[filthyPierre]

Hi All,

So I was driving to work the day before yesterday and I was only about 4 klicks from home when I got a tyre pressure warning from the front passenger-side tyre saying it was low pressure. However, it was indicating 30 psi. At the time, all the others were at 31.

As luck would have it, there was a servo not far so I pulled in to check the pressure. Unfortunately it was one of those that doesn't have a gauge, only a setting for how much pressure you want. So I set it to 31 and connected the hose to the tyre. It hissed for about 1 second and then beeped to indicate that it had reached the pressure.

Off I went and sure enough the pressure in that tyre was now reading 31 along with all the others. The low pressure warning remained and has ever since. As I drove a bit further, the pressures went up to 32 all around but as far as I could tell there was nothing wrong with the tyre, it felt fine to drive on. I left it parked all day and it looked fine when I went home, and it has remained at the same pressure as all the other tyres.

So I'm guessing at this point that it's a faulty sensor, as there appears to be nothing wrong with the tyre, it has remained fine for the past two days.

This is how it looks when the sensors have had enough time to register pressure:



And this is how it looks now when first starting the car:



As you can see from the photo, the car has less than 3000 klicks on the clock, so not too happy about that.

Anyone got a similar story/experience? Is there any way to reset the sensor so it reads normally? I read somewhere (googled article) that after a low pressure warning you have to over inflate the tyre up to 5 or more pounds higher until the warning goes away but that seems ridiculous. And the manual doesn't say anything about it. Interestingly, the "type B" sensors have a set/reset button but this one is a "type A" (according to the manual) which doesn't.

Cheers,

Pete

[mickd]

Funny little buggers those things. Our Kona was happy going around at 45 when we got it. Dropped to 32 straight up. Once indicated 1 psi diff. Later dropped to 28 as the boss was National Park dirt-rock roaring a bit. Then had a fit , 1 said 27. Put all at 32, kept whinging. Just kept driving and after a few days it behaved itself.  Dropped back to 28 and still happy    

[Dazzler]

Hi filthy Pierre,

Filthy Darryl here...

31 is a bit low. I would recommend at least 34 psi (just for starters you risk excess heat and tyre wear at 31)
I'd almost bet money if you inflate all to at least 34psi the problem/alert will disappear.

[Shambles]

There's a small chance the button battery in the TPMS valve is dying, or has depleted.

[stkman]

Mine did much the same ... front right 29 psi, all others 30. Pumped all up to 32, read 32 but light still on. Pumped all up to 35 and light went off. Recommended pressure on mine 34 psi. So yes, try 34 and should correct itself,

Andrew

[Dazzler]

Hi Andrew, thanks for that. Nice to see you on.. 

[filthyPierre]

Thanks guys for the advice.

The pressures currently in the tyres are the same as when I picked it up, so naturally I figured they were correct. Oh stupid me. The placard inside the drivers door says cold pressure of 35 for the 225/40 tyres on the NLine. So you are probably right Dazzler.

So I will dig out my compressor and give them a squirt, and see what happens. Will report back once I've done that.

Cheers,

FP

[Dazzler]

Cheers FB look forward to hearing back.  Usually they are over inflated on delivery!

[ibrokeit]

Thanks guys for the advice.

The pressures currently in the tyres are the same as when I picked it up, so naturally I figured they were correct. Oh stupid me. The placard inside the drivers door says cold pressure of 35 for the 225/40 tyres on the NLine. So you are probably right Dazzler.

So I will dig out my compressor and give them a squirt, and see what happens. Will report back once I've done that.

Cheers,

FP

Just catching up a couple of days later...

I ran into almost exactly the same situation....  a short time after getting mine... one day one of my tires indicated it was about 1psi less than the others and the warning came on.   And exactly the same thought process - that the pressure in the tires would be right as I only recently got it from the dealer.

Then I checked the tire pressure chart and oh they are all under what they should be... pumped them up and a short amount of driving later... warning off.

[Dazzler]

Thanks guys for the advice.

The pressures currently in the tyres are the same as when I picked it up, so naturally I figured they were correct. Oh stupid me. The placard inside the drivers door says cold pressure of 35 for the 225/40 tyres on the NLine. So you are probably right Dazzler.

So I will dig out my compressor and give them a squirt, and see what happens. Will report back once I've done that.

Cheers,

FP

Just catching up a couple of days later...

I ran into almost exactly the same situation....  a short time after getting mine... one day one of my tires indicated it was about 1psi less than the others and the warning came on.   And exactly the same thought process - that the pressure in the tires would be right as I only recently got it from the dealer.

Then I checked the tire pressure chart and oh they are all under what they should be... pumped them up and a short amount of driving later... warning off.

Gareth makes a good point, it will take a short amount of driving after the increased inflation for the system to register the change/increase and clear the warning.

[filthyPierre]

So finally got around to posting an update. So the short of it is that once pumped up to 35 psi the alarm went away immediately, didn't even have to drive.

As my compressor was buried in the shed and due to all the rain, I decided to pump the tyres up at a servo close to home. Even so, the pressures had gone up a bit, from 29 cold to 31. So at 29 cold I would need 6 pounds to ge them to the placarded 35. So I pumped them all up to 37 at the servo.

One thing I've noticed with the TPMS is that if you've been driving and stop for a short while (haven't figured out how long exactly) when you restart the car, the pressures are immediately there, you don't have to drive. Usually from cold, it takes about 30 seconds or so to show a reading; or about 350m to the end of my street, they just show up as I get to the end. Now, when they first show up, they're usually 35 or 36. After some driving, highest I've seen is 38.

Anyway, problem solved. I guess I'll know better for next time I buy a car to not assume that the money you pay for delivery was actually used to properly pre-deliver the car.

One final question - can anybody recommend a decent tyre gauge? I have a digital one I bought from Supercheap some time back, and it's pretty hopeless - I checked my tyres when cold, and all of them read under what the TPMS says, and not all of them were the same pressure via the gauge. But they are all the same according to the TPMS.

Thanks for all the advice and comments,

Cheers,

FP