Sensible with sensors

 Porsche were the first out of the blocks with a factory-fit Tyre Pressure Monitoring System in the ’80s. Legislation in November 2012 saw all new cars introduced after this date being fitted with such a system.

While tyre sensors can be a pain to maintain and an added expense on a used car, I do believe they are a very worthwhile safety feature. Like the majority of safety features however, the weak link is often the nut behind the wheel.

I’m being a bit harsh there, and I don’t want to teach any readers to suck eggs, but I thought it might be worth the print to point out that TPMS does NOT include the spare wheel slung under the boot. That’s regardless of whether it is a full size or a space saver. Yes, that’s the debate I’ve recently had with a customer as to why we needed to empty the boot to take the spare out to check it as part of the service. I thought it was obvious that such systems only monitored the wheels on the road, but then maybe it’s not such a daft thought if you’re not remotely interested in car maintenance.