TPMS Question.

[stevej37]

With our cooler temps...I had a dash light on for low pressure on the front right tire on my Civic. Topped it off and the light disappeared.
Talking to a friend that has a year newer Civic....he said Honda moved away from the tire sensors a couple years ago and now they use the car's ABS brake system to monitor tire pressures.

I've never heard of that. I'm glad that I don't have to change low battery sensors any more.

Wondering how it can work? Do other brand cars do the same?

[JackDidley]

Never heard of that. I do always add air when the cold gets here. Lights on the dash drive me crazy.

[id10t]

Detects difference in rotational speed/energy required to turn wheel

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by id10t

Detects difference in rotational speed/energy required to turn wheel

Well...sounds good, it's amazing to me that it can be done that way.

I did notice that when the dash light came on, it specified which tire and what the pressure was (26 lb.)
My 2010 Fit would only light up that I had a low tire..not which one or the pressure.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Well...sounds good, it's amazing to me that it can be done that way.

I did notice that when the dash light came on, it specified which tire and what the pressure was (26 lb.)
My 2010 Fit would only light up that I had a low tire..not which one or the pressure.

I think this is independent of whether your car gives you per tire info or just a warning that there's low pressure on on tire. I think/suspect the difference between per tire or one-of-the-tires warning systems is more about cost/feature.

https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-garage/different-types-of-tire-pressure-monitoring-systems

DIRECT VS INDIRECT
Direct
attach a pressure sensor/transmitter to the vehicle's wheels. An in-vehicle receiver warns the driver if the pressure in any tire falls below a predetermined level. Direct systems are typically more accurate and reliable and most are able to indicate which tire is under-inflated.

Indirect
use the vehicle's anti-lock braking system's wheel speed sensors to compare the rotational speed of one tire versus the others. If a tire is low on pressure, it will roll at a different number of revolutions per mile than the other three and alert the vehicle's on-board computer. Indirect systems (except for the TPMS on several 2009+ Audi models and 2010+ Volkswagen models) are unable to generate accurate readings in cases where all four tires are losing pressure at the same rate, such as the effects of time and temperature.

[stevej37]

I remember getting the light on my 2010 Fit for TPMS system trouble. I brought the car in and they replaced the sensor in one tire because the battery was dead. A month later, the same thing but different tire. I asked them to do the other two also.

I should have just had them do all four at the first stop. I was told 8-10 years is the average life.
Mine made it to 10

I'm glad that part won't happen with the Civic.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

I remember getting the light on my 2010 Fit for TPMS system trouble. I brought the car in and they replaced the sensor in one tire because the battery was dead. A month later, the same thing but different tire. I asked them to do the other two also.

I should have just had them do all four at the first stop. I was told 8-10 years is the average life.
Mine made it to 10

I'm glad that part won't happen with the Civic.

I've got a 2008 boxster. I've had it since Aug 2014. It was CPO when I bought it. I don't think the TPMS sensors have ever been replaced, at least, not since I've owned it. I'm assuming they could go bad any day now since they should be at least 10 years old (if not 16).

The Internet seems to think that the wife's 2018 Outback also has sensors. I suspect they may be getting ready to go out. They seem to work, we get numbers for all 4 wheels. But twice now the warning light started blinking and then stayed on which I believe is supposed to indicate a problem in the system. I suspect the battery is going bad in at least one sensor.

[HobieMarty]

Funny thread, I am adjusting air pressures today for my daughter's Honda Civic, son's Santa Fe, sons fiancé's Corolla, wife's RX350, and my daily RX300. The RX350 light will also come on when the spare is low. The only vehicle in the group that is showing low pressures is the Civic, but I figure I've got everything out to perform the task, so may as well check them all.
I'm not sure how the tpms works in the vehicles I test at work, I do know that sometimes just the tpms light will be on when some sort of repair or recalibration has taken place and we either take the vehicle through the roll booth or drive the vehicle for a short stint on the track until the light goes out.

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[oldE]

As mentioned above, VW uses the ABS system to monitor for differences in rotational speed. Relatively simple and no remote sensors. The system seems to be able to detect a 5psi difference.

Best
Les

[TimT]

My 07 Cayman shows a little schematic with tire pressures... just cycle through the display options ..




Also some of the better scanners can display the battery status of the sensors, mine is an Icarsoft. Also a lot of shops have a scanner you hold near the valve stem which gives you all the info... Whats interesting is the wheel temp is 73F ambient here is 51F now..I wonder if that is the temp of the air in the tire, or the physical wheel.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by TimT

My 07 Cayman shows a little schematic with tire pressures... just cycle through the display options ..

Yep, I love it. And it seems to be on the money. I fill the tires and get the fronts to match and the rears to match and 98% of the time the display has them matching exactly. As they warm up, one may register the increase sooner than another, but they all eventually match. So I'm able to tell if one tire has a slow leak compared to the others. The system in my wife's outback is similar, but reacts more slowly.

[TimT]

Also it interesting that the dash display show FL 30psi, yet the scanner shows almost 32psi... not a rounding error, Though I'm not worried about it..

I love that Porsche shows the front one pixel narrower than the rears, and they show the diff

[cabmandone]

Low battery sensors? Never had that happen. But the oldest vehicle with TPMS is my son's 2008 Rav.

[stevej37]

^^^ I've heard some say that the battery can be replaced on it's own...but it's much easier to just replace the whole sensor.
I think they were only $25 each for my Fit.

If his are original...that's a long life for them.

[john70t]

Had a Prius with15lbs of air in one tire. No dash code..
The sidewall still 'looked' perfect because it was a Micheline Defender 5-ply sidewall. I've read they changed. IDK. Mighty tires.

Also had to get new sensors replaced. The tire shop (discount) said they had problems with OEM reading the aftermarket signals.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by stevej37

^...but it's much easier to just replace the whole sensor.
I think they were only $25 each for my Fit.

In conjunction with a tire change at the right place and your uncle is behind the counter. :-)

It's $250 at Costco if that's all you do.

Amazon has four for $25 but you have to change them yourself and program to your car. I need to learn how to do that. I don't think it's that expensive once you get a little machine/scanner thingie( $10-$250)

[stevej37]

^^^ It was at Walmart.
I think I had it in for tire rotation and they just added the sensor costs to the rotation fee.
That's about all that I trust them to do there...but I've never had any problem with them.

[GothingNC]

My MK6 VW Golf uses the ABS system to detect a decrease in tire pressure.

[stevej37]

Having the ABS system will make a difference to me on a decision of whether or not to swap some snows and rims on the front of my Civic for the winter.

With the tire sensors, either have to live with the dash light on for the winter, or swap the two sensors each season. If I buy two new sensors, the system has to be recalibrated twice each year.

[GothingNC]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Having the ABS system will make a difference to me on a decision of whether or not to swap some snows and rims on the front of my Civic for the winter.

With the tire sensors, either have to live with the dash light on for the winter, or swap the two sensors each season. If I buy two new sensors, the system has to be recalibrated twice each year.

Steve,

With the VW, I am able to select "snow tires" within the multi-function display for the TPMS.