Detective Work - Dealer Misleading
 

Situation:

I have had the winter tires & rims for about 3-4 months and suddenly the tire pressure light comes on a week ago.

Ok cool, I check the tire pressure, re-fill a tire that was a little low and figure it's going to go off.

Nope, it stays on in spite of all the tires being at 35psi. (I even tried 32psi)

I drive like this for a week thinking that one of the sensors is faulty... light is always on but the tires are fine so who cares.

One week later, I go to the dealer and he tells me I don't have any tire sensors on the car (and if I want this problem to go away, I should buy 4 of them at $50/piece).

My question: Wtf?! If my tires haven't had sensors on them ALL winter then why wasn't the light on for 3 months?!

His answer: "Oh, it just takes time for the computer to calculate things"

Alright, I'm not convinced but fine.

I get back into my car to drive off and I notice: "The tire pressure light is off!!"

WTF?

I call them: "Did you reset the computer?" Assuming this is why the light was off.

Dealer: "Nope, we didn't do anything. Didn't reset the computer. It's just random like that sometimes".

OK BS.

There's no way that I was driving around for 1-2 weeks with the light on.. I go to the dealer, they do "nothing" and then magically the light is off.

My questions:
What really happened?

Is there a way to 'soft reset' something like the tire pressure? Is there a secret computer option they don't want to talk about? Are there pressure sensors I don't know about?

RESOLVED: Thanks. I didn't know there were wireless sensors.

My light doesn't go off on its own until I park next to my stock wheels. The dealer musta did something to your car or the sensor is indeed defective.

Your winter rims probably don't have sensor. Each night you park at the garage, you are probably close to your OEM wheel and tires so the car thinks your tires pressure is ok and it takes a bit of of time for the car the realize that you don't have senors but just before the light triggers you probably went back home and parked your car again close to your OEM set before the computer realizes anything.. lol

Don't know if I made much sense

This happened to me all the time when I swapped winter wheels on the previous car. If you are away from your stockies for a little while, the light will turn on.

As far as the dealership, I really wouldn't worry about it. This is not a problem you need to stress over.

Oh, so the sensors work wirelessly and if they are near tires in good conditions... the light will go off?

hahaa well that would explain things.

the sensor is prob telling you that your summer tires in the garage need air not the winters on the car

Everything already stated is correct except maybe what the member above me said.

I don't have a garage so I kept my stock wheels in my basement when I had the winter tires on. Every morning when I sat in the car for 3-4 minutes to warm it up, the light would go away because it could pick up the sensors on the stock wheels/tires.

After I drove a continuous ~15 miles, the light would come on. I had it down to a science where I knew where the light would come on during my drive to or from work.

Indeed I did supramkivtt2jz

Yes, the car checks for the sensors every so often, at least once a day, or after a certain time of operation. It basically pings them.

However, the sensors will activate if one of your tires gets low, so its called an "Active" TPMS. Just keep an eye on your tire pressure every so often, and you will be fine.

What the hell?!?

Im 100% sure he was replying to this thread

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13173

he just clicked the wrong thing, scrolled down and replied without looking

It definitely pings them at least every 15-18 miles of continuous driving.

Use google, search for "TPMS bomb".

Build one.

My light goes off if I drive 20 miles in a trip. Eventually after a few short trips in town the light automatically turns off. I park in my garage but my summer tires with sensors are in the basement on the opposite side of where the garage is.