41 | February 2016
Circle 113 on Reader Service Card
By Bob Weber
Bob Weber is president of Virginia-based
Write Stuff. He is an award-winning free-
lance automotive and technical writer and
photographer with over two decades of
journalism experience. He is an ASE-certifed
Master Automobile Technician, and has
worked on automobiles, trucks and small
engines. He is a member of the Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE) and numerous
other automotive trade associations. He has
worked as an auto service technician, a shop
manager and a regional manager for an
automotive service franchise operation.
T
ire pressure monitoring systems
(TPMS) are a signifcant advance in
driving safety, but most motorists are
unaware of the system's importance or what
to do when the warning light comes on.
You owe it to your customers to replace
malfunctioning sensors, but it is not always
an easy sell. Motorists generally detect no
problems — no noises, no vibrations, no
major drop in fuel economy, no bulging
tires.
They may balk at paying for something
that seems unnecessary and may even ask
you to simply disable the light so that they
may go on their way.
That is why it's important to educate your
customers on the benefts of replacing sen-
sors. Once informed, the job may sell itself.
The Car Care Council reports 70% of the
vehicles on American highways are being
driven with one or more low tires.
A national survey commissioned by
Schrader International Inc., a TPMS manu-
facturer, showed that:
• nearly one-half of drivers (46%) could
not correctly identify what the TPMS
icon symbolizes,
• one-third (32%) admit they don't know
what the icon represents; and
• one in 10 (10%) incorrectly identifed it
as some other warning.
The Chassis