Monthly tire check for your car or work truck

Once a month, a 5-minute nudge to check pressure (spare too), tread with a penny, and tire age, logged by vehicle.

What it does

Tires are the only thing between you and the road, and NHTSA counts 511 deaths in tire-related crashes in 2024. Its TireWise advice is simple: check the pressure of every tire, including the spare, at least once a month when the tires are cold, using the number on the driver's door label (not the number on the tire). The dashboard tire light only comes on once a tire is already well low. Check tread with the penny test, look for cuts and bulges, and keep an eye on tire age. Your bot sends the checklist on the first weekend of the month and logs the readings you text back, so a slow leak shows up before it strands you between job sites or on the way to school. Good for family cars, work trucks and anyone who drives between stops all day.

Copy-paste prompt

Be my monthly tire check reminder, using NHTSA's TireWise tire safety advice.

Our vehicles: [e.g. work truck, family minivan]. For each one, I'll give you the recommended cold tire pressure from the Tire and Loading Information label on the driver's door edge or post (not the max number printed on the tire).

On the [first Saturday] of each month at [7:30 AM], send me a short checklist:
1. Check the pressure on every tire, including the spare, before driving ("cold" means parked for at least 3 hours). Use the door-label number. Don't count on the dashboard tire light; it only comes on when a tire is already well low.
2. Tread: do the penny test (Lincoln's head upside down and facing you; if you can see the top of his head, it's time for new tires), or check the treadwear bars.
3. Look for cuts, cracks, bulges or uneven wear.
4. Once a year: remind me to read the last 4 digits of the DOT code on each sidewall (for example, 0321 means the 3rd week of 2021) and tell me which tires are getting old. Some makers say to replace tires at 6 to 10 years no matter the tread, so tell me to check my owner's manual and ask a tire shop.
5. Remind me to rotate the tires at the interval in my owner's manual: [miles].

When I text back readings (like "truck 33 34 30 33 spare 40"), log them by vehicle and date, and flag any tire that's low or keeps dropping so I can get it looked at.

Keep it under 6 lines. Never book service or buy tires for me.