2008 Ford Explorer with 90,000 miles. The Pressure monitoring system has went haywire and every time we drive more than 20 miles we get warnings about tire sensor faults and immediately after that we get tire monitor faults. Drives me crazy. I really don’t need the monitors so is there any way I can disable these ? I’m sure it’s not as simple as removing a single fuse. Any suggestions?
Look at the fuse list in your owner’s manual and see if the TPM system does have a fuse all to itself.
How about getting the problem fixed?
You might just have a bad sensor, or a low tire
Checked the owners manual and can’t locate a fuse for it. I’ve checked the pressure when the faults pop up but there’s nothing wrong with the pressure. It’s the sensors that are bad and I just want to do away with them.
I also will not willingly want to spend much money to buy and install new sensors. We have an 09 and I anticipate that the TPMS sender batteries will run flat in during the next year. The low pressure etc. message will come up with each engine start and will be a constant annoyance for the remaining life of the car unless the senders are changed. The readout is the same one that also shows engine temp, outdoor temp, total miles, trip miles, and oil life remaining so it can not be hidden with black tape.
Our newest car, a '13 requires a special $100 tool to reset the TPMS system after the tires are rotated so I have to run to the dealer or else deal with the tire location mismatch.
Check EBay for a deal with senders but make sure that they are brand new or else the battery life will be compromised. Then you get to pay a tire person to install them.
“Tire Pressure Monitoring” systems make about as much sense as “Radio On/Off” sensors and “Steering Wheel Nut Tightness” sensors on a vehicle. Where does it end folks? Checking tire pressure is probably one of the easiest tasks there is. If you can’t manage that then you have no business in the driver’s seat.
TPMS systems are not easily disabled as they are federally mandated on all cars now sold in the US, just as catalytic converters and seat belts are. In fact, strictly speaking I can not purposefully disable the TPMS system on a customer’s car any more legally than I can remove a catalytic converter.
The most economical solution is to deal with the warning light being on. Or have the offending sensor replaced.
How about what Ray and Tom sometimes tell the callers with this type of problem, just put some black tape over the tps warning light on the dashboard? I think that’s probably what I’d do in this situation provided the cause was just that some of the in-tire sensors or their batteries were bad. One caution, some cars do this function not with pressure sensors in the tires but with wheel speed sensors instead, and if that’s the case with this car, a wheel speed sensor on the fritz could affect the abs function, so then it would be more important to fix.
A few years ago, I had a flat tire when it was time to go back to the US. So, I asked a cousin to get if repaired for me. When he brought it back, it had hammer marks all over it. he took it to guys who hammer the tire off, instead of using air pressure devices. I was not happy.
Anyway, I went to Texas, then drove to Virginia or Ohio, I forget. As I crossed Georgia at 70 mph, the tire light came on. I stopped and checked the tire pressure. All okay.
I drove on and it came on again. I pulled in a rest stop and checked. The tire had gone out of round and was obviously ready to blow.
So, missileman, there are other benefits to the speed sensor tire monitor that cannot be solved by checking pressure regularly. It saved me from a high speed blowout.
I did not need a rocket scientist to tell me the hammer job destroyed my tire. I found a man who uses an air pressure device.
@irlandes…you were born with all the sensors you needed to take care of that situation. I would have never left on a trip if I had seen the tire was abused. I would have bought a new one and been on my way. I’m glad you didn’t have a blowout but you knew there could be a problem with the tire further on down the road. You didn’t need a TPMS to tell you that.
@missileman: A “Steering Wheel Nut Tightness” sensor would be great, but only if the indicator light was on the outside of the vehicle. There are far too many vehicles on the road in which the nut behind the wheel is loose!
I appreciate all the comments but this is not a new issue. It has been going on for a year and no real issues has arisen…just a bad sensor. I just want it to go away…I can check my air pressures myself.
Live with it or pay the man to fix it
I, for one, will not tell you how to disable the TPMS system
I can’t speak for anyone else
Thankfully, TPMS is NOT required to be operational to pass my (PA) inspection. Same with ABS. I think my dad’s have been lit since 2009-ish; when I him about it, he tells me “If you squint just right, it kinda looks like Christmas.”
Point being, TPMS is a FEDERAL requirement for SELLERS of cars. It’s up to the states to decide what’s required to be street legal. Hopefully, your state doesn’t just “rubber stamp” every scheme D.C. dreams up.
(Also, if you read the legalese re: TPMS–I have–OWNERS of cars are NOT prohibited from removing it…and driving over it…and swinging a sledge at it…and…)
A mechanic is not legally allowed to disable TPMS
Please don’t try to pay anybody to disable the system
…which is why I specifically emphasized “owners.”
db, you’re right…but once TPMS IS inop, mechanics aren’t obligated to fix it–they won’t send you off on bald tires 'cause you won’t authorize the TPMS fix.
(So, if “something unfortunate” happens to your TPMS prior to mech work, you can save some $. (Not that you should, but you could.)
Ok…I see what I’m up against. And I appreciate the answers but this is not just a “light being on” issue. Every time we go anywhere the bells go off and the light flashes and does so every 50 miles or so.
@mysterryman…there are a lot of others in the same boat as you when it comes to something government bureaucrats thought up to “improve” motor vehicles. I hate ethanol in my gasoline but I have to buy it because it was mandated years ago by people who should have known better.
Actually I like the TPMS. No matter how often you get on your hands and knees to check tire pressure, if you run over something on the road, you get advanced warning there is a problem. A quick check on the dash as you are driving also tells you there is no problem. Maybe a problem as the car ages but I’ve never had them older than five years yet but like them. We were 400 miles from home and the light went off showing I was losing air. I was able to take the next exit to get air that enabled me to ge the next 30 miles to a town large enough for a repair. Otherwise I would have been changing a tire on the road which is not fun or safe.
I wonder what would happen if you located the receiver unit and disconnected that? Might be worth a try.