Why is Your Tire Pressure light on (TPMS)
Why is Your Tire Pressure light on: A flat tire is a pain in the neck whenever it happens, and it never happens at a good time. TPMS system was invented to reduce that pain and to warn in advance what is about to happen.
What is TPMS or Tire Pressure Monitor
TPMS stands for Tire Pressure Monitoring System and is designed to warn drivers when tire pressure falls below normal specifications. TPMS has been a mandatory safety system in North America since 2007. Cars sold in US or Canada need to have factory installed TPMS sensors on all wheels.
Location of TPMS sensors: TPMS sensors are located inside each wheel. Sensor is fitted to inner part of vehicle rims and is directly under tire air pressure, providing exact information about tire pressure readings.
How Tire Pressure Monitor works
There are two TPMS systems, Indirect Tire Pressure Monitor and Direct Tire Pressure Monitor.
Indirect Tire Pressure Monitor
Indirect tire pressure monitoring works by using ABS sensors. ABS system will monitor revolutions on each wheel, deflated tires will have a smaller diameter and will spin faster.
ABS system will compare each wheel to optimal specifications and will trigger a tire pressure warning light if a wheel is spinning faster than the rest. Indirect TPMS is less prone to failures as it does not have any sensors but is far more inaccurate compared to Direct TPMS.
Direct Tire Pressure Monitor
Direct pressure monitoring is modern version of tire pressure monitoring and is installed on all vehicles presently. TPMS has individual sensors installed on each wheel. Sensors are connected wirelessly and send tire pressure information to ECM (Central Control Module).
ECM will trigger a tire pressure warning light if tire pressure falls 20% below optimal pressure. Direct TPMS can also send information about wheel or tire temperature.
TPMS sensors are battery operated, with up to 10 years battery lifespan, give or take. Sensor batteries cannot be changed. Tire pressure sensors need to be discarded and replaced with new sensors when battery runs out.
What to do When Tire Pressure Light Comes On
Do not neglect it and check tire pressure as soon as possible. Pull over to a gas station or if you have a tire pump handy and inflate tires as required. Tire inflation specification pressures are usually located on a label inside driver’s door.
Depending on type of monitoring system in your car, TPMS will either have a general warning light or in premium cars will pinpoint the deflated tire, and in some cases even display exact pressure numbers for each tire.
Reset Tire Pressure System manually after inflating tires to correct pressure. Refer to owner manual as every car has a different procedure to reset TPMS. Some Tire Pressure monitor systems will reset automatically after tires are inflated or after a short drive.
Do You Need New Pressure Sensors with New Tires
No, you don’t need to buy new tire pressure sensors when changing to new tires. TPMS or tire pressure sensors are replaced only when battery runs out or sensor fails. Usually sensor battery will last at least 6 years and up to 10 years. However, will mostly depending on weather and environment vehicle is operated.
TPMS Sensor Price: TPMS sensor prices will vary depending on type of sensor and model of vehicle but usually will hover around $60 to $80 per sensor. However, on some premium cars, tire pressure sensors can cost upwards of $150.
Pressure Sensor or TPMS failure
Tire pressure warning light will be triggered if one of sensors lose communication with ECM or if there is a problem with TPMS system per se.
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