Medical Definition of adhesive. 1: an adhesive substance; especially : a substance (as glue, starch, paste, or mucilage) that bonds two materials together by adhering to the surface of each.
The sensors physically measure the tire pressure in each tire and report it to the vehicle's instrument cluster or a corresponding monitor. Some units also measure and alert temperatures of the tire as well. These systems can identify under-inflation in any combination, be it one tire or all, simultaneously.
If your light goes off, it's a good idea to check your tire pressure as soon as possible. Stockbyte/Getty Images Direct tire pressure monitoring systems use individual sensors inside each tire, and sometimes a full-size spare, to transmit information to a central control module. The sensors read internal pressure, and sometimes temperature.