Customer Reviews

Accutire MS-4800B Digital Pencil Tire Gauge with Tread Depth Indicator

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I owned this item, and it died within about a year with only minor use -- maybe once every two months. The battery can't be replaced. What a waste of money.

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.

I purchased two of these gauges several years ago since the price was attractive. Although they were used very little, both have gone bad. Both gauges now read "L" whenever applied to a properly inflated tire. I even, painstakingly, disassembled one of them and replaced the battery; but, that did not help.

Judging by the other reviews, my experience was not unusual.

By contrast I've owned a Brookstone tire pressure gauge for about 15 years which still works perfectly with the original battery.

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.

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...

The battery is soldered so you can't even change it. It lasted less than a year in my case. Dont waste your money on this garbage!

This thing is awesome. I had to buy it twice after losing my first one. I didn't remember the last one zeroing out like this one. Not sure if that's good and/or bad. Also be careful where you measure the tread. The middle tread of my new tires is 11/32" while the outside edge is just 6/32"!

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

This gauge seems accurate, it gave similar readings to the other gauges I own. The downside is that it doesn't seal to the valve stem well, so that one is tempted to apply maximo pressure. However, sooner rather than later, the head of the unit will break from the body (only make of plastic). More frustrating, that area can crack before it fully breaks, so that one is getting artificially low readouts (so one applies more pressure, and "crack"!). Also, for motorcyclists, I prefer to place the wheel so that the valve stem is around 9 or 10 o'clock, so I don't have to stoop so far, and I can use my other hand to place the head firmly on the valve stem. But then, one can't read the LCD. For on the road use, a metal pencil gauge is less fussy.

I purchased this tire gauge last year opened it today and it doesn't work, how do I get it replaced ?????????????