Fix-A-Flat Study: Tire-sensor safe — always
Fix-A-Flat is 100 percent safe to use with tire pressure monitoring systems revealed a third-party study funded by Shell Lubricants — the tire repair product’s parent company.
The two-week evaluative study involved the tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) and sensors used in 80 percent of U.S. market vehicles and aims to educate consumers and retail employees and owners that the water-based Fix-A-Flat product does not hamper, clog or disrupt pressure systems.
“The goal is to educate, to let people know about Fix-A-Flat, a little about the formulation, and what is true and what’s untrue about the product,” says Mickey Burnett, senior brand manager for consumer products with Shell. “It doesn’t dry or harden inside your tires, so it won’t cause balance problems. It doesn’t interfere with the function of tire sensors. It is non-flammable, non-explosive.”
Hoping to fight back against rumored misconceptions or assumptions, Shell funded the study to enhance product validity and value and consumer confidence in the sealer. Based on financial limits, only Fix-A-Flat — no competitors — was evaluated during the study.
For the product to be deemed 100 percent compatible, TPMS had to work properly after Fix-A-Flat was removed from the tire and cleaned from the pressure sensor. All sensors functioned fully after being cleaned; only one failed to function before cleaning, but worked properly after, Burnett says.
“We are facing the Kleenex or Q-tip issue: everyone calls everything Fix-A-Flat even if it is not Fix-a-flat. We wanted to educate people that Fix-a-Flat is different, and it does have the benefits,” Burnett says. “We are tire-sensor safe, a 100 percent pass rate.”
