Tyre Pressure warnings....danger of crying wolf too often

[olduser1]

Its what happens these days when Brussels is full of lobbyists thinking of ways to earn bonuses, implemented by MEP's who are driven a few metres in an official car

[andruec]

Its what happens these days when Brussels is full of lobbyists thinking of ways to earn bonuses, implemented by MEP's who are driven a few metres in an official car

[comment removed by Admin]

Tyre pressure monitoring systems are a very good idea that the entire industry has been moving toward. The US kick started it back in 2000 and if you want to be critical of the EU the correct way to do that would be to ask why it took nearly a decade for them to pass the equivalent legislation. But even that wouldn't be a valid criticism since the EU in effect just waited until the technology had matured.

There have been very few complaints about the technology on these forums so it also seems unjustified to argue against the legislation on that basis. It works. It's reliable. It is likely to save lives.

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[Skyrider]

I am happy with my two (one self inflicted) false alarms in 18 months of ownership, the system is reliable and a potential life saver. If you have ever experienced or witnessed a blowout at speed, usually caused by underinflation you will be happy to have TPMS fitted. I cringe when I see a car being driven with an almost flat tyre and keep well clear, an accident waiting to happen.

I also can't get wound up by the little green light which is the only way I can tell my lights are on in daylight, usually with good reason.

[peteo48]

Just bumping this thread for clarification. On a trip to North Wales today the Deflation Warning System light came on. Pulled into a service station and checked each wheel, tyre pressures all OK (bit high if anything). I had checked the tyres manually about a week ago and did put a bit of air in the two back tyres.

Get home about an hour ago. Checked all tyres again - all spot on both in terms of pressure and state of the tyre. Took the radical step of reading the manual and learned how to recalibrate the DWS. Have done this and the light has disappeared. I understand the process completes itself after a certain amount of driving.

Do I have to recalibrate after any inflation of a tyre (I check monthly)? Seems a bit of a faff.

[culzean]

Am I correct in thinking Honda went back to ABS pulse system for Mk3 after trying the pressure sensor system on mk2 model year 2015 ? I had my ABS TPMS trigger a month or so ago because one tyre was a bit too high, other than that only triggered when I had a slow leak due to bead corrosion on an alloy, when I change from winter to summer and back on Civic (but not on Jazz) and when I have had new tyres fitted to only one axle.  Otherwise it has been trouble and false alarm free.

[peteo48]

I guess another question I have on this topic is do people just rely on this system and not manually check the tyres on, say, a monthly basis? As a habitual checker of everything on the car this would go against the grain.

[Downsizer]

Do I have to recalibrate after any inflation of a tyre (I check monthly)? Seems a bit of a faff.

I think a tyre inflation may trigger a false alarm.  My policy is not to check the pressures, or hardly ever, and rely on visual checks, the annual service and the warning system.  The most recent occasion I got an alarm (false) was a year ago following the service, presumably because they had checked the tyres!

[culzean]

I guess another question I have on this topic is do people just rely on this system and not manually check the tyres on, say, a monthly basis? As a habitual checker of everything on the car this would go against the grain.

I still check my tyres regularly ( I give them a visual every time before I drive off,  and a push on the sidewall with my thumb frequently, it is surprising how you can get to feel the difference depending on how springy the sidewall is).

[John Ratsey]

I had a tyre pressure warning in my HR-V last summer while driving on a motorway. Since everything sounded and felt OK I continued for about 20 miles to where we had planned to stop. Visual inspection and prodding could not identify any problem so I reset the calibration and continued my journey. There weren't any more warnings so I consider this to be a false alarm. Perhaps there had been a hint of pressure loss somewhere then too much sun on the other side had raised tyre temperatures and pressures sufficient for the system to go out of the allowable range. I checked the pressures after I got home (a few hundred miles later) and the tyres were all close to the required pressure.

[peteo48]

What was interesting about today was the car did a run of about 30 miles at motorway speeds and it was a bit warmer than it has been of late so maybe that triggered it.

I'll continue to monitor. I must admit, with reference to Downsizer's post above, my monthly checks might be a bit OTT now I've got a car with a warning system and I don't do a huge mileage. I have to say that the tyres lose very little pressure from what I can see. They vary more according to heat. Maybe I'll be daring and go quarterly - I will still do the visual checks.

[ColinS]

I had my front tyres changed about a week ago and did my first long journey yesterday.  A total of 250 miles and I had to calibrate the warning 3 times.

I've not driven it today but wondered if this could be because the rears are well worn and the fronts are new.  Just a guess.  Anyone have ideas?

I don't think the difference between front and rear would trigger it.  Perhaps the new tyres are "bedding in"?  I had several false alarms when the car was new, and once after the pressure check at the first service, but nothing since.  Second service due in Feb.....

As per earlier in the thread.  I took no further action and never got any further warnings.

[ColinB]

Do I have to recalibrate after any inflation of a tyre (I check monthly)? Seems a bit of a faff.

I usually check mine manually before every long journey, or roughly monthly if no long journeys planned. The process of checking usually involves a small change in pressure, either minor leakage via the gauge or topping up using a footpump. In my 2.5 years of ownership I have never had a false (or real) alarm or needed to calibrate the sensors. That’s probably jinxed it now ...

My understanding of the TPMS is that it monitors rotational speed and raises the alarm if it detects a difference between wheels, which would occur if one tyre loses pressure. So it shouldn’t be affected by high ambient temperature which ought to affect all wheels equally.

[peteo48]

Since recalibrating yesterday - all good. The mystery is that it came on quite randomly a few days after I had put a smidgeon of air in the rear tyres.

At least I know how to recalibrate now!

[andruec]

If TPMS is dissuading people from checking pressures then it's cause for concern. It was introduced because so many people failed to check pressures, not as an alternative for doing so. The system most cars including the Jazz have doesn't measure the pressure. It measures the rotational speed of the wheels and looks for changes indicative of a tyre with a reducing radius.

Unfortunately the system has to have a little flexibility because tyre radii also shrink with wear, and both internal and external air temperature. All in all this means the system will struggle to differentiate between wear and the kind of gradual leakage that all tyres suffer from.

Just because someone hasn't had a TPMS warning for several months doesn't mean that their tyres are the correct pressure.

[culzean]

When I had a gradual leak (about 5PSI in a week) the ABS TPMS would alarm when pressure got about 5 PSI low. After a couple of alarms I eventually trace leak to under-bead alloy corrosion and put my winter tyres / steel wheels on until I got alloy wheels refurbed.

It also used to pick up when new tyres on one axle (about 5mm difference in rolling radius over tyres on other axle),  and did pick up when one tyre was 4PSI over-inflated,  so all-in-all it works pretty well and a lot less expense and hassle than the pressure sensor systems.