My TPMS system has been showing an error (not the low tire pressure error, the error reads “Tire Pressure Monitor Problem”). I have checked the pressures in the tires and they all match. I have re-calibrated the system several times and it still comes back on. Has anyone else experienced this problem?
my 15 civic does not have sensors in tires. it is indirect tpms that uses wheel speed variations to work. does your error show up after recalibration but before you move? my warranty is 3/36 bumper to bumper but 5/60 powertrain. i think abs/tpms is not powertrain
The light comes back on after about ~20 miles of driving after initiating a recalibration. I just found the page at the link below and tried that. I will report back. I just got this car and the light came on on my way home from the dealer so I don’t know the prior history of the calibration.
I will also note that there are some noticeable differences in tread between the tires. I’ve seen some posts about needing all tires to be at the same tread depth but that doesn’t make sense to me. If all the tires needed to be at the same tread and same pressure, what exactly would the calibration do? All the tires would rotate at the exact same rate and there would be nothing to learn.
I have the same type of TPMS system in my Mazda 6. When I change from summer to winter tires, and back, I have to recalibrate it each time. One time I got the same thing you did and could not get the code to clear. I took it to the dealer and they did a “hard reset” of the TPMS system and I never had a problem again.
what are your tires size vs the door sticker stock size? the same?
The “hard reset” procedure from the link I posted did not fix the problem. All the tires are the same stock size. The prior owner must have had a flat or something because 2 are 1 model and the other 2 are a different model but 1 tire has noticeably less tread than the other 3.
That is probably the problem as this one will rotate faster than the others and appear to be low in pressure. Although I would think the calibration would fix that.
This could cause differential problems if that one is on one of the drive wheels. Put the worn one on one of the rear wheels to eliminate the problem of differential wear. You may have to live with the TPMS light unless you replace that tire.
But I don’t understand. If one tire has less tread than the other 3, that does not indicate that one was replaced. Do you mean one has more tread, less wear? In any case, be sure the drive wheels have tires that are matched as close as you can. You can get the new tire shaved down to match the others.
Calibration will not fix that problem. A smaller diameter tire may trip the fault. If you don’t resolve the discrepancy, the calibration will fail as it knows nothing has changed:
Now, what if nothing is done about the tire pressures, but calibration is started? The indicator will still go off, but now something called calibration comparison logic steps in. The control unit then compares the tire characteristics that caused the indicator to come on to the tire characteristics during the calibration drive. If the control unit sees there’s been no change in tire characteristics, the indicator comes on again within 20 minutes as a reminder to check the tire pressures. It’s not uncommon for customers to experience this situation and, when they do, they’re often confused and think there’s something wrong with the TPMS and end up back at their dealership.
You’re right, I wasn’t clear. 1 of the tires has more wear, less tread. I guess a flat tire wouldn’t explain that. I guess I was looking for a reason why not only are there 2 different types of tires on but between the 2 matching older tires there is such a difference in tread. I guess it doesn’t really matter, it is what it is now.
The section you quoted is the reason for the “do it 3 times in a row” part, which I did. That also didn’t fix it. I still don’t understand what calibration does if it expects the tires are all at the same pressure and treadlife.
Right, but the fundamental issue remains so it triggers the light again. If it is due to a fundamental mismatch in diameter, outside the allowed variation, it’s probably going to keep triggering the light.
If there is a limit of how close they need to be, then that would explain it. I will look and see if I can find a replacement tire to get them closer. Thanks everyone.
where is the tire located, front or rear? again, you don’t want mismatched tires on the drive wheels. or on the other two for that matter…
You did not give mileage but if some of these tires are original from factory why not just get 4 new ones and be ready for winter.
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It’s in the front. All the more reason to get a newer one or two.
I don’t know the mileage on the tires as I just bought this car used. 3 of the 4 tires have good treadlife on them so I don’t want to spend the money on 4 new ones. I would rather get 1 new and then get 4 new once the 3 good ones wear down. Of course I would have to see if I could get a new tire with a similar amount of tread left as the remaining ones. It might be better to just get 2 new ones.
If you don’t want to get four new tires, then put the two newer matching tires on the front and buy two new tires for the rear, trying to match the front tires as closely as possible. However, after you do that, you won’t be able to rotate the tires properly any more, so you’ll always be buying tires in pairs and moving the rear tires to the front each time.
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With all the buy 3 get one free deals out there I still say get 4 new tires.
my tpms light is a tire section with an exclamation point. i saw an example online that said a tpms system error would have that tire section symbol inside parenthesis. i do see the tire symbol with my key on but perhaps i dont get the system error light on my model.
My car is a little more obvious as it has a light but also has a display with words. The error that comes on is not the low tire pressure light, it’s the system error light.
You say you did a “hard reset” but only the dealer can do that. I chased my tail, like you are now doing, for two weeks. The dealer did their “hard reset” and the light never came on again, until one day I had a tire with a slow leak.
The article that I linked to is a procedure for a Honda dealer to do it. I followed that procedure. It might be different for a Mazda.