Let me guess, a Ford dealership? Your experience sounds the same as happens to a guy at work.

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Release the Kraken

Nope, a tire store.

I don't do dealerships.

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Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

They always put it either on a country station, or a Christian station here. Neither are my thing.

And they always put too much air into the tires. When I bought the car, new, they had 45 PSI in all 4 tires.

Sure sign the pre-delivery inspection (PDI) wasn't done properly. Cars are typically shipped with the max sidewall number in them to reduce flat spotting during transport. They keep them that way on the lot, too. During the PDI the tires are supposed to be set to the placard numbers. Few dealers do, in my experience.

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Release the Kraken

I have a friend who owns a car dealership and he says that if he could get a guarantee from the people that they would always bring their cars back to his dealership for all of their required service, he could afford to give the new cars away!

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Bill

I haven't set tire pressure below 36 psi since the bias ply tires of the 70's.
I keep mine about 10% less than the tire manufacturers max. That's always given me the best compromise between handling and tire life with very even wear throughout it's lifetime.

Steve, I would bet your dollars to donuts that 1. The intent was to put 32 pounds all around and that 2. An in-line gauge was faulty and reads 10-12 pounds low.

I was never trying to excuse the error—I suspect they no more looked at the recommendations on the door panel than I have read Rosie O’Donnell’s last book.

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Possum—The other white meat!

Be careful there John!
That's a really old saying.
Most donuts cost more than a buck apiece these days!

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You're shy a few manners.

Last fall I had a part time sales job and I had to rent a car almost every week. The first car really felt "squirrley" on the highway. I pulled over the first chance I got and bought a good mechanical pressure gauge. Two tires were correct, one was 10 lbs. low and the other was 15 lbs. low. I got them all corrected and the car drove fine. Next week a similar problem and solution. After that I checked every time and "corrected" more often than not.

The manager said they never checked tire pressure. A true statement in my experience. Unfortunately they were my only option for rental cars.

I had a similar experience with a rental company here in Vegas. To add to my cup of joy, when I checked the oil there was a single small drop just clingy to the end of the dipstick. The rental companies response was a shrug and a comment that for just tootling around the tourist spots it didn't matter. The truth was that my employer had rented the car for me (big contract) to undertake a 350 mile round trip out into the desert. On hearing that comment, hilarity followed....

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Release the Kraken

Maybe the dipstick was to short for that engine.

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Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

Have worked in auto parts since 1973. Always check my own fluids. Took my car to the dealership a half block from our store. We sell them hundreds of dollars in parts in a year. Had a oil change scheduled for 1:30. While home for noon lunch topped off all my fluids, antifreeze, brake and windshield washer. Picked up the car at 3:30, looked at the bill and was charged for fluid service that it did not need as I had just done it. Had a polite but firm talk with the service manager who redid the bill, but wonder how many people they were charging for items that were not being done. Not the first time I have had this happen to me from people who we sell parts to all the time. While making a parts delivery to our local chain tire dealer, I heard the manager laying the biggest BS story about tires on a little old lady. Nothing but out right scare tactics. Have learned over the years which shops I do business with and which I do not.

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Retired reserve 30 yrs.

I had ordered some car parts and had to go to pick them up at the dealership. He invited me behind the counter while I waited. When he was getting them, I noticed a item listed on the screen of his computer. It had headings over the prices listed. The manufacturer's cost was $9, the Wholesaler's cost was $18, the Distributors cost was $36 and the Retail price wa $72! No wonder service departments keep the dealership afloat.

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Bill

What other pressure is to be found on the sidewall? Max is all there is.

What is on the side of the tire is the maximum it will take, not the optimum for your car. As you can fit the same tire to many different cars the proper pressure will vary.

Believe the factory, at least for a starting point.

...that is wholly and absolutely incorrect.

Be safe...be well.

Strawman.

No one said there are multiple pressures stated on sidewall.

No one said "run it at the max pressure stated on sidewall",
which was the contention.

It be what it be.

For me the tread wear pattern is the determining factor for what tire pressure I run.

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Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

it works, but stiffness of belting on higher performance tires
can render it a relatively coarse measure. There'll be a large
pressure zone that gives even wear, before tread starts bending
in response to "too much" or "too little".

Chalking the tread is a good way to make fast changes/evals
of the pressure.

So some reason I skipped on the high performance tires.

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Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

54 years as a new car dealer parts + service director and you still don't know anything about tires on cars.

Here's a hint, if you check with the tire makers they tell you to go by the vehicle's sticker.
Most of the time they don't know what vehicle the tire will end up on, they get together with the auto manufacture and decide what tire works best for each vehicle which may only be one or may be many. Only the auto company knows what tire they put on what vehicle and what the best pressure for that tire on that vehicle is.
Going by the tire's max pressure is a **** shoot at best and a deadly accident at worst.