Vehicle maintenance – Tire pressure

Transcription

(Musical background throughout the video. The video begins with text on a blue background featuring the CAA-Quebec logo.)  

Vehicle maintenance do it YOURSELF 

Checking tire pressure 

(Jesse Caron, CAA-Quebec’s Automotive Expert, appears on screen in a garage, crouched beside the rear wheel of a white vehicle.) 

One of the easiest, and unfortunately most neglected maintenance tasks, is checking tire pressure. 

This should be done around once a month, or at least regularly. 

(Shown on screen is the tire pressure information label on the inside of the vehicle door.) 

Refer to the recommended pressure indicated on the label on the driver’s-side door frame, 

(Jesse Caron reappears on screen, still crouched beside the vehicle’s rear wheel, pointing at the tire.) 

not the pressure listed on the tires. That’s the maximum and if you exceed it, the tire could burst. 

The pressure should be the same in winter and summer. 

(We just zoomed in on the wheel and can see Jesse’s hands.) 

Checking it is simple: you need a tire pressure gauge, 

(The camera pulls back and we see Jesse, still crouched beside the vehicle’s rear wheel, with a pressure gauge in his hands. It’s grey and blue, and looks a bit like a digital ear thermometer. Zoom in on the gauge, which reads 32.0). 

ideally a digital model, available in any big box or auto parts store. 

(Close-up on Jesse’s hands holding another model, a pen-like red one.) 

In a pinch, you can use an old-style stick gauge, but they are less accurate. 

(Back to Jesse, still crouched beside the vehicle’s rear wheel, holding the digital pressure gauge in his hands and giving an explanation.) 

Simply remove the valve cap and measure the pressure. 

(Jesse shows the movement, turns to the wheel with the cap already removed, and inserts the pressure gauge into the tire’s valve and presses it down. Air can be heard coming out of the tire.) 

In this case, the tire pressure is 30 psi, but the label says it should be 32. 

(We briefly return to the label in the door, then back to Jesse, who is holding the stem of a professional pressure gauge in his hand.) 

Fortunately, we’re in a fully equipped garage with a compressor, 

(Zoom in on the stem which now fits into the tire’s air valve.) 

so we can top up the pressure to 32 psi. 

(Two short bursts of air are heard coming out of the valve, while Jesse crouches down to continue his explanations.) 

Otherwise, you can buy a portable compressor from a big box or auto parts store. 

(We are shown a small portable compressor and hear the rumbling of the engine.) 

And of course, you can go to a gas station. 

(Back on Jesse beside his wheel.) 

Lastly, if your vehicle is equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system, or TMMS, don’t wait for the dashboard warning light to come on: by that point, the tires will likely be too soft already. 

(A text on a blue background appears on the screen with the CAA-Quebec logo underneath.)   

Vehicle maintenance do it YOURSELF  

For more details, go to caaquebec.com   

(End of music and video.)