Big Temperature drop - then tire pressure warning!

eorange

eorange

New member
Today we experienced a major drop in temperature, like 30 degrees from 8:00am to 5:00pm.

When I arrived at work, everything was OK, no warning lights. Kinda warm out, still.

When I left, it was friggin' freezing, and I noticed my tire pressure warning light was on. I drove home (3 miles) and let it sit for two hours. Checked pressure (except for the spare) and all tires were about 32 psi. Infated all tires (except the spare) to 35 psi, and let it idle for a few minutes.

The manual says temperature drops can make the light come on, but it should go out after a few minutes after adjusting the pressure. It didn't...anyone ever experience this? I will see what happens tomorrow.

Erik
 
Register to hide this ad
eorange said:
Today we experienced a major drop in temperature, like 30 degrees from 8:00am to 5:00pm.

When I arrived at work, everything was OK, no warning lights. Kinda warm out, still.

When I left, it was friggin' freezing, and I noticed my tire pressure warning light was on. I drove home (3 miles) and let it sit for two hours. Checked pressure (except for the spare) and all tires were about 32 psi. Infated all tires (except the spare) to 35 psi, and let it idle for a few minutes.

The manual says temperature drops can make the light come on, but it should go out after a few minutes after adjusting the pressure. It didn't...anyone ever experience this? I will see what happens tomorrow.

Erik
Click to expand...

It happened to me yesterday. As I was leaving work I noticed the tire pressure warning light and pulled over to take a look. A quick visual inspection and a calibrated toe kick to each tire revealed no obvious inflation issues. Once I got home I checked the pressure of the spare - 25 psi. Inflating it to 35 psi took care of the warning light.
 
THE TPMS is really weired. I went to the dealer b/c my light was on and i had inflated alll the tires, he said on the 05's you actually have to reset something from the computer to make the light go away? Was it just me or is he wayy offff?!?
 
my 04 you dont have to reset anything, but i know on the 05 scions you do have to reset it, maybe toyota makes you reset the 05 4runners as well. Or maybe the dealer is just stupid and/or confused as they usually are.
On the scions it is in the glovebox, a button on the top left.
 
Guys do a search this has been discussed a bunch of times already. Basically the temperature drop caused the TPMS to give you a "false positive." A basic rule is tires can lose 1 psi for every 10
 
Temperature vs. Pressure

Yep, the ideal gas equation at work:

PV=nRT

P = Pressure
V = Volume
n = quantity of gas (in moles)
R = gas constant
T = Temperature


Temperature and pressure are directly proportional. All else being constant, as temperature decreases, so does pressure.

Conversely, as you drive on "cold" tires, the resultant temperature increase will result in higher pressure.

Pump 'em up boys!
 
6.02x10 to the 23....eeeewww, some numbers you just never forget!

I'll pump up the spare tonight.

BTW, I had a tire off this summer to fix a minor puncture, and after they put the tire back on, the TPMS light stayed on for a few minutes and then it did go out by itself.


Erik
 
I ran into the same thing this morning. About a month ago it got cold for the first time and the light came on, so I filled up the 4 tires to 32 PSI and the light went out. Well, it got down into the 20's last night, and now my spare tire is a little low. I'll be making a trip to the gas station tonight to fill up. :o
 
Derek said:
I ran into the same thing this morning. About a month ago it got cold for the first time and the light came on, so I filled up the 4 tires to 32 PSI and the light went out. Well, it got down into the 20's last night, and now my spare tire is a little low. I'll be making a trip to the gas station tonight to fill up. :o
Click to expand...

Invest in a portable (12V) air compressor. They do come in handy.
 
a3fnqpjw said:
THE TPMS is really weired. I went to the dealer b/c my light was on and i had inflated alll the tires, he said on the 05's you actually have to reset something from the computer to make the light go away? Was it just me or is he wayy offff?!?
Click to expand...

My 05 requires no reset.
 
Nah, no reset necessary on an '05. Same thing happened here a few weeks ago, simply the spare being a bit low and the cool temps dropping it enough to trigger the system. I topped off the spare and the light went out within a few minutes. '05.
 
I've 2005 Limited and I do live in Canada. This issue happened to me a week ago. I just inflate my tires to 37psi. After that - no lights on.

a3fnqpjw said:
THE TPMS is really weired. I went to the dealer b/c my light was on and i had inflated alll the tires, he said on the 05's you actually have to reset something from the computer to make the light go away? Was it just me or is he wayy offff?!?
Click to expand...

My '05 didn't request any computer reset. I think dealer just wants you to come to the dealership to sell you something...:)
 
Mine came on a couple of days ago.....It was the spare. I have since inflated the spare to 37psi to allow for the cold weather.
 
Interesting thread. Now let me add another interesting observation. I have 4 extra sport wheels for my winter snow tires. Just put them on last weekend. They don't have sensors installed but I'm not getting the warning light.

Either Toyota programmed the system to recognize that 4 tires with no signal means don't turn the light on because it is intentional (doubtful) or the TPMS is not functioning correctly (more likely).

At $80 from Partsnet and $120 from the dealer I know I'm not buying an additional set of sensors.
 
I haven't had the opportunity to check yet, but is it possible to crawl under the rear of the truck and add air to the spare while it is in position or do I have to lower it?
 
Ive had the same issue the past few days as well. The funny thing is, I went to QT to air up during lunch yesterday and there was 2 other 4th gen 4r waiting for air. I laughed and went somewhere else, i guess it doesnt take much to set off the sensor especially when you are right at 32psi to begin with.
 
I tried that. The outside of the rim is against the bottom of the truck, so the valve stem is at a really bad angle. I couldn't get my compressor thingy up in there and down on the stem.

Light is still on. I will take the spare off tomorrow and pump it up more. This will be good practice for removing the spare anyway.
 
eorange said:
Pumped up the spare and the light went off within 1 minute...hooray!
Click to expand...

Just did the same thing. It was at 29 PSI so I filled it up to 35 and the light turned right off. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 338 (members: 0, guests: 338)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,312
Messages
3,554,083
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top