Schematic of a driver-side door label with separate front, rear and spare fields, without any recommended pressure numbers.
Original illustration, not a real vehicle label. Use your vehicle’s actual placard or manual for its values, tire positions and load conditions.

1. Find the specification for each tire.

Use the vehicle placard or owner’s manual, including any instructions for the present load. The maximum printed on a tire sidewall is not the vehicle’s recommended cold pressure. Transport Canada notes that front, rear and spare specifications can differ.

Copy those values into the check sheet before measuring. Do not copy an example pressure from a website.

2. Make the reading comparable.

This site uses the NHTSA cold-tire condition of at least three hours without driving. Record if the vehicle has instead been driven, kept in a warm garage or exposed to direct sun. A warm observation is useful context but is not an equivalent cold reading.

Use a pressure gauge you can read consistently. Michelin recommends checking pressure at least monthly and before a long trip.

3. Measure and record, one tire at a time.

  1. With the vehicle parked appropriately, remove the valve cap.
  2. Follow the gauge’s instructions and seat it on the valve to obtain a reading. Repeat an inconsistent reading before recording it.
  3. Write the value beside that tire’s specified pressure and replace the valve cap.
  4. Repeat for the other tires and the spare, if fitted.

The sheet deliberately keeps the tires separate. It never assumes that matching all four numbers is correct for your vehicle.

4. Compare under the right conditions.

For rested readings, compare each measurement with its applicable specification, then follow the manufacturer’s inflation procedure and recheck with the gauge. For warm or unknown conditions, the sheet records the numbers without calling the difference a cold-pressure deficit.

Have repeated pressure loss, damage or unusual vehicle behavior assessed by a qualified professional. Neither a matching number nor a completed sheet establishes tire condition or roadworthiness.

Start the four-wheel check sheet

5. Keep the record useful.

Add the date, place and reading condition. Review the sheet on screen, then print it or save it as a PDF through the browser. Entries stay in the current page only; refreshing or clearing the sheet removes them.

On the next check, compare records made under similar conditions. Use the manual for vehicle-specific schedules and procedures.

Sources & scope

  • NHTSA TireWise

    U.S. guidance: cold readings, vehicle placards, monthly checks and TPMS warning patterns.

  • Transport Canada

    Individual front, rear and spare specifications; temperature-related pressure changes. Page modified December 10, 2013.

  • Michelin tire-inflation guide

    Warm-tire cautions, gauge checks and inflation steps. Updated July 20, 2026.

Primary sources checked November 5, 2026. This is not a vehicle-specific inspection.