Comments on: Accutire MS-4800 Pencil Digital Tire Gauge with Tire and Tread Finder

By: W. Price

W. Price — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:46:10 +0000

I bought this product elsewhere, but I must say it’s probably the worst car product I’ve ever purchased.

I used it ONCE. The next time I tried, it was broken or the battery was too low — and that’s within 6 weeks! Buy this product and you’ve thrown your money away. Period.
Rating: 1 / 5

By: Harold

Harold — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:20:47 +0000

I read where this item has a lifetime lithium battery warranty. So there should be no problem!!!!! Just return it. Right??
Rating: 1 / 5

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:18:40 +0000

Sorry I wasted my money and time on this thing. No problems with the battery, which seems to work fine — I can’t get a working reading from it! Followed the directions, which read “Only a smell amount of air must enter the gauge to zero the unit” to calibrate it. Bad sign #1 – did anyone proofread the back of the package? So I calibrated it and took a tire reading, which told me that my (fully inflated) tires either had 28psi of air in them, or 0psi (usually 0). Neither one was even close to correct. Back it goes…
Rating: 1 / 5

By: L. Lung

L. Lung — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:05:50 +0000

I bought one of these about 9 months ago and it worked just fine when I tested it. About 6 months later, when my tire pressure warning light came on in my car, the gauge was dead. I pulled the battery and measured it over the course of the next 2 months. It went from 2.9v at 6 months to 0.6v at 8 months. The product info says there’s a lifetime battery but realistically, what does that mean? If I send this back, I’ll just get another unit that may die within a few months. If I go out and buy a new battery to replace myself, it’ll cost me about as much as getting an old fashioned mechanical gauge that’s guaranteed to work. So in the end, I tossed the gauge and bought a mechanical unit. This thing is cheaply made and it showed.

Looking back, I should have known better. Seldom used battery powered devices in a car just don’t make sense. LCD displays don’t last and often fail in wide temperature ranges in a car (how many have seen LCD clocks or car stereos with bad displays?). But most importantly, this is not a device you use often so you don’t see the failure coming… until you need to use it at which point it’s too late to have taken preventative action by replacing the battery. It’s also the kind of tool that you want to be working when you suddenly need it. I can see how a digital unit would be useful for the professional who handles cars very often. But this little pencil unit makes no sense to the average consumer. Go mechanical – they’re cheap and work very well.
Rating: 1 / 5

By: D. Strong

D. Strong — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:56:31 +0000

The tire gauge and tread depth gauge works very well. It is nice having both in one unit making it easier to carry one tool around. The digital read out for the tire pressure is easy to read. The tread depth indicator is okay for the small size. I don’t think there is anything that would work better.
Rating: 5 / 5