Tire pressure

[micky]

I don't remember if my car at home has tire-pressure monitoring but the rental car does and of course the rental company gave me no information about how to use it.

It seems to me that when the light goes on, and I add some air to one or two tires that accept the air, even if I don't add enough, or maybe I add too much, then I hold the button in until the light goes off, and even if I have low pressure in a couple tires, even if the tires are uneven, the light will go off and will stay off because I said that that was okay. Is that right?

It seems very unreliable, especially since I didn't bring a tire pressure gauge, and though you can set the pumps here to the desired pressure, they don't seem to make any noise when filling or done filling.

[T]

Call the 800 number on your rental your contract.

Or stop by a tie center and ask them

[Max]

I'm told that you'll get better gas mileage if you air the tires up to 200 psi or so but never had a rental car to test that hypothesis on.

[Gary]

IMO, cars should never have had computer nonsense added. Wouldn't a very basic, no computer new car be nice to buy...for so less price too. People are way too spoiled these days.

[Ed Pawlowski]

You don't need much for a quick trip to the store. On a long trip, I really like the goodies. I listen to satellite radio with no commercials, the temperature is where I want it without touching a control, the navigation even shows me what lane to be in at the exit ramp.

Yeah, I'm spoiled, but I'm worth it.

[Scott Lurndal]

Truth. Also, never need to change points or distributor cap, or use a timing gun. Plugs last 125,000+ miles or more (most people never need to change them). Tires that last 50k to 75k miles. Cars that don't rust out in five years. Much better gas mileage.

et cetera, et alia.

[invalid unparseable]

I put my timing light and dwell tack meter in the Good Will bag years ago. I remember changing or cleaning spark plugs every 6 month and changing oil maybe every thousand miles. My first new car, a '66 Chevelle, got 16 mpg on an interstate drive. Current car is getting 34 mpg all around mileage and that is with all wheel drive.

[Ed Pawlowski]

No, just add air and the light will go off once above minimum pressure. No resets, no buttons.

[micky]

That would be nice.

I guess I have the cheap model.

But that's why it would be in their interest to explain what I'm supposed to do. Another reason I'm not going to bother to ask them is that I don't mind driving on a tire that is slightly low. The car still handles the same. They are the ones suffering a little extra tire wear, and I'm not going to chase them to find out how to fill the tires.

Actually, I reserved a the cheapest AT model they had, but they didnt' have it when I landed, so they gave me the Mazda2, one or 1.5 levels better, and said they'd call me in about a week to trade it in for the really cheap one. They didn't so I wrote them and reminded them that I was ready to go back to cheaper. I hope they remember that when I return the car.

This car is supposed to carry 5 people. (The really cheap one carried four, or course.) That means there is a head restraint in the middle of the back seat, and at least once it kept me from seeing what was going on in the car behind me. Plus I presume the car is a bit wider than the really cheap car, and there are narrow streets clogged with cars and it might be better to thave a narrower car.

Maybe by now all the cars have bluetooth** but that wasn't true last year. The rental companies here keep cars for several years.

**I've gotten more calls while driving in the last 6 weeks, 5 or 6, than in a whole year or two at home.

[Clare Snyder]

The button is to CALIBRATE the system (to reset the preferred pressure). Of coarse Micky will screw with it and then complain the TPMS system doesn't work properly

[micky]

The rental contract doesn't say anything about tires. They rent more than one make and model of car, so if they are all similar, I'm asking here. If they are all different, I doubt customer service will know about my specific car. It's a Mazda 2.

I'm not in the US and there is no 800 number, but there is customer service. Still I doubt they'll know about something as small as the tire pressure, .

Also, I'm interested in how these things work in general, not just this particular car

I've been here for weeks and haven't noticed any tire centers. There are auto repair shops, but a good chance the mechanic won't speak English, or if he does, not well enough to explain details of tire pressure. He'll just say "Push the button.".

[Clare Snyder]

OK - I was wrong on one point. The "brain dead" Mazda system needs to have the button pushed to shut off the light - but I WAS RIGHT in that the button also RECALIBRATES the system to whatever pressure the tires are at when the button is pushed. I have just posted in a previous post links to the information supporting my statement - and I am also 100% positive of my assessment of your part in the whole saga.

[Ralph Mowery]

Don't forget about the spare tire either.