How to find your vehicle's tire size and pressure
Your vehicle maker puts the original tire size and the correct tire pressure on a placard on the driver's side. This guide shows where to find the placard and what it tells you.
Find the placard
- Open the driver's door.
- Look at the B-pillar. This is the post behind the driver's door.1
- Find the label with the words TIRE AND LOADING INFORMATION.2
- If the placard is not on the B-pillar, look at the rear edge of the driver's door.1
- If it is not there, look at the inner surface of the vehicle next to the driver's seat.1
- Look in the owner's manual too. It also gives the tire size and pressure.3
Some vehicles have no B-pillar and two doors that open in opposite directions. On these vehicles, the placard is on the front edge of the rear side door.1
What the placard tells you
| Line on the placard | What it tells you | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seating capacity | The total number of occupants, and the number for each front and rear seat location | 4 |
| Vehicle capacity weight | The maximum weight of the people and the cargo together | 5 |
| Size, or original tire size | The tire size that the vehicle maker installed, for the front, rear and spare tires | 6 |
| Cold tire pressure | The vehicle maker's pressure for the front, rear and spare tires when they are cold | 7 |
| Load range, load index, speed rating | Optional. Some vehicle makers add them | 8 |
“The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed XXX kilograms or XXX pounds.”
On the placard, XXX is the value for your vehicle.
Use the placard pressure, not the sidewall pressure
The pressure on the tire sidewall is the maximum permissible pressure for that tire.9 It is not the correct pressure for your vehicle. NHTSA tells you to use the pressure that the vehicle manufacturer gives.10
“the correct pressure for your tire is what the vehicle manufacturer has listed, NOT what is listed on the tire itself.”
- Check the pressure at least one time each month.10
- Do the check when the tires are cold. Cold means that the vehicle has not moved for three hours or more.10
- Compare the gauge value with the cold pressure on the placard.
- Add or release air until the pressure agrees with the placard.
If your tires are not the original size
The tires on your vehicle now can be a different size from the placard. Read the size on the sidewall of each tire. Compare it with the placard size in the calculator.
For passenger cars, FMVSS No. 110 sets a rule for the vehicle manufacturer. The vehicle maximum load on a tire must not be more than the maximum load rating of the tire.11 When you replace tires, compare the load index of the new tire with the load index of the original tire. A lower index is a lower load.12 Use the load index chart.