New Tire Inflation Regulation Affects CALIFORNIA ACURA Service Shops (B10090B)

NEW TIRE INFLATION REGULATION AFFECTS CALIFORNIA ACURA SERVICE SHOPS

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN

SERVICE INFORMATION

EDITOR'S NOTE:  This article replaces the April 2010 article.

To help cut greenhouse gas emissions, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has issued a tire inflation regulation, effective September 1, 2010.  The bottom line: Every Acura service shop in California must  check all the tire pressures of any vehicle that comes in for service and, if needed, inflate those tires to the recommended pressures.

As an Acura service tech, here's how that regulation affects you:

• You need a properly maintained tire pressure gauge that's accurate within 2 psi.  The Pressure Gauge Calibration Tool (P/N 07AAJ-000A100) meets those requirements. Every Acura dealer was sent one, so make sure you've got access to it. If you need one, it's available from Acura parts stock.
• You need to check the pressure and condition of each tire and, if needed, inflate it to its recommended cold inflation pressure listed on the driver's doorjamb label. Just so you know, your customers have the right to refuse this service if they meet certain conditions (check for a note on the RO). If they refuse it, you still need to check tire condition.
• On your RO, you need to note that you did a check and inflate service and to list each of the final  tire pressures. If you didn't inflate the tires because you found they were unsafe or your customer refused the service, you need to note that, too. Make sure you do all this; your dealership must keep that RO for at least 3 years  and make it available to the CARB or its authorized representative on request.

From a practical standpoint, here are our recommendations on how to deal with this requirement on a day-to-day basis:

• The only way to accurately set the tire pressures is when the tires are cold, and that means parked in the shade for at least 3 hours  .
• If the tires aren't cold, let them cool as long as possible (till the end of the service), then check the pressures. If they're below  the label pressure, inflate them to the label pressure, and note on the RO that they should be checked again when cold.
• If the tire pressures are above  the label pressure, leave them there, and note that they're over-inflated on the RO. The client may want to check them again when they're cold if the over-inflation was unintentional.
• If only one tire is low, look for damage or another source of a leak.

To learn more about this new regulation, be sure to visit www.arb.ca.gov/tirepressure.