While at the shop to install a new Tire Pressure Monitoring System sensor, an unscrupulous technician tried to take a Tesla Model S P85D for a joyride. However, some preventative moves by the owner foiled the plan, and the dash cam recorded it all.
A tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is, as you might have guessed, designed to monitor the air pressure in the tires, and alert the driver if pressure drops. But a problem found in the Mazda6 could keep the system from doing its job.
Tire pressure monitoring systems are notoriously persnickety, but an issue found with the TMPS on the 2013 Volvo S80 and XC70 have been deemed worthy of a recall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Due to a software glitch in possibly 300 of the Volvos (combined), the "TPMS Service Required" light will come on after 15 minutes of driving abo
Nissan is moving to make its Easy Fill Tire Alert system standard equipment on its 2013 model year vehicles. Taking the federally mandated tire pressure monitoring system to the next logical step, the Nissan system honks the car's horn when you've inflated your tires to the correct pressure
General Motors is recalling nearly 34,000 2012 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers over improperly calibrated tire pressure monitoring sensors.
Keep your tires properly inflated. That's what the Environmental Protection Agency keeps telling us. Did you know that under-inflated tires require more energy to roll? This not only wastes fuel, but wears tires out more quickly, eventually requiring costly replacements. Furthermore, under-inflated tires can heat up excessively, leading to a possible blowout.
Remember the Ford Explorer/Firestone tire debacle from a decade ago? Thousands of the 'utes rolled-over and much of the blame fell on insufficiently inflated tires, costing the Blue Oval billions of dollars to replace the tires on just about every Explorer still left on the road. The other fallout from Explorer-gate (or Firestone-gate) was institution of the Tire Pressure Monitoring System that's now a legal standard Autoblog Staff
The last decade has been a boon for technologies like traction and stability control, but the tire itself has remained relatively low tech. Schrader Electronics is reportedly looking to change that equation with a "smart tire" that could be production ready within three years. The electronics company already knows a thing or two about tires, as a self-proclaimed global pioneer of the Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems that stabilize today's trucks and crossovers.
2009 Nissan Cube – click above for hi-res image gallery
The European Union is set to make tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) mandatory in 2012. This measure is intended to not only improve vehicle safety, but also to reduce CO2 emissions. Only correctly inflated tires run with the intended low rolling resistance and hence deliver maximum fuel efficiency - tire manufacturer Continental states says Xavier Navarro
Photo by david.nikonvscanon. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
While we're quite proud of the audio clips and interviews we throw up on AutoblogGreen, I know that not everyone listens to every thing we record and post. One helpful hint that Michael Martini, president of North American Consumer O.E. for both Firestone and Bridgestone, said during our interview from the Chicago Auto Show was
Man, for the days of a pressure gauge and a knowledge of your tires correct PSI. Today, if you're thinking about checking out what pressure your ride needs (and you're in the UK), there's a website that can help keep your mileage from suffering due to underinflated tires. Yes, a website.
The Ford Focus is one of Ford's basic, popular models. For 2008, Ford is happily announcing a 35 mpg-on-the highway number for this year's Focus (unfortunately, that's down from 37 for the 2007 model UPDATE: Sorry, the new EPA system got me here. The 2007 Ford Focus gets between 29-33 mpg using the new numbers, depending on the version). Some people might be excited about the debut of the Ford Sync system
We don't need to tell you that under-inflated tires can zing your mpg for a few percentage points, do we? You know that keeping your tires correctly inflated means you're helping to get the most miles per gallon you can, right? Good, cause it's something we should all know by now, and there are only so many ways to write it.
Who wants to be left behind in the race to green-ify your public image? No one, that's who. So Continental is releasing a note today that doesn't announce any new products or initiatives, but instead serves as a showcase for the eco-friendly work that Continental has done over the last few years.
Something like SEMA without the Vegas lights and parties, last week's Automechanika trade show in Frankfurt was a chance for parts and service suppliers to strut their stuff before a world audience. More than 165,000 visitors from 130 nations flocked to Frankfurt last week to see what's new in the automotive parts business. One of the highlights was a tire pressure monitor system (TPMS) from Siemens VDO that promises to make it relatively affordable to add this safety feature to just about any v
