gkw

I have been having problems lately here in the deep freeze of New England with my tire pressure sensors coming on a telling me that one tire (or more??) is low on pressure. Everytime I bring it into my shop and check the pressure, everything is fine.

It first happened back in December on the first cold day and it is happening more now. It seems to go away with warmer weather.

Anybody see this???

GW

Doc C

gkw,

I had a similar thing happen, but when I went to the dealer they used a "reset tool" to reset the sensor and everything has been fine. I understand that the sensors are very sensitive and it could be that you are right on the threshhold of air pressure that might make them go off when the temp gets so cold and then once the air in the tire heats up and expands, everything is fine. I would go the reset route first, but if it's as cold as they say it's been in your area, the oxygen/nitrogen in your tire could be liquid by now!!!! I put a disclaimer below for those who are a little too serious.

Doc C






Disclaimer: the reference to oxygen/nitrogen being turned to liquid was intended as humor and not scientific fact. All references to Boyle's Law of gases was used under permission and the interpretation of said Law was only based on physics education and small brain of person making this post.

tech237

warm weather 40psi, cold 50psi would be preferable...

JCtx

I respecfully disagree with you on this: 33 (recommended psi) is bad enough for me; 50 is the max allowable cold pressure on my dunlop tires, which makes your suggestion pefectly valid, but that would eventually destroy both my teeth and the car. Our RF tires @ 50 psi in cold weather would be the equivalent of riding on bricks. I honestly prefer to deal with the light than the increased pressure, but the bottom line is the first warning should happen at 26 psi, hot or cold.

Gkw, I haven't had any problems @ 33, although the lowest temp my car has seen is 20+. I still think something is malfunctioning in your car, and I'd guess the batteries on your sensors are getting weak (cold weather exacerbates that). The bad news is they can't be replaced. The good news is dealer would have to replace the sensors if the car is still under warranty. Cold temperature drops your pressure by 1 psi every 10 degrees, but if it checks okay, I would get the situation corrected to your satisfaction asap.

Good luck.

tech237

I was merely passing on info from our latest meeting with our Dist. Service Field Rep.

Doc C

I'm sure you are using a very accurate guage to check your tires, but I was told at my dealership that many tire guages can have a margin of error of + or - 4 psi on nice ones and worse on real cheapo models. The sensors are extremely accurate when working properly. You may need to have the dealership use their reset tool on them. It takes 5 minutes and they just hold it up to the tire and it resets the sensor. It could be the cold has caused a malfunction that needs a simple reset. I've had my share of sensor problems and the last time my light came on I went to the dealer and told them I was having another sensor malfunction. They checked and my problem was..........low tire pressure on one of my tires!!!! Added 5 psi and it's been great since. So, even though it is a weird system, sometimes it actually works as planned. Good luck.

JPI Racing

What dealership are you working for?
JPI