Tyre pressure warning light: what to do

• Ease off and stop somewhere safe, away from traffic
• Walk round the car and look for a tyre that is visibly flat or has something stuck in it
• If nothing is obviously wrong, drive gently to the nearest air pump. A slow leak is often invisible, so do not take a tyre that looks fine as proof that it is
• Set every tyre to the pressure on the sticker inside the driver's door or fuel flap. The figures assume cold tyres, so check before a long drive, not after one
• Reset the system as your handbook describes

A light that returns within hours or days means the tyre is losing air. The usual causes are a nail or screw in the tread, a leaking valve, or a poor seal between the tyre and a corroded wheel rim. That is a slow puncture, and it needs looking at before it becomes a flat tyre.

On many cars, a light that flashes for a minute or so after you start and then stays on points to a fault in the monitoring system itself, such as a failed sensor, not low pressure. Check the pressures by hand anyway, then have the system checked.

Call if a tyre is flat, if you can see a nail or a cut, or if the same tyre keeps losing pressure. We come to the car, find the leak and repair or replace the tyre on the spot.

We fit and repair tyres at the car, at home, at work or at the roadside, usually within 30 to 45 minutes of the call. You hear the price first. Call 07861 958044, any hour.