How Often Should You Check Tyre Pressure?

Ideally, you should check your tyre pressure every few weeks. Checking it regularly could save you a lot of money and hassle in the future.

While it’s easy to neglect this part of car maintenance, it’s important to keep in mind that under-inflated tyres can put you and your passengers in danger by making your steering sluggish and increasing the likelihood of a blowout.

Not only that, but under-inflated tyres can put quite the hole in your wallet by physically increasing the resistance when driving - and demanding more fuel as a result.

How to know if your tyre is over or under-inflated

inner edges. Think about a balloon, if you over-inflate it, it bulges at the sides but when you put it on the floor, only the outer edge touches the floor. An under-inflated balloon, on the other hand, will tend to sit quite flat on a floor. Car tyres operate in a similar way, having an under-inflated tyre means that more of the rubber stays in contact with the road while driving.

If you notice that you’re having to refuel more often, an under-inflated tyre could be the culprit.

The ultimate tell, though, can be found by simply checking your tyre pressure at a garage or at home with a pressure gauge.

Checking your tyre pressure

Every car has a different optimal tyre pressure that its tyres should be inflated to. You can find this in your vehicle handbook or printed on the ledge of the driver’s door. Keep in mind that front and rear tyre pressure might be different, depending on your vehicle.

If you’re still unsure, you can calculate it with our free tyre pressure tool.

Once you know this, visit the nearest petrol station with an air pump in the forecourt. If possible, make sure you visit the petrol station at the start of your drive and that it’s not too far away. This is because tyre pressure is best checked when tyres are cold.

You should first remove your valve caps, insert your money into the compressed air machine, type in your desired pressure, and then put the hose end over the tyre valve.

The machine will tell you what your current pressure is, and then automatically input air until it’s at the correct pressure - you’ll know when this is, because it’ll beep! If your tyre pressures are different for front and rear, make sure you enter the correct pressure before inflating the next one.

If your tyres are over-inflated, you can (cautiously) let some air out by pressing the metal valve inside the valve stem with a screwdriver or a key. You might need to inflate again to reach the right pressure once you’ve done this.

Maintaining your tyre pressure

It’s important to keep an eye on your tyre pressure, and ideally, you shouldn’t wait until your tyres desperately need inflating. As mentioned before, this can pose quite the safety risk!

Our recommendation is to manually check your tyres roughly every week for any visible changes and check the pressure every couple of weeks.

If you’re not certain about the condition of your tyres, contact us for a free, no-obligation tyre check - so we can keep you safe on the roads.