Customer Reviews

Accutire MS-4000 Backlit Lithium Digital Tire Gauge

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

Received this as a gift a few years ago to replace the plethora of traditional "stick" type pressure gauges floating around the glove box, garage, etc.
This Accutire gauge offers a faster tire pressure read due to two things. First is obtaining a good "seal" between the gauge and the valve stem. The Accutire obtains a good seal far more quickly. The quality of the Accutire's head is far superior to the head of the stick-type gauges (... the manufacturer can spend a little more for a better head). Also the size of the Accutire allows you to hold it more firmly and position it more securely on the valve stem. Second is reading what the gauge tells you. With the old stick-type gauge, you have to ponder, "Is that 33 psi or 32? Wait, how many tick marks are covered up inside the stick? Oh, It's actually 35 or 34 psi. Well I guess it's 34." Clearly, not a problem with the Accutire; the digital display tells you immediately.

The case that the Accutire comes in is pretty nice. Mine is a silver-metallic plastic with a solid feel (your mileage may vary). With the case, the Accutire is very easy to find in your glove compartment (vs. fishing for those old stick-type gauges).
The real testament is that with multiple cars and just a single Accutire gauge, while each car still has a stick-type gauge in the glove box, I will go to the car with the Accupressure to use it on the other cars.

I recently got tired of messing around with my old mechanical analog tire gauge and decided to go digital. After searching on Amazon, I found two digital gauges that looked good: the Accutire MS-4000B and the Campbell-Hauschild AU1102. They both sounded good, although I was a little troubled by some of the reviews of the Accutire. I decided, since we have two cars, to get one of each, so I could keep one in each car. I have now experienced a couple of weeks of use, during which I have had the opportunity to employ a tire gauge more than usual due to "operator learning curve" problems associated with setting up the on-board tire pressure sensor in a new Toyota. (How do those things work, anyway?) The bottom line is: get the Campbell-Hauschild.

The Accutire looks cool and comes in a nice case. It has a convenient pocket clip. But doesn't work all that great measuring the air pressure in your tires. I experienced the sealing problem reported by others. It's not that big a thing, but you do loose a little air every time you take a reading. I will try the rubber tape suggestion made by another reviewer, but the C-H seals perfectly right out of the box. The Accutire reads a pound lower than the C-H and my old analog gauge. Maybe the other two are the ones that are "off," but . . . On several occasions, the Accutire did not give a reading - just displayed "0.0" The C-H always sealed completely and gave a believable reading. The Accutire is easy to use, all you have to do is push it against the valve stem and it turns on and gives a reading. The C-H has to be turned on with a button before pressing against the valve stem. The C-H has a tread gauge that also serves to depress the valve; the Accutire doesn't have any kind of nipple or anything to let air out of the tire if it is over-inflated. With the experience gained using these, at this point I would buy the C-H rather than the Accutire.

I've had 3 of these and have given 2 as gifts. They're inexpensive, but as others have mentioned, they suffer from an inadequate seal. Old fashion analog gauges have a good rubber seal on the inside that the MS-4000GB lacks. In fact there is no rubber at all. Because you're pressing plastic (the gauge) against metal (the tire air stem), you must hold it perfectly flush or air will escape, making a reading difficult to get. To me, this is the only thing wrong with this great tire gauge. I've looked everywhere and haven't found a better digital gauge.

Accutire should have used a good rubber contact, but my guess is because rubber wears out faster than plastic, they wouldn't have to worry about as many warranty returns.

HOW TO IMPROVE IT:
Get something called "rubber tape". You may need to buy this online or you might be able to find it at your local hardware or electronics store. I used "3M Scotch linerless rubber splicing tape". The thickness is important. I used .03 in. (.761mm). I wouldn't go any thicker. Get something thinner if you can. You don't want to make it any higher than the gauge's white airhole center nipple.

All you need to do is cut it to the diameter of the inside of the gauge's mouth, then cut out a small hole for the air hole. It doesn't have to be perfect, but the inside hole should be more perfect than the outside.

After performing this simple modification, my gauge was about 5 times easier to use and gave perfect readings. No more fiddling to get an airtight fit.

When the rubber wears out, just replace with new rubber tape!

I only recently came up with this idea, so the 2 I've given as gifts have probably gotten little use because of this "flaw". I highly recommend modifying the gauge before giving them away.

Correct tire pressure (as per the recommendations of your auto and tire manufacturers) benefit you in several ways:

1. You get better Gas Mileage using properly inflated tires
2. You're vehicle will give you a smoother, more comfortable ride
3. You'll have better control, handling and be less likely to have a blow out (underinflation can lead to an accident). In Short: You'll be safer.

So obviously, I like to check my tire pressure about once every other week, and before any trip of an hour or more (or any trip that involves high speed driving on an expressway for that matter). So obviously I was searching for a tire gauge.

I read all the reviews before purchasing this digital Tire Gauge. I liked the idea of a Digital Tire Gauge with a backlit LCD Display that I could carry with me in my car. It's compact size means it can go right in the glove compartment. The fact it's DIGITAL means greater accuracey. Traditional, cheap gauges are difficult to use and read - with this you get a clear reading without any squinting to guess whereabout the needle is. The backlit display means you can read it easily, even in the dead of night on a country road. Further more a lifetime lithium battery, and the promise of reliabillity and a 5 year warranty also influenced me to buy this.

To most of those ends, this product works very well. It appears to give accurate readings (I haven't used it enough yet to really tell you how accurate it is, but the company claims it's very accurate and this appears to be so). The backlit display is nice and bright and easy to read. There's a clip for ease of carrying. It's got a nice look to it as well. It's also extremely simple, no on or off switch just put it to the tire nozzle and you get your reading then it shuts itself off. Nice right?

Well while overall, Im pleased, I do have a few complaints. First the company sucks. There is no phone number or website where you can contact the manufacturer if you have a problem. Also that amazing lifetime lithium battery... well if that sounds too good to be true then you'd be right! When you read the manual it clearly says the lithium batter should last a very long time, but will eventually die - at which point they will replace it, but you have to mail it to them! And you cant call them, they dont give you a number! So basically you send them the gauge and pray you get it back... I dont like that deal much. Also they dont tell you there's also 2 other button cell watch batteries that are in the unit. These will need to be replaced every now and then but only are necessary for the backlight display. The unit works fine without them, but the backlight is really handy in the dark, so you'll likely want to replace them.

The body of the unit is also inherently flawed. The battery compartment is attached via a VERY tiny screw. Good luck getting it off, even my eyeglass repair kit screw driver was too big! What's more the middle section is little more than an alluminum sleve. This comes right off without any effort and to get it back on you must take out the screw on the battery compartment. This is hard to explain unless I could show you... but you'll see what I mean if you buy one :) I simply solved this with a few drops of super glue... problem gone!

The last little gripe is that it can be a wee bit difficult to get a good seal. It's not a huge deal, but occasionally I seem to have to try a few times before I can get a good reading because it doesnt always seal perfectly the first time.

A few minor complaints... but that's ok. It didnt cost a fortune, and it does serve it's purpose. If it were made by a better and more commited company, didnt have that little design flaw with the body sleve, and could get an improved valve stem this product would probably get a very solid 5 stars. Water proffing would be a blessing too as sometimes I worry about getting this thing wet.

I got this for my Dad last Father's Day and he fell in love with it. This is the same man who for all his life relied on a pinch and a kick to test his tire pressure. He found it easy to use, very accurate and likes the long-lasting battery feature.

Long on looks but short on durability and quality of material. With use, it becomes more and more difficult to get a good seal between the guage and your valve stem because: (1) the outer rubber sleeve on the tip of the guage tends to slide when you press the guage against the valve stem of your tires; and (2) the actual piece of the guage that makes contact with the center of your valve stem is made of plastic, not metal, and it wears out rather quickly. The result is that my guage does not even work due to worn parts after only one year of moderate use. Although now useless, the guage looks so nice I still have not thrown it away. Maybe I will use it as a paperweight!

While the gauge itself is accurate, the center plastic tip wears out after about a year of use rendering the unit inoperable. Should have used a metal tip. Sorry I spent the money.

The best tire gauge I've ever used. Gas station airpumps, when they had meters, were inaccurate at best. Now they charge you for air, and you must bring your own gauge. (I bought an aircompressor, but I digress...) Plastic or metal, dial or stick gauges are not accurate either. Mine are at least 2-4lbs off from what the accutire reads. The accutire is cool looking, cool to use, and easy to use and read. My only negative is that I wish it had a longer hold period or a permanent hold with a manual zeroing of the reading. This item costs more than other gauges, but it pays for itself in the long run in more accurate readings hence, longer tire life if you check pressure regularly to maintain proper inflation.

This miracle of modern science works great the first 10 or 20 or 30 times.

Then you realize that readings are becoming increasingly inaccurate (and hard to obtain -- pfffffft!), and it's obvious that the $0.03 seal at the tip is failing. Where do you get a replacement? Ha, gotcha!

All show, no go at this point.

This is a good, easy to use digital tire gauge. I think a better value is the Accutire MS4020-GB, which does just as good of a job for the non-commercial driver at a better value.

This is a good quality product, and I would recommend it for someone who needs to measure tire-pressure that is no higher than 99psi. If you need to measure tire pressure between 99 and 150 psi, look to the MS4020-GB.