How Do Auto Tire Pressure Monitoring

Systems Work?
By Jay Motes, eHow Contributor
updated: December 11, 2010

Tire pressure monitoring systems can help drivers maintain tires safely.

Auto tire pressure monitoring systems are used to provide information on an automobile's tire
pressure to the vehicle's driver. The two types of tire pressure monitoring systems are direct
monitoring and indirect monitoring, with indirect monitoring being more common.

System Reporting
1. Depending on the vehicle model, the tire pressure monitoring system may constantly
report the tire pressure or may simply trigger a warning indicator if a tire becomes
dangerously low. Beginning with the 2008 model year, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration requires all cars and trucks provide warning when the tire pressure
is more than 25 percent below the recommended level.

Direct Monitoring
2. Direct monitoring systems work by use of a sensor placed inside the vehicle's wheel. The
sensor is placed in the tire in various ways, including being attached to the inside of the
valve stem or simply strapped to the wheel. The sensor detects the pressure in the tire
then transmits the level to a receiver via radio signal.

Indirect Monitoring
3. Indirect monitoring systems determine tire inflation levels by using information from the
wheel speed sensor that is part of the anti-lock brake system. Low tires are detected as
underinflated tires, smaller in circumference than properly inflated tires, making them
spin faster than the other wheels.
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How a Tire Pressure Monitoring System

Works
As its name suggests, a tire pressure monitoring system is more than a single part. In fact, TPMS
involves a valve and a sensor, and it's also important to know that not all TPMS systems are
created equal.There are two kinds of TPMS technology–indirect and direct. Indirect TPMS
approximates tire pressure indirectly by using data from the vehicle's antilock brake system
(ABS). Direct TPMS provides a more accurate calulation of your tire pressure using data
gathered directly from a sensor placed inside each tire.

In either case, if a tire is detected to be underinflated by 25% or more, an alert lights up on your
dashboard. But with direct TPMS, drivers are alerted sooner and–if the car is equipped with the
four-tire TPMS display–can even see readings for each tire. One of the largest downsides of an
indirect TPMS system is that it cannot detect when all four tires are low in pressure, which can
happen quite frequently if tire pressure is not checked on a regular basis.

To get a better understanding of how TPMS works and how it helps make driving safer, watch
this video on TPMS technology.