t check their tire pressure regularly, some experts recommend using nitrogen to fill up tires in the winter, since it loses pressure faster than air.

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