Let me check your tire pressure

Last Christmas, I was browsing through Costco and found a digital tire pressure gauge. I had numerous “slow leaks” on my old Camry. My father long ago gave me a silver pen-shaped gauge that you would put to the tire, and watch the tiny ruler with the minuscule writing on it pop out when you firmly pushed to the tire. Problem was – I always wondered, did I push it on firmly enough? Did I just bump the ruler and make it slide further out than it was? What number exactly is that tiny line supposed to be on the gauge? Is my constant re-testing actually letting all the air out of my tires?

Anyhow, I’ve always hated the stupid thing. I never was confident that I had properly measured my tire pressure. I would beg my husband or my dad to do it, because I have no problem pretending to be the helpless female. Upon seeing the digital gauge, I snapped up that $20 tool, and decided to see if this would help me out. I opened the box and put the gauge in my glove compartment, untested.

Two months later, my new RAV4 had a light appear on the console. I diligently looked it up in my owner's manual and saw I had low tire pressure. I was pretty impressed – I didn’t even know my car could tell me that. On the Camry, I would look and think, “isn’t that tire looking a little low?” At that point, it usually was REALLY low, much to my father’s disgust.

Excited and a little nervous, I whip out my brand new tire pressure gauge, park by the free air dispenser, check the sticker located on the inside of my door, unscrew the tiny little lid, and press the gauge to the valve. It beeped and showed exactly what my tire pressure was in BIG, FAT, LIT-IN-NEON numbers. I repeated the procedure with all four tires, identified which tire was 2 lbs below the recommended psi, and filled that tire to the correct amount. I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR. I was so excited that I called my mom, told her all about it, and offered to check her tire pressure for her. Frankly, I think she must have thought I had lost my mind.

A few months ago, that special light appeared again on my console. I pulled over, confidently pulled my gauge out and went to check my pressure. All the tires were .5 lb of the recommended guideline. I shrugged and went to get air and fill them to EXACTLY the correct pressure and saw this air compressor required quarters. Since I didn’t have quarters, I decided I would wait until I could get to a free air dispenser. I figured it shouldn’t be a big deal, because they weren’t even a pound low. Three days later, I finally get to a free air pump and fill each tire to the exact amount. The tire light remained lit. I was upset. I know I did it right! Obviously, my crappy RAV4 was already broken. The electrical system must be shot, or some pricy sensor located in the tire had broken down.

Peeved, I took my car into the dealership and explained the problem to the service concierge (fancy title for mechanic). “I know I did it right”, I told the man, “I checked that all the tires are exactly the recommended pressure. I even have a nifty digital gauge that I KNOW I am measuring it correctly. Something must be wrong with the car!”

“Did you check the spare?” he asks.

“Right” I reply, “and I need my muffler bearings replaced and my blinker fluid refilled. I may be blond, but seriously!”

The man started laughing. “You don’t believe me? I’m serious – there’s a sensor on the spare.”

He sends me inside to wait and 10 minutes later I’m called to collect my totally super-awesome RAV4 (repenting for calling it crappy). It was my spare tire, attached to the rear door, that was low. Red-cheeked and laughing, I left the dealership.