Tire Pressure Monitor

[kinchy]

The weather has gotten cold and the tire pressure idiot light is making me nuts. When I check em maybe one tire is off 1-3 pounds. Typically after 10 miles on the highway the light shuts off. Now it's on and it's freezing but it won't shut off after stretching her legs on the road. The tires are two weeks old and look fine (I'm at work and left my pressure gauge in the garage)

Are you boys experiencing the same activity when the temps drop?

 

[VNT]

My dealer recommended replacing the valve caps with generic plastic ones. I did and it took of the problem, the light hasn't come on yet.

 

[toto]

The pressure in your tires will change by approximately 1 PSI for every 10 degrees F in change in air temperature. The light comes on at about 27 PSI. If you normally run your tires close to that, the light will come on when the tires are cold and go off when the tires warm up.

In the winter, I normally set my tires around 36 PSI at 50 degrees, so that they're still around 31 PSI when it's 0 outisde.

The system is also checking the spare, so keep that in mind as well.

 

[K.C.]

The pressure in your tires will change by approximately 1 PSI for every 10 degrees F in change in air temperature. The light comes on at about 27 PSI. If you normally run your tires close to that, the light will come on when the tires are cold and go off when the tires warm up.

In the winter, I normally set my tires around 36 PSI at 50 degrees, so that they're still around 31 PSI when it's 0 outisde.

The system is also checking the spare, so keep that in mind as well.

toto is absolutely correct!!

When I offroad...i air-down to 25psi & that TPMS light is on.

I do my tires at 38psi all year long.

Yup...lots of members get bother, because unknownly the spare sets off the TPMS.

 

[MikesToy]

i'm glad i don't have tpms so i don't have to worry 'bout lights and stuff. But i always carry a digital tire pressure and check my tires everytime i fill up.

 

[lockerc18]

The weather has gotten cold and the tire pressure idiot light is making me nuts. When I check em maybe one tire is off 1-3 pounds. Typically after 10 miles on the highway the light shuts off. Now it's on and it's freezing but it won't shut off after stretching her legs on the road. The tires are two weeks old and look fine (I'm at work and left my pressure gauge in the garage)

Are you boys experiencing the same activity when the temps drop?

I have 87k miles on my 4runner now, and am on the second set of tires. I've found that the valve stems get a little "dirty" at this stage, and they sometimes leak air pressure slowly. I've had to push them in and out quickly a number of times before they stay closed.

What the others have said is true, especially about the spare. That's why I started futzing around with the tire pressure, because my light came on. It took me a few days and a new air pump to finally get them to the point where they wouldn't leak any more air.

I like the TPMS, but it keeps new valve stems from being installed when you get new tires, and I think that's why mine seem to have gotten clogged up. I never ran into that before, probably because I never had TPMS before.

 

[Jeffrey_VB]

Are you boys experiencing the same activity when the temps drop?

Yep. My light is usually on in the AM when I leave for work and its usually off by the time I pull into the lot.

 

[kinchy]

Tire Pressure Idiot Light

Thanks boys. Will take your advice and hopefully fix the problem.
Happy New year
W

 

[scottm]

The valves themselves should be standard, replaceable cores you can get at any parts store. You need a tool to remove them, but if you hunt around you can get valve caps with a sort of forked top that is for removing valve cores. I keep one in my car toolbox. Aluminum valve caps with rubber gaskets are a nice insurance against leaking valve cores. I've got a set of nice brass ones from airliner wheels, kinda cool, but they're too heavy for automotive.

 

[Mtn.Rush]

The weather has gotten cold and the tire pressure idiot light is making me nuts. When I check em maybe one tire is off 1-3 pounds. Typically after 10 miles on the highway the light shuts off. Now it's on and it's freezing but it won't shut off after stretching her legs on the road. The tires are two weeks old and look fine (I'm at work and left my pressure gauge in the garage)

Are you boys experiencing the same activity when the temps drop?

Yes this happens with the cold weather...make sure you check your spare tire also. It has the TPMS on it and if its low the dash light will come on.

 

[CaliDreamer]

My TPMS came on the other day for the first time. I went through each of the tires making sure they were all the same pressure, but the light didn't go off. Finally I realized that the spare had TPMS too and checked the pressure of that one. Lo and behold, that was the ticket. It doesn't seem to take much to trigger the light.

 

[r32]

This light is driving me insane too! A good reminder though that the pressure changes with the temp.

 

[Annoyed]

I've been running Nitrogen for a long while now, that doesn't expand or contract due to temperature as much. Only TPMS warning I've had is the spare.

 

[gm350reratliff]

The weather has gotten cold and the tire pressure idiot light is making me nuts. When I check em maybe one tire is off 1-3 pounds. Typically after 10 miles on the highway the light shuts off. Now it's on and it's freezing but it won't shut off after stretching her legs on the road. The tires are two weeks old and look fine (I'm at work and left my pressure gauge in the garage)

Are you boys experiencing the same activity when the temps drop?

No problems here. Not even when we go to ND in Dec./Jan. Just add more air.

 

[majmattmason]

The problem is with your spare and happened to me the first time the temperatures dipped. It will happen each fall/winter, the first time things get cold and the pressure in your spare drops. Did the same things, checked all my tires, everything was fine. Thought it was a faulty sensor. Took it to the dealer and he said 99.9% of the time it's the spare. They filled the spare up with air and that took care of the issue. Cold makes things contract, most folks don't check the spare when checking the air pressure. I forgot it happened last year, same time as well. This is one time the sensor is right and we're forgetting to check ALL the tires for pressure.

 

[Nuke]

+1 on not forgetting to adjust the spare. Happened to me. I run my tires at 31 PSI and after a 40 degree change in temp from the last time I had adjusted them the TPMS light came on. I adjusted the 4 up to 32 PSI and the light was still on. Added air to the spare and all has been well.

 

[DesmoST4]

I just purchased an 04 and the sensor light is on. I checked the spare having already investigated this on here and the valve stem appears to be a standard stem unlike the ones on the other four tires. Does this mean the spare on mine does not have a sensor? Anyone know if their spare has a different stem too. I checked all the pressures and everything was at proper inflation with the exception of the spare so I added some air hoping this would take care of it and I still have the light. Any idea's?

 

[DesmoST4]

No replies to my previous post so just bumping this up to see if someone has any thoughts. I have all four tires at 34 psi and the spare as well. Not sure what else to check. Is one of the TPMS batteries dead maybe?

 

[Uneek]

I just purchased an 04 and the sensor light is on. I checked the spare having already investigated this on here and the valve stem appears to be a standard stem unlike the ones on the other four tires. Does this mean the spare on mine does not have a sensor? Anyone know if their spare has a different stem too. I checked all the pressures and everything was at proper inflation with the exception of the spare so I added some air hoping this would take care of it and I still have the light. Any idea's?

All five tires are monitored by TMPS. It sounds like your spare is missing the TMPS which is causing the light to come on.

 

[Kmvreter]

... I've found that the valve stems get a little "dirty" at this stage, and they sometimes leak air pressure slowly. I've had to push them in and out quickly a number of times before they stay closed.

... I like the TPMS, but it keeps new valve stems from being installed when you get new tires, and I think that's why mine seem to have gotten clogged up. I never ran into that before, probably because I never had TPMS before.

No need to replace the TPMS valve stem for this. You can fix this "clogging" for pennies by installing new replacement valve cores in the existing stems.