question about tpms

[EURO05]

Have any of you had the tpms light go on in colder weather? I had my stockers off for the winter and I put them back on about a week and a half ago and everything was fine until I got back to school (in Vermont). The light went on Tuesday and since then Ive checked the pressure in each tire every day before driving, the gauge always reads 30-32 but the light still stays on. BTW, the weather has been between mid 20's to low 40's if that makes a difference. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[oaklandopen]

when you check the pressures are the tires cold or have you already been driving for a while? pressures should be checked and tires should be filled when cold

other than that if the light is still coming on even when you know the pressures are good you may have a problem with the system. that could be a receiver problem, or a problem with one of the sensors. or, depending on how you stored your stockers in the winter, one of them could be damaged

 

[PaPaSpeed]

You could try to reset the system, if you haven't already.
Turn the ket to the on position. 30 seconds approx.
Turn key to off position. 30 sec.
Start car and drive over 25mph for 15-20 min.
Hope the light goes off or stays off.
If still on I'd say a sensor is bad.
GL

 

[not yellow]

does it make a "ding" and then check tire light stays on... or does the light flash with no sound then stay on? the first means it thinks your tire pressure is low, the second means the TPMS is not working correctly or not communicating with the sensors.

 

[EURO05]

Thanks for the input guys. The stockers have been in the attic for the winter and the winters I had didnt have a tpms so the light was on all the time. When the stockers were put on everything was fine, I drove back to school for 300 miles with no light on. When this occurred at first you had the beeping then the light came on. Since then the light has been on the entire time except once where it turned off when I was on the highway but it turned back on the next morning. I usually check the tire pressure in the morning or before I head out, never after driving. Ill try to reset the system tomorrow and see how it goes.

 

[EURO05]

This morning I went out and checked all the tires, pressure was approx 35 in each tire. Then attempted to reset the system like PaPaSpeed mentioned, came back with the light still on. So I'm guessing it must be a bad sensor, even though the front right tire seems a bit deflated but the readings are consistent, doesn't really make sense to me.

 

[oaklandopen]

i'd say for shitsngiggles undo the negative battery terminal for a few minutes then reconnect and go for a drive. if that nasty booger light comes back on then take it to the dealer

 

[Zack]

the tpms system will not function properly under 40ish degree temps. thats why cold mornings are netting a tire light

 

[EURO05]

oaklandopen - I thought about doing that but never did, I'll give it a shot tomorrow
zack - I'll wait it out until the end of the week where the temps are suppose to climb into the 60's, if that light is still on I'm just gonna find a dealer around the area and see what they say.

 

[oaklandopen]

the tpms system will not function properly under 40ish degree temps. thats why cold mornings are netting a tire light

there is no way that's correct. i know my tpms has worked properly in under 20degree weather, and im only in delaware. im not gonna mention the ppl that have this car in canada or alaska, or anywhere colder for that matter

buuuuuuut...if you are in a climate that has regular dramatic temp changes you may technically see an issue with your pressure monitors. as a general rule of thumb 10degrees change is a 1psi change. but or the lights to go off there would have to be a super dramatic change in temps, like 100 degrees

and a lot of times the tpms isn't looking for a specific pressure to cause the light to go off, im pretty sure the sytem monitors all of them and looks for dramatic variations, like if 1 tire is 5psi off the others. i've seen some vehicles with tpms systems that were like 10psi overinflated, but because they were all equal the system didn't pick up on that.

that's not to say this system isn't different. for all i know this system may be looking for specific pressures. and if that's not the case im sure there are manufactureres that are getting more specific with the way the system works.

early tpms simply used the wheel speed sensors to monitor pressures, then they evolved into pieces that were banded around the insides of the wheel. now they are part of the valve stem.

 

[fastmazdams3]

Did you Just have tires mounted on those wheels, or did you recently have a flat tire? If so maybe the sensor was hit during the dismount causing the problem. Or have you ever used fix a flat on them. Still under warranty? You can have the dealer scan it to tell you which sensor is bad. Its hard to find a shop with a mazda scanner that can scan for TPMS codes. A regular scanner won't see them.

 

[EURO05]

fastmazdams3 - These are the stock wheels and tires the car came with, the tires have never been removed from the wheels. I bought a separate set of wheels and tires for the winter. I used a different tire pressure gauge and the readings are dead on at 32 all around as of this morning. I was thinking of taking it to a local tire shop to see if my gauge readings were off, if not then I just gotta take it to the dealer. The warranty is still good, had the car for less than a year, and have taken it to the dealership before with the intake and turbo inlet that's on it with no problems.

 

[Outkast]

EURO05 I'm about 100 miles north of you and I have been dealing with this issue ever since I took off the summers and put on the winters. I ran the same Bridgestone tires (size) on stock wheels between the summers and winters, but once the winters went on so did the tpms. Odd though as it does not come on immediately; only after 15 to 20 min of driving. I too have checked the pressure in each tire repetitively. I’ve even taken it to the dealership (multiple times) and all they do is clear the errors. Here is what is unique (so I thought) about my commute. I live 1100 ft above sea level in the Catskills and drive down to the Hudson Valley area each day. Either it was timing or altitude (so I thought). 15 min into my ride I am descending and the tmps light would first flash then remain on. I would park, do my things for the day and head home. No tmps light, but then 15 min into the ride and now heading up; flashes then remains on. So the dealership suggested putting more air into the tires to account for altitude changes…no fix. I’ve also seen that on “warmer” days (above 40) I don’t have the tmps issue as much, but it has happened on occasion (warm or not). I’ve about had it. I’ve reported this multiple times and next time I’m at the dealer (this week to install TS BPV, boost tubes and turbo inlet) I will suggest they find the problem or replace all tmps. Let me know what you find out.

 

[EURO05]

I tried disconnecting the negative terminal from the battery to see if that would reset the monitors but no luck. Gave the local mazda dealer a call and made an appointment, but not til next Friday since they are booked until Tuesday and I got stuff going on at school during the week. Thinking about increasing the pressure to 35-36 psi in each tire and monitoring them for a leak.

 

[oaklandopen]

you know, long before there was tpms ppl generally just drove around. the light is the only problem you have. if you know your pressures are good then you're good, no need to up them or lower them. keep them within spec and you'll be fine

how on earth could ppl have survived without a light telling them their tire pressure is low? lol

 

[Hirudin]

My light will come on every now and then in the cold. I just take the car to my local gas station with "free air" and fill them to the proper levels (34 PSI front, 32 PSI rear IIRC) and the light goes off almost immediately, sometimes before I even get back in the car.

If your warrantied part ain't working you might as well get it replaced. Don't let people make you feel like a pansy or something just because you want to use the safety systems built into your car.

A long time ago people walked everywhere, barefoot. We're better now.

 

[EURO05]

My first car didn't have the sensors and I would check the pressure every 2-3 weeks and the day went on. I have no problem with having the light on, like stated previously the winter set up I had didn't have the sensors and the light was constantly on. I just figured since the car is less than a year old and the stock tires and wheels have about 5500 miles give or take on them, there really shouldn't be a problem. Anyways, thanks for the input guys, I'll share what the dealership says.

 

[Zack]

there is no way that's correct. i know my tpms has worked properly in under 20degree weather, and im only in delaware. im not gonna mention the ppl that have this car in canada or alaska, or anywhere colder for that matter

true, but not ambient temp. the temp inside the tire.

 

[oaklandopen]

true, but not ambient temp. the temp inside the tire.

are you saying that tires sitting in 0 degree temperature overnight are going to be warmer inside than the ambient temperature?

tires are going to be in the 50-60degree above ambient temp range after driving for a while, like driving a mile around 20mph or something that heats them up. but to say they don't work under 40 degrees when there are ppl in alaska and canada with tpms, as well as cold parts of europe just doesn't make sense

 

[MikeHTally]

there is no way that's correct. i know my tpms has worked properly in under 20degree weather, and im only in delaware. im not gonna mention the ppl that have this car in canada or alaska, or anywhere colder for that matter

buuuuuuut...if you are in a climate that has regular dramatic temp changes you may technically see an issue with your pressure monitors. as a general rule of thumb 10degrees change is a 1psi change. but or the lights to go off there would have to be a super dramatic change in temps, like 100 degrees ...

+ eleventy-some. Can't believe where some of these statements come from. If the TPMS shows a problem below 40 degrees, it's 'cause the pressure dropped.