Tyre pressure: how many bar or psi, and how often should you check?

The correct tyre pressure differs per car and per tyre size. The manufacturer of your car specifies the value. You find it in three places: in the owner’s manual, on a sticker in the door pillar on the driver’s side, and often behind the fuel flap. According to the ANWB the specified pressure is usually somewhere between 2.0 and 2.8 bar. That is 29 to 41 psi. Dutch petrol station pumps work in bar, so it helps to know your value in bar: 1 bar is 14.5 psi, and 30 psi is about 2.1 bar.

Conversion rounded to whole psi: 1 bar = 14.5 psi. The pumps at Dutch petrol stations are set in bar.

The sticker usually lists several values. Look at the tyre size fitted to your car, at the difference between front and rear, and at the column for a full load. The manufacturer may specify a higher pressure when you go on holiday with four people and luggage. Continental explains why: a heavily loaded car needs more pressure to prevent heat build-up in the tyre and to carry the weight.

Some manufacturers give a higher eco value alongside the comfort value. According to the ANWB the tyre then rolls more easily, but the car rides more firmly. A space-saver spare (the narrow emergency wheel) has a much higher pressure than the other tyres. That value is in the owner’s manual and often on the wheel itself. How to read the tyre size on the sidewall is explained in our article tyre size explained.

Every month and before every long journey, the ANWB advises. Continental says every two to four weeks and in any case before a long trip or a heavy load. A tyre slowly loses air, even when it is not punctured. Anyone who goes a year without checking is almost certainly driving on soft tyres.

1. Measure cold. Check on a day you have not driven yet, or after no more than 5 km (ANWB). A warm tyre gives a higher reading, so you would add too little air.
2. Look up the value in the owner’s manual or on the sticker in the door pillar. Pay attention to the tyre size and the load.
3. Set the pump to the required pressure, in bar. According to the ANWB, pumps at petrol stations and car washes are sometimes free and otherwise cost € 0.50 to € 1.
4. Unscrew the valve cap and press the hose straight and firmly onto the valve. Do not wiggle the hose, because a valve can break off.
5. Do all four tyres and do not forget the spare wheel. Screw the caps back on. They keep dirt and water out of the valve.
6. Look at the tread straight away and at any damage, such as a bulge or a cut in the sidewall.

Use the value for a full load as soon as the car is fully loaded, for example on holiday with four people and luggage. The sticker in the door pillar or behind the fuel flap usually gives a separate, higher value for that. According to Continental, a heavily loaded car needs more pressure to prevent heat build-up in the tyre and to carry the weight. Check the pressure again before the return trip. Is the car empty again after the trip? Then go back to the normal value from the sticker. According to the ADAC (26 March 2026), a long holiday trip in a fully loaded car is the moment when a slow leak is risky, because the tyre can weaken without you noticing. If you keep having to top up one tyre on the way, have it checked before you drive on.

1. Check at home, on cold tyres. Do it before you set off, not at a motorway petrol station after an hour of driving. According to the ANWB, you should measure the pressure when the tyres are cold, so before you have driven that day or after no more than 5 km.
2. Set the full-load value for the front and the rear. The two values are often different.
3. Do not let air out of a warm tyre. If you check on the way, the pressure is higher because of the heat. Once the tyre cools down, it will be under-inflated.
4. Reset the system after inflating if your car has an indirect tyre pressure monitoring system. How that works is explained in the table further down this page.
5. Check the spare wheel as well, and look at the tread and the sidewalls of all the tyres before a long trip.

A tyre that is too soft is more dangerous than one that is too hard. The sidewall flexes further with every rotation, the tyre gets hot and can fail at high speed. A tyre that is too hard has a smaller contact patch with the road. Both cost grip, braking distance and tyre life.

Sources: ANWB, Bandenspanning controleren. Continental, Tire pressure. Michelin, Tire inspector tool. Consulted 6 November 2026.

On the lift we see the wear pattern straight away. A tyre with both shoulders worn has been running soft for months. A tyre that is bald only in the middle was over-inflated. That wear pattern cannot be reversed. What the different patterns mean is explained in uneven tyre wear: causes and solutions.

Air contracts as it gets colder, so the pressure in your tyres drops with it. Continental calculates that tyre pressure rises by about 1.6 psi when the outside temperature rises by 10 degrees Celsius. Converted (1 bar is 14.5 psi) that is about 0.1 bar per 10 degrees. If the temperature drops from 20 degrees in September to 0 degrees in January, a tyre that you inflated correctly in summer is running about 0.2 bar (3 psi) too soft in winter. In cold winters the pressure can drop by up to 5 psi (about 0.35 bar) according to Continental.

That is why in November and December the tyre pressure warning light comes on in many cars without any tyre being punctured. Check all the tyres on the first cold days and top them up. Measure cold then too, so in the morning before you drive off. More winter tips are in our winter car checklist.

At the seasonal tyre change we check the pressure of the tyres coming off and set the tyres going on to the manufacturer’s value. Tyres that have been stored for six months are, almost without exception, too soft.

The light comes from the tyre pressure monitoring system, TPMS. Under European regulation 661/2009, every new passenger car registered since 1 November 2014 must have such a system. According to the ANWB the light comes on when one or more tyres are more than 20% below the specified pressure. With a recommended pressure of 2.5 bar (36 psi), the light only comes on at about 2.0 bar (29 psi). It does not replace the monthly check the ANWB recommends. What the other lights on your dashboard mean is explained in our guide to dashboard warning lights.

Source: ADAC, the German motoring organisation, Reifendruck-Kontrollsysteme (26 March 2026), consulted on 7 November 2026.

If the light stays on after you have inflated all the tyres and reset the system, there may be a slow puncture or a sensor may be flat or faulty. On a car first registered after 31 December 2017, the system must not show a fault at the APK (MOT), the compulsory Dutch vehicle inspection, otherwise the car fails. That is in the RDW APK manual (the RDW is the Dutch vehicle authority). We check at every tyre change that the system works properly. If your car has a direct system and you buy a second set of rims, that set needs its own sensors. Mention it when you call. We then tell you in advance how the new wheels get sensors, what it costs and what you need to do. That way no warning light comes on and the APK (MOT) is not a problem.

At every tyre change, every fitting and every service we check the tread, the age and the pressure of all the tyres and set them to the manufacturer’s value. We also look at the wear pattern, because that tells us whether the pressure has been right over the past months. If we see that both shoulders are worn, we tell you and check whether a valve is leaking.

Would you like the tyre pressure checked, or tyres changed or fitted? Call us with your registration number and we tell you the price and when we can do it. We tell you one price in advance based on your registration number (kenteken), including fitting, balancing and disposal of the old tyres. Everything about our tyre service is on the page tyre replacement and seasonal changes in Rotterdam.

No, stay within the manufacturer’s values. The manufacturer often gives a separate, higher value for a full load or an eco setting, and you may choose that. Inflating further reduces the contact patch, so the tyre wears in the middle and, according to Continental, has less grip and a longer braking distance.

No, not necessarily. Many manufacturers specify a different value for the front and the rear, certainly with a load. The tyres on one axle must have the same pressure though. According to the RDW APK manual the difference on one axle may be no more than 0.3 bar (about 4 psi), otherwise the car fails the APK.

For a passenger car it makes little difference. Air already consists mostly of nitrogen. More important than what is inside is that the pressure is right. If you check every month, air is enough. We fill with air.

The value on the sticker in the door pillar or behind the charging flap. According to Continental, electric cars are often 20 to 30% heavier than a comparable petrol car and therefore need a higher pressure. Continental quotes 38 to 42 psi, which is about 2.6 to 2.9 bar. The correct pressure can extend the range per charge by up to 15% according to Continental.

Much more than a normal tyre. The ANWB points out that a space-saver spare has a much higher pressure than the normal tyres. The value is in the owner’s manual and usually on a sticker on the wheel. Check that pressure a few times a year, because a spare that has lain in the boot for years is almost without exception flat when you need it.

First check that all four tyres are at the correct pressure. If your car has an indirect system (without sensors in the wheels), reset it with the button or in the menu and drive a short distance. If the light still stays on, a tyre may have a slow puncture. If your car has sensors in the wheels, a sensor may also be faulty or its battery may be flat. According to the ADAC (26 March 2026), most sensors need replacing after about five to eight years. Call us with your registration number first, and we will tell you straight away whether we can help.

With a direct system the car usually recognises the sensors of the other wheels after a short drive. If the winter wheels are new and have no sensors, or sensors the car has not learnt, the light stays on. With an indirect system you reset it through the menu after changing and inflating. Does your car have tyre pressure sensors in the wheels? Mention it when you call. We then tell you in advance how the new wheels get sensors, what it costs and what you need to do. That way no warning light comes on and the APK (MOT) is not a problem. You can read what we do during a tyre changeover on our page about winter tyres in Rotterdam.

Yes. According to the RDW APK manual the inspector measures the tyre pressure. The pressure must match the manufacturer’s specification or, if there is none, be the same on each axle, with no more than 0.3 bar difference on one axle. If the pressure cannot be measured, for example because of a broken valve, that is a reason for failing.

• ANWB: Bandenspanning controleren: every month, cold, warning light at about 20% under-inflation
• ANWB: Banden oppompen: step by step, often 2.0 to 2.8 bar
• Continental: Tire pressure: 0.3 bar, 1.5% consumption, temperature and load
• Michelin: Tire inspector tool: wear patterns and their cause
• ADAC: Reifendruck-Kontrollsysteme: direct and indirect systems, resetting (26 March 2026, in German)
• RDW: APK manual passenger cars, Tyres (article 5.2.27)