Tired Old Routine

Am I the only one who gets annoyed with the TPMS on vehicles these days? If you are unfamiliar with the term, TPMS stands for Tire Pressure Monitoring System. It’s the little light on the dash that lets you know if you have a low or flat tire.

In theory, I suppose such a system is a good idea. Although, I’m not sure what was wrong with the old system we had—that being, look at your tires! It’s pretty obvious if you have a low tire—particularly if it’s flat! Or, even if you are driving, a sudden loss of air in one tire (or more) is fairly easy to figure out.

But the powers that be have decided we all need a monitoring system. That wouldn’t be so bad if the thing actually worked properly. But sadly, they do not always do that. For example, my pickup routinely tells me I have a low tire. I used to actually check the pressure, trying to find which one was low—and there weren’t any. So, I learned to ignore the light. Eventually, it goes off. But then a few days later, it’ll come back on. And again, I ignore it.

So, this past week when the light came on, I didn’t really see any cause for concern—not until one morning when I noticed the left rear tire seemed to be awfully low on air. I aired up the tire and went to work. But the next day, it was nearly flat again.

So, I took it to the tire shop. I happened to mention all this to a guy later in the day and he said, “That’s why we have the TPMS, you shouldn’t ignore it when the light comes on.”

Right. I wonder if he’s ever heard of the boy who cried wolf? That’s what the TPMS is like to me. It’s cried wolf so much that I don’t pay any attention when there is a real problem.

I told the guy, “TPMS is pretty much worthless.”

Of course, he didn’t agree.

“Think about it,” I said. “I guarantee that in the days before TPMS, not a single instance can be found of someone not knowing they had a flat—not for very long anyway. And every single flat or blowout still got fixed... eventually.” ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million.