Vehicle, tire change reminder system and method for detecting a tire service interval for a vehicle

Abstract

A vehicle (10) comprising:a controller (20) programmed to issue a tire change reminder in response to a predicted travel time to achieve a predetermined difference in tread wear between front tires (12) and rear tires (14) being less than a predetermined time, wherein the predicted travel time is based on a rate of change of a difference between the circumference of a front tire (12) and the circumference of a rear tire (14).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELDThis application relates generally to alerting a vehicle user when the tires of a vehicle should be changed.BACKGROUNDThe tires of a vehicle wear during vehicle operation. Over time, the profile of the tires may wear to a point that replacement of the tires becomes necessary. Adequate vehicle maintenance can extend the service life of the tires. Replacing the tires with each other is such a method by which the useful life of the tires can be prolonged. Replacing the tires includes changing the position of the tires on the vehicle at regular intervals to vary wear on the tires. Over time, each tire is changed to a different position to accommodate wear to the tire. It is generally left to the user to determine when a tire change is required. Because many users may forget to observe when a tire change is required, the tires may be operated without changes over longer time intervals, resulting in more rapid wear and prior replacement.From the prior art, JP 2002-104 158 A is known. This describes a device for calculating the friction state of the road surface, a device for determining the wear of the tire, and a device for estimating the inclination of the road surface and a device for correcting the offset of an acceleration sensor.DE 698 17 698 T2 describes an apparatus for detecting the wear condition of a tire and a related method which can improve the operating behaviour and the safety of a vehicle by detecting the wear condition of the tire on the basis of rotation information of the tire.Furthermore, JP 2006-162 384 A describes a tire wear warning device. In JP S58-97 507 A a tire wear detector is described. DE 10 2012 217 901 B3 describes a method and a system for determining a tread depth of a tread of a tire. In addition, DE 103 06 498 A1 describes a method for determining the wear of a tread of a vehicle tire, in particular the determination of a tread depth of a tire.SUMMARYA vehicle includes a controller programmed to output a tire change reminder responsive to a predicted travel time to achieve a predetermined difference in tread wear between front and rear tires being less than a predetermined time. The predicted travel time is based on a change rate of a difference between the circumference of a front tire and the circumference of a rear tire. The vehicle may further include a display module configured to display the tire change reminder and the predicted travel time, wherein the controller may be further programmed to forward the predicted travel time for display. The controller may be further programmed to receive a user input and, in response to the user input, output tire change instructions. The controller may be further programmed to receive a user input and, in response to the user input, prevent the tire change reminder from being output for a predetermined suppression time. The controller may be further programmed to output the tire change reminder responsive to a speed of the vehicle being less than a predetermined speed. The periphery of the front tire may be an average periphery of the front tires. The perimeter of the rear tire may be an average perimeter of the rear tires. The vehicle may further include visual indicators, audible indicators, and / or haptic feedback generators configured to display the tire change reminder to a user.A tire change reminder system includes a tire change indicator and a controller programmed to activate an indicator in response to a predicted travel time for achieving a predetermined difference in tread wear between front and rear tires being less than a predetermined time. The predicted travel time is based on a change rate of a difference between the circumference of a front tire and the circumference of a rear tire. The tire change reminder system may further include a display, and the controller may be further programmed to output the predicted travel time on the display. The tire change indicator may be a visual indicator. The tire change indicator may be an acoustic indicator. The tire change indicator may be a haptic indicator. The tire controller may be further programmed to receive a user input and, responsive to the user input, deactivate the indicator for a predetermined deactivation time.A method for detecting a tire service interval for a vehicle includes displaying a tire change reminder responsive to a predicted travel time for achieving a predetermined difference in tread wear between front and rear tires being less than a predetermined time, the predicted travel time based on a rate of change of a difference between the perimeter of a front tire and the perimeter of a rear tire. The method may further include displaying the predicted travel time. The method may further include entering a user input and, in response to the user input, preventing the display of the tire change reminder for a predetermined prohibition time. The method may further comprise displaying instructions for a tire change in response to displaying the tire change reminder. The method may further include displaying contact information for the nearest service device in response to displaying the tire change reminder. The indicating of the tire change reminder may be further responsive to a speed of a vehicle being less than a predetermined speed.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 illustrates a possible vehicle configuration including components for tire change reminder; FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a possible block diagram of control implemented operations for tire change reminder; FIG. 3A is a graph of a possible relative change in tire circumference over time for a vehicle in which a rate of change in tire wear is greater for the front tires; FIG. 3B is a graph of a possible relative change in tire circumference over time for a vehicle in which a rate of change in tire wear is greater for the rear tires; and FIG. 4 is a graph showing a possible absolute value of a relative change of the tire circumference with time.DETAILED DESCRIPTIONEmbodiments of the present disclosure will be described herein. It is to be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples and other embodiments may take various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. The specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are therefore not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various features illustrated and described with reference to any one of the figures may be combined with features illustrated in one or more other figures to provide embodiments that are not explicitly illustrated or described. The combinations of features shown provide representative embodiments for typical applications. However, for certain applications or implementations, various combinations and modifications of the features may be desired that are consistent with the teachings of the present disclosure.FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of a vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 may include an engine mechanically coupled to a transmission. The transmission may be mechanically coupled to a driveshaft that is mechanically coupled to one or more wheels. Each wheel may include a rim 30 on which a tire is mounted. The wheels coupled to the transmission via the driveshaft may be referred to as driven wheels. The wheels that are independent of the transmission may be referred to as non-driven wheels. The vehicle 10 may be configured as a front wheel drive vehicle in which the front tires 12 are coupled to the transmission (e.g., the front tires 12 are the driven wheels). The vehicle 10 may be configured as a rear wheel drive vehicle in which the rear tires 14 are coupled to the transmission (e.g., the rear wheels 13 are the driven wheels). The vehicle may be configured as a four-wheel drive vehicle in which all wheels, front and rear, may be coupled to the transmission. During operation, engine torque generated by combustion of fuel in the engine may be transmitted to the driven wheels via the transmission. Torque applied to the driven wheels may cause linear movement of the vehicle 10. An automobile typically includes two front tires 12 and two rear tires 14.The tires 12, 14 are typically made of a rubber material. To improve traction and drivability, the tires 12, 14 may have a tread pattern that is in contact with a road surface. The profile pattern can be provided with grooves and channels of a predetermined depth during production. Over time, the rubber material may wear, causing the profile pattern to change and the depth to decrease. As the tires 12, 14 wear, traction and drivability performance may change. The tires 12, 14 may include a wear indicator that provides an indication that the tires 12, 14 should be replaced. The wear indicator may be visually checked to determine when the tires 12, 14 should be replaced.When the vehicle is driven, the tires 12, 14 are subject to wear. The tires 12, 14 can wear to varying degrees. In some configurations, the front tires 12 may wear to a different extent than the rear tires 14. Factors that affect the wear of the tires 12, 14 include the amount of weight carried by the tires 12, 14 and dynamic operations carried by the tires 12, 14, such as steering, braking, and acceleration. For example, the front tires 12 may be used for steering and may have greater wear along an outer edge of the tires 12. Driven tires may wear at a faster rate due to the slip that arises between the tire tread and the road surface as the vehicle 10 accelerates. In some configurations, the front tires 12 may support a greater portion of the vehicle weight and provide a greater portion of the braking force, thereby increasing the amount of wear of the front tires 12 relative to the rear tires 14. In some configurations, the front and rear tires 12 and 14 may wear to approximately the same extent. Wear is also affected by the inflation pressure of the tire.The life of the tires can be extended by proper maintenance. Periodic changing of the tires 12, 14 may extend the life of the tires 12, 14. Changing the tires 12, 14 refers to the process of moving the tires 12, 14 to another position periodically. To compensate for the wear of the tires 12, 14, it may be advantageous to change the tires 12, 14 such that each tire is inserted at certain intervals on the axle having a higher wear rate. For example, the position of the rear tires 14 and the front tires 12 may be interchanged on one side in some tread structures. By regularly changing the tires 12, 14, the wear of the tires 12, 14 can be compensated. As an example, a vehicle having a higher wear rate on the front tires 12 may be considered. Without periodic replacement services, the front tires 12 can reach an end of the tread life in front of the rear tires 14, resulting in earlier replacement of the front tires 12. Some owners may replace rear tires 14 at the same time, although there remains a considerable amount of life for rear tires 14.To optimize tire wear, it may be helpful for the user to know when a tire changing service should be performed. Existing methods may depend on the user or vehicle monitoring a distance traveled between tire changes (e.g., 5,000 miles between tire changes). These methods generally rely on the user or vehicle to monitor the route traveled since the last change and the change to be made at the desired interval. These methods do not take into account the actual wear of the tires and as a result the tires can be changed earlier or later than would be optimal. This ultimately leads to the tire life being shortened due to later maintenance or to maintenance costs being increased due to unnecessary tire changes.The vehicle 10 may include a tire change reminder system for monitoring tire wear and determining an appropriate time to perform the tire change service. The vehicle 10 may include one or more controllers 20 to implement logic for a system to detect tire wear and indicate to the driver when the tires should be changed. A wheel speed sensor 16 may be associated with each of the tires 12, 14. The wheel speed sensor 16 may output a signal indicative of the speed at which the associated tire 12, 14 rotates. The vehicle 10 may include a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS). The TPMS may include a tire pressure sensor 18 associated with the individual tires 12, 14 for measuring the tire's air pressure. The TPMS may include a controller and circuit for wirelessly connecting to the tire pressure sensors 18. The tire pressure sensors 18 may output a signal indicative of the air pressure in the tire 12, 14. The output of the wheel speed sensors 16 and the tire pressure sensors 18 may be input to the controller 20 for further processing.Using the inputs from the wheel speed sensor 16 and the tire pressure sensor 18, the controller 20 may determine a tire circumference for each of the tires 12, 14. Such techniques are known to and available to one of ordinary skill in the art. In some configurations, an average tire circumference for each of the axles may be calculated and used in subsequent calculations.The controller 20 may calculate a difference between the circumference of a front tire and the circumference of a rear tire. In some configurations, the perimeter of the front tire may be an average tire perimeter of the front tires 12, and the perimeter of the rear tire may be an average tire perimeter of the rear tires 14. The difference may be expressed as: where C f( t) is the circumference of the front tire and C r( t) is the circumference of the rear tire.The characteristics of the difference may be such that a positive difference indicates that the perimeter of the front tire is greater than the perimeter of the rear tire. In a configuration where the front tires 12 wear faster than the rear tires 14, the positive difference may indicate a recent tire change. The difference may indicate an amount of tread wear of the front tires 12 relative to that of the rear tires 14 of the vehicle 10.The controller 20 may calculate a rate of change or an increase in the difference between the circumference of the front tire and the circumference of the rear tire. The rate of change may be related to time. In some configurations, the rate of change may be related to the distance traveled. The rate of change of the difference may indicate how the tires on the individual axles wear relative to each other. The rate of change with respect to time may be calculated as: where t 2 > t 1. In some configurations, the time difference t 2- t 1 may be an accumulated interval between computations T. Since it may take a relatively long time before a tire circumferential change is detected, the interval T may be a relatively long time interval. The time value, i.e. the interval T, can be accumulated over a number of driving cycles. The interval T may include only time the vehicle is driven. For example, the time may be accumulated when the vehicle speed is above a minimum threshold, indicating that the vehicle is being driven. Values of the tire peripheries and associated times may be stored in non-volatile memory for retrieval during subsequent drive cycles.An anticipated future difference may be calculated based on the rate of change as follows: where t i is the current time and t r is a future time. Using Formula (3), a future difference may be calculated based on a current difference, the rate of change, and the time interval. The final difference may be selected as a predetermined difference K, which may be constant based on a maximum tire wear difference between the front and rear tires 12 and 14. The predetermined difference may represent a relative amount of wear at which a tire change should be performed.The controller 20 may calculate an estimated travel time at which the tire replacement service should be performed. The predetermined difference between the circumference of the front tire and the circumference of the rear tire may be selected. A polarity of the predetermined difference may change depending on which tires are expected to wear faster compared to the others. For example, in a configuration in which the front tires wear more quickly, the predetermined difference K may have a negative polarity. FIG. 3A illustrates a plot of the difference over time for a configuration in which the front tires 12 wear faster than the rear tires 14. In a configuration in which the rear tires 14 wear more quickly, the predetermined difference K may have a positive polarity. FIG. 3B illustrates a plot of the difference over time for a configuration in which the rear tires 14 wear faster than the front tires 12. By replacing the future difference with the predetermined difference, Formula (3) can be expressed as:Result, solved for the time interval ΔT:To take into account the different polarities of the difference and its derivative, a more generic formula for the time to change may be expressed as: where sign(X) indicates the polarity or sign (positive or negative) of the input set X. Formula (6) provides the general expression for predicted travel time to change for the different polarity possibilities. The resulting time may be expressed in units of hours, weeks or months depending on the application. The time may indicate an amount of operating or travel time of the vehicle 10 before a tire change should be performed.Alternatively, an absolute value of the difference may be used. FIG. 4 is a graph showing the absolute value of the difference with time for one of the cases shown in FIG. 3A or 3B. The rate of change of the absolute value may be calculated. The rate of change of the absolute value may be negative as the circumference of the front tire and the circumference of the rear tire approach each other. The rate of change of the absolute value of the difference may be positive when the circumference of the front tire and the circumference of the rear tire are deviated from each other. In this case, the rate of change of the absolute value may be monitored to detect when the difference increases. In this case, the predetermined difference may have a positive polarity or a positive sign. The time to the predetermined difference is given as:The formulation of formula (7) yields the prospective value for the travel time to change only when the derivative term is positive. The controller 20 may monitor the derivative term and calculate the time to tire change when the derivative has a positive polarity. The formulation of formula (6) may provide the time to tire change for each polarity of the derivative term.The indication of the anticipated drive time to change may be delayed until a reliable value of the derivative term is determined. The indication of the time to change can be inhibited until the difference and its derivative have the same sign. This may indicate that one of the tires wears faster than the other. If the difference and its derivative have different polarity, the tire peripheries may approach each other. The indication of the time to change may be prohibited until a change rate of the absolute value of the difference is positive, thereby indicating that the difference increases.In some configurations, the time to change to a route to change may be converted. An average distance for a time interval may be calculated. For example, the vehicle 10 may include a distance kilometer counter that accumulates a distance traveled by the vehicle 10. The distance kilometer counter may be periodically retrieved and a rate of change of the distance with respect to time may be calculated. For example, the distance kilometer counter may be retrieved at the beginning of the week and at the end of the week to determine a miles / week estimate. A miles / week average can be calculated based on the last values N miles / week. Assuming that the time to change is expressed in weeks, a distance to change can be calculated as the product of the miles / week average and the time to change. The resulting distance may be expressed in units of miles. Note that the same analysis can be applied when the distance is expressed in kilometers.The controller 20 may calculate the time to change tires regularly during vehicle operation. However, a tire change reminder may not be output until the time to change is less than a predetermined time threshold. This prevents the tire change reminder from being displayed early. For example, the predetermined threshold may be a 24 hour period. Thus, a tire change reminder may not be displayed until the time to circumferential change reminder is less than 24 hours.In some configurations, the predetermined time threshold may be set based on the driving habits of the user. If an average time of vehicle operation per day is relatively low, the predetermined time threshold may be decreased so that the reminder is not perceived as being too early. For example, it may be desirable to issue a reminder when the amount of operating time is equivalent to one week or less. Moreover, it is assumed that the vehicle is driven one hour per day on average in the example. To achieve one week reminder, the predetermined threshold would be set to seven hours in this example. Assuming that the user keeps these driving habits, the tire change reminder may be issued when the time to change is less than seven hours.In a configuration based on the route, the predetermined time threshold may be converted to a route threshold (e.g., 100 miles). The predetermined time threshold may be selected to provide an appropriate warning to the user so that a reasonable time or distance for a tire change may be scheduled upon determining the need.In some configurations, the tire change reminder may be displayed when a speed of the vehicle 10 is less than a predetermined speed. For example, the tire change reminder may be displayed when the vehicle 10 is in a state of standstill (e.g., speed zero). This prerequisite can prevent distraction of the driver at higher vehicle speeds. The tire change reminder may include an acoustic, visual, and / or haptic component. The vehicle 10 may include a speaker 26 or buzzer for providing the acoustic component. The vehicle 10 may include a display screen 22 or a lamp 24 for providing the visual component. The vehicle 10 may include a vibration mechanism 28 for providing the haptic component. For example, the vibration mechanism 28 may be located in a steering wheel, seat or seat back, or accelerator pedal.In some configurations, the value of the time to change may be passed to the display 22. The display module 22 may be configured to display the time to change in a predetermined format. The displayed value may be a numerical value. The value may be displayed in the form of a measuring instrument with an indicator. The indicator may be an hourglass that fills as the time to change decreases. The value can also be displayed as a color scale. For example, as the time to change decreases, the color may gradually transition from green to red.In some configurations, the display module 22 may display other information to the user along with the tire change reminder. For example, additional content may be displayed on the display screen to ask the user whether further assistance is desired in connection with tire changing. For example, a message may be displayed on the display 22. The display module 22 may request user input. For example, the display 22 may be a touch screen including one or more virtual buttons for pressing by the user. For example, upon pressing a first virtual button, the display module 22 may display instructions for changing tires. For example, a changeover pattern may be displayed on the display 22. The changeover pattern may indicate a position to which the individual tires are to be moved. An arrow from a current tire position to a next tire position after switching may be displayed. In addition, contact information for the next service device may be displayed (e.g., next dealer).Upon pressing a second virtual button, the tire change reminder may be cleared and the tire change reminder logic may be reset. In the case where the tires are not changed, the tire change reminder may be displayed again when the conditions are met. In the event that the tires were not actually changed, the reminder may be immediately displayed. In some configurations, by resetting the tire change reminder, a time for prohibiting the redisplay of the tire change reminder may be set. For example, the tire change reminder may be prohibited after a reset of five days. This can prevent the system from continuously alerting the user. The inhibition time may be selected to match the driver warning and minimizing distractions of the driver.In some configurations, the tire change reminder logic may be automatically reset. After the changing of the tires all round, it can be expected that the difference between the peripheries of the front and rear tires can change polarity (e.g., change from negative to positive). The controller 20 may monitor a polarity change in the difference, and this may be an indication that the tires have been changed. When this state is detected, the scope values may be updated and stored as initial values.FIG. 2 illustrates a possible sequence of operations for implementing tire change reminder in the controller 20. At 100, tire peripheries are calculated. The tire peripheries may be calculated using the input values for the wheel speeds and the input values of the tire pressure sensor. An average circumference of the front tires and an average circumference of the rear tires may be calculated.At operation 102, the difference between the perimeter of the front tire and the perimeter of the rear tire is calculated. An additional operation may include calculating the absolute value of the difference. At operation 104, the increase or rate of change of the difference is calculated as described above.At decision process 106, a comparison is made to determine whether the difference increases. If the difference does not increase, the sequence may return to operation 100 to continue monitoring the tire peripheries. As the difference increases, the sequence may proceed to operation 108. At operation 108, the time to recommend a tire change is calculated by the methods described herein. Operation 112 may be implemented to indicate the time to tire change. At decision block 110, the time to tire change may be compared to a time threshold. If the time to change is greater than or equal to a time threshold, the sequence may return to operation 100. If the time to change is less than a time threshold, the sequence may proceed to decision block 114.At 114, the vehicle speed may be compared to a speed threshold. If the vehicle speed is greater than or equal to a speed threshold, the sequence may return to operation 100. If the vehicle speed is less than a speed threshold, the sequence may proceed to operation 116. At operation 116, a tire change reminder may be generated and displayed to the user. Additional indicators may be generated to determine whether the user needs further assistance in changing the tires. For example, the user may be asked whether additional support is desired and virtual buttons may be displayed on a touch screen. The sequence may proceed to decision block 118 to determine if further assistance is required. If further assistance is required (e.g., based on selected virtual button), the sequence may proceed to operation 122. Operation 122 may display tire change instructions and contact information for the next dealer. If no further assistance is desired, the sequence may proceed to operation 120. At operation 120, the tire change reminder may be removed or prohibited. The operations may be repeated over multiple successive drive cycles.The processes, methods, or algorithms disclosed herein may be provided to or implemented by a processing device, controller, or computer, which may include any existing programmable electronic control unit or dedicated electronic control unit. Likewise, the processes, methods, or algorithms can be stored as data and instructions executable by a controller or computer in many forms including, but not limited to, information permanently stored on non-writable storage media such as ROM devices and information alterably stored on writeable storage media such as floppy disks, magnetic tapes, CDs, RAM devices, and other magnetic and optical media. The processes, methods, or algorithms can also be implemented in an executable software object. Alternatively, the processes, methods, or algorithms can be performed in whole or in part using suitable hardware components, such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), FPGAs (field programmable logic gate arrays), state machines, controllers or other hardware components or devices, or a combination of hardware, software, and firmware components.While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms encompassed by the claims. The words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. As described above, the features of various embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention that may not be explicitly described or illustrated. While various embodiments may have been described as providing advantages or being preferred over other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more desired characteristics, those of ordinary skill in the art understand that tradeoffs are made between one or more features or characteristics to achieve desired overall system characteristics that depend on the particular application and implementation. These features may include, but are not limited to, cost, strength, longevity, life cycle cost, marketability, appearance, accommodation, size, serviceability, weight, magnetoresistance, ease of assembly, etc. Thus, embodiments described as less desirable than other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more characteristics are not outside the scope of the disclosure and may be desirable for particular applications.

Claims

A vehicle (10) comprising: a controller (20) programmed to output a tire change reminder responsive to a predicted travel time for achieving a predetermined difference in tread wear between front (12) and rear (14) tires being less than a predetermined time, the predicted travel time based on a rate of change of a difference between the perimeter of a front (12) tire and the perimeter of a rear (14).The vehicle (10) of claim 1, further comprising a display module (22) configured to display the tire change reminder and the predicted travel time, and wherein the controller (20) is further programmed to forward the predicted travel time to the display (22).The vehicle (10) of claim 1, wherein the controller (20) is further programmed to receive a user input and, in response to the user input, output tire change instructions.The vehicle (10) of claim 1, wherein the controller (20) is further programmed to receive a user input and, in response to the user input, prevent the tire change reminder from being output for a predetermined suppression time.The vehicle (10) of claim 1, wherein the controller (20) is further programmed to output the tire change reminder responsive to a speed of the vehicle (10) being less than a predetermined speed.The vehicle (10) of claim 1, wherein the perimeter of the front tires (12) is an average perimeter of the front tires (12).The vehicle (10) of claim 1, wherein the perimeter of the rear tires (14) is an average perimeter of the rear tires (14).The vehicle (10) of claim 1, further comprising one or more visual indicators, audible indicators, and haptic feedback generators configured to display the tire change reminder to a user.A tire change reminder system comprising: a tire change indicator; and a controller (20) programmed to activate the indicator in response to a predicted travel time for achieving a predetermined difference in tread wear between front (12) and rear (14) tires being less than a predetermined time, wherein the predicted travel time is based on a rate of change of a difference between the perimeter of a front (12) tire and the perimeter of a rear (14).The tire change reminder system of claim 9, further comprising a display (22), wherein the controller (20) is further programmed to output the predicted travel time on the display (22).The tire change reminder system of claim 9, wherein the tire change indicator is a visual indicator.The tire change reminder system of claim 9, wherein the tire change indicator is an acoustic indicator.The tire change reminder system of claim 9, wherein the tire change indicator is a haptic indicator.The tire change reminder system of claim 9, wherein the controller (20) is further programmed to receive a user input and, in response to the user input, deactivate the indicator for a predetermined deactivation time.A method of detecting a tire service interval for a vehicle (10), comprising: displaying a tire change reminder responsive to a predicted travel time for achieving a predetermined difference in tread wear between front and rear tires being less than a predetermined time, wherein the predetermined travel time is based on a rate of change of a difference between the perimeter of a front tire (12) and the perimeter of a rear tire (14).The method of claim 15, further comprising displaying the predicted travel time.The method of claim 15, further comprising entering a user input and, in response to the user input, preventing the display of the tire change reminder for a predetermined prohibition time.The method of claim 15, further comprising displaying tire change instructions in response to displaying the tire change reminder.The method of claim 15, further comprising displaying contact information for the nearest service device in response to displaying the tire change reminder.The method of claim 15, wherein the indicating of the tire change reminder is further responsive to a speed of a vehicle (10) being less than a predetermined speed.

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