Safety is the number one concern when it comes to tire maintenance; but underinflated tires can also cost the consumer money due to reduced fuel economy. The NHTSA says that keeping tires properly inflated can save up to 11 cents per gallon, and can extend a tire's life by 4,700 miles.

Nissan's Easy-Fill Tire Alert technology allows underinflated tires to be filled to the recommended pressure in about half the time compared to using a traditional tire gauge. Currently available in about 9-million Nissan vehicles, the feature helps consumers fill their tires at a filling station or in their own garage to the correct pressures every time. This is all done without the need for a handheld pressure device or looking up the correct tire pressure numbers. 

"Ensuring your tires are inflated to the correct pressure is one very simple step consumers can take to help make their vehicles safer, especially with the start of holiday road trips," said Selim Hammoud, director, NNA safety officer, Nissan North America. "Nissan's Easy-Fill Tire Alert takes the guesswork out of filling tires and makes simple vehicle maintenance less intimidating for the average driver."

How it works:

• Park the vehicle in a safe location and apply the parking brake.

• Put the vehicle in park (automatic transmission) and the leave the ignition in the "on" (accessory mode) position with the engine off.

• Once air starts filling the tire, the exterior lights begin to flash to indicate the Easy-Fill Tire Alert is monitoring the change in air pressure.

• When the correct tire pressure is reached, the vehicle horn will sound.

• If the tire is over-inflated, the horn sounds again and the hazard indicators flash three times, signaling the need to release some air.

In the current lineup, Easy-Fill Tire Alert is available on 13 different nameplates: Versa, Sentra, Altima, Maxima, LEAF, Kicks, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Murano, Pathfinder, Armada, Frontier and TITAN.