The Tire Pressure Indicator Saga (who's right Nissan or me)?
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The Tire Pressure Indicator Saga (who's right Nissan or me)?
There are two postings here by me which ask the same question. One is a short version, one is a long version. There is also a SUPER long version to this sage which I haven't posted.
Acronymys used to make this a bit shorter
RR - Right Rear tire
LR - Left Rear tire
RF - Right Front tire
LF - Left Front Tire
TPI - Tire Pressure Indictator
Short Version:
My 350Z has TPI on the tires. A problem (in detail in second posting) caused me to need to have the TPIs on the following tires RF, RR and LR to be switched to RR, RL and RF respectively. The short version of the reason that I needed this done was because I believe that the RR TPI was giving the reading for the RF tire, and the RR TPI was giving the reading for the LR tire and so on.
I took my Z to Discount Tire (again, see below) to have this accomplished. Discount Tire called a Nissan Service (Planet Nissan in Las Vegas, NV) and the Nissan Service rep told the Discount Tire people that the TPI are positional, and NOT indicative of which tire they are attached to. For example, according to the Nissan Service rep, if you move the TPI from the RF tire to the RR tire it is going to start giving out information for the RR tire because it's closest to the Right Rear portion of the car.
My position is that it does not (see below for LONG explanation). My position is that the RF TPI is tied to the computer as being the RF TPI so it needs to be with the RF tire and so on.
My question to you dear reader is who is correct? Me or the Nissan Service rep?
For answers to why I am asking this question and the continuance of a long saga please read the next posting.
Acronymys used to make this a bit shorter
RR - Right Rear tire
LR - Left Rear tire
RF - Right Front tire
LF - Left Front Tire
TPI - Tire Pressure Indictator
Short Version:
My 350Z has TPI on the tires. A problem (in detail in second posting) caused me to need to have the TPIs on the following tires RF, RR and LR to be switched to RR, RL and RF respectively. The short version of the reason that I needed this done was because I believe that the RR TPI was giving the reading for the RF tire, and the RR TPI was giving the reading for the LR tire and so on.
I took my Z to Discount Tire (again, see below) to have this accomplished. Discount Tire called a Nissan Service (Planet Nissan in Las Vegas, NV) and the Nissan Service rep told the Discount Tire people that the TPI are positional, and NOT indicative of which tire they are attached to. For example, according to the Nissan Service rep, if you move the TPI from the RF tire to the RR tire it is going to start giving out information for the RR tire because it's closest to the Right Rear portion of the car.
My position is that it does not (see below for LONG explanation). My position is that the RF TPI is tied to the computer as being the RF TPI so it needs to be with the RF tire and so on.
My question to you dear reader is who is correct? Me or the Nissan Service rep?
For answers to why I am asking this question and the continuance of a long saga please read the next posting.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas
There are two postings here by me which ask the same question. One is a short version, one is a long version. There is also a SUPER long version to this sage which I haven't posted.
Acronymys used to make this a bit shorter
RR - Right Rear tire
LR - Left Rear tire
RF - Right Front tire
LF - Left Front Tire
TPI - Tire Pressure Indictator
Long Version:
I like many others was a victim of the Tire Feathering issue which has been detailed so many times that if you don't know about it then you just haven't had your Z long enough and you haven't been reading this board. My car had approximately 20,000 miles on it when the issue became an "issue". After many a fight with Nissan and others (another long story which I won't go into here) I gave in and bought brand new tires for my 350Z from Discount Tire in July 2004.
In late August 2004, I had an accident. A drugged out of his head driver hit the back left side of my Z. He was caught (by me no less - a very interesting tale for those that want to hear it) but after the police arrived it was discovered that I could not drive my car as the LR tire was bent in and would have to be towed away.
It took six weeks to get my Z repaired (oh, another interesting tale that has not yet ended). I got her back in October, 2004. Now on top of everything else, I have been unemployed for a little over a year now (I had a bad year in 2004). So, I just wasn't driving my Z very much at all. But, I did start to notice that the RR TPI was telling me that the tire was losing pressure. VERY slowly. It was at 40PSI in early October and by mid December it was down to 28PSI (combine the fact that the cold weather also makes the PSI be low). So, I took the car into Discount Tire and asked them to look at the RR tire.
According to Discount Tire, there was no leak. The tire was fine. They looked it over as best they could but couldn't find a leak. After they gave me the car back however, they mentioned (just offhanded) that the LR tire didn't have a sensor in it at all. How could that be? The computer was telling me that there was definitely a sensor and was telling me the pressure of the tire so it had to be there right?
Now the LR tire was of course the one that was worked on when I had repairs done after my accident. So, I called the company that repaired the car (Fairway Chevrolet - recommended by my insurance company) if the TPI was left out of the tire? They said it was unlikely but it was possible and to come down and they would check on it. Well, I didn't. And the reason I didn't is the computer was telling me there was a sensor in the tire and Fairway Chevrolet was 30 miles away. So I let it go.
Side Note 1: This is very important to this story. I hate the TPI's. They break all the time. One is out currently and I have two others that come and go. They'll work for a while and then they'll stop working. This is very important information.
So, a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that the RR tire was getting low again (according to the computer). So, I got my hand gauge out and looked at it myself. The RR tire was perfectly fine. So, on a whim I decided to check the other tires. It turned out that the RF tire was low! Everything clicked into place all at once for me. The TPI's HAD to be on the wrong tires. And since the computer was telling me nothing about the tire pressure for the RF tire, it had to be the one that was missing!
My next move was to call Fairway Chevrolet back and have them look at the tire. They looked at it, and discovered that there was no sensor in the tire. The had outsourced the tire to be fixed by a third party and they found the TPI and put it back in.
Side Note 2 (question actually): The TPI was out of the RF tire for a LONG time. Even though it is now back in the car, it does not register. Is it possible that the TPI is fine it just needs to be recalibrated? Fairway Chevrolet is sending me to a Nissan dealer to get it fixed but I'm curious as to whether or not the TPI is broken or not.
Anyway, after they put the sensor back in the LR tire, I went to Discount again. I knew which tire had the leak and I knew why everything was mixed up. They must have put the wrong TPIs with the wrong tires when they put my tires on back in July 2004. So, I tell them that what's wrong and they start to work on the car. Now, I do NOT blame Discount Tire at all in this matter (except for mixing up the TPIs). I definitely don't blame them for calling a Nissan Service place and asking them if they REALLY needed to break down all those tires, take the TPIs out and put them in the place I requested and then put the tires back. That's a lot of work if it was unnecessary to do it. And that's exactly what the Nissan Service rep told them. According to the Nissan Service rep, it only matters where the TPIs are in relation to the car. The TPIs are NOT associated with each tire specifically. (I give a better explanation in the short version above). So, the Discount Tire reps came to me and told me this and I said that's impossible.
I had two reasons for MY theory. One, the tire on the RF was low and the computer was telling me it was the tire on the RR. Secondly, I had no sensor in the LR for a while but the computer was telling me that I did. Both are very valid reasons to me that the Nissan Service rep was wrong. So, the Discount Tire people went back in and started to work and then the manager came out and basically pleaded with me to not make them do the work. (Again, I don't blame him.) But I was determined, I wanted the sensors moved. And so they did. (Thank you Discount Tire people for putting up with me.)
So, to end this story, the Discount Tire people put my car back together. Found the leak in the RF tire and fixed it and moved the sensors to where I wanted them. They put all the tire pressure to 40PSI and they gave me my keys. On the way home, I waited for the computer to register the tires. The LR tire was at 39PSI according to the computer. I stopped and bled some air out of the tire and drove some more. It now registers 35PSI. This also tells me that I am correct in my assumption, and that the Nissan Service rep is out of his freaking mind.
I am writing a letter to about a dozen people in regards to this. I'm real ticked off that the Discount Tire people were told incorrect information from a Nissan Service rep. It made the ordeal that much harder. But I wanted to ask people who are in the know about this?
Are the TPIs positional (Nissan's position) or are they tied to being the LF, RF, RR, LR tires (My position)?
Thanks for you responses,
Thoalex
Acronymys used to make this a bit shorter
RR - Right Rear tire
LR - Left Rear tire
RF - Right Front tire
LF - Left Front Tire
TPI - Tire Pressure Indictator
Long Version:
I like many others was a victim of the Tire Feathering issue which has been detailed so many times that if you don't know about it then you just haven't had your Z long enough and you haven't been reading this board. My car had approximately 20,000 miles on it when the issue became an "issue". After many a fight with Nissan and others (another long story which I won't go into here) I gave in and bought brand new tires for my 350Z from Discount Tire in July 2004.
In late August 2004, I had an accident. A drugged out of his head driver hit the back left side of my Z. He was caught (by me no less - a very interesting tale for those that want to hear it) but after the police arrived it was discovered that I could not drive my car as the LR tire was bent in and would have to be towed away.
It took six weeks to get my Z repaired (oh, another interesting tale that has not yet ended). I got her back in October, 2004. Now on top of everything else, I have been unemployed for a little over a year now (I had a bad year in 2004). So, I just wasn't driving my Z very much at all. But, I did start to notice that the RR TPI was telling me that the tire was losing pressure. VERY slowly. It was at 40PSI in early October and by mid December it was down to 28PSI (combine the fact that the cold weather also makes the PSI be low). So, I took the car into Discount Tire and asked them to look at the RR tire.
According to Discount Tire, there was no leak. The tire was fine. They looked it over as best they could but couldn't find a leak. After they gave me the car back however, they mentioned (just offhanded) that the LR tire didn't have a sensor in it at all. How could that be? The computer was telling me that there was definitely a sensor and was telling me the pressure of the tire so it had to be there right?
Now the LR tire was of course the one that was worked on when I had repairs done after my accident. So, I called the company that repaired the car (Fairway Chevrolet - recommended by my insurance company) if the TPI was left out of the tire? They said it was unlikely but it was possible and to come down and they would check on it. Well, I didn't. And the reason I didn't is the computer was telling me there was a sensor in the tire and Fairway Chevrolet was 30 miles away. So I let it go.
Side Note 1: This is very important to this story. I hate the TPI's. They break all the time. One is out currently and I have two others that come and go. They'll work for a while and then they'll stop working. This is very important information.
So, a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that the RR tire was getting low again (according to the computer). So, I got my hand gauge out and looked at it myself. The RR tire was perfectly fine. So, on a whim I decided to check the other tires. It turned out that the RF tire was low! Everything clicked into place all at once for me. The TPI's HAD to be on the wrong tires. And since the computer was telling me nothing about the tire pressure for the RF tire, it had to be the one that was missing!
My next move was to call Fairway Chevrolet back and have them look at the tire. They looked at it, and discovered that there was no sensor in the tire. The had outsourced the tire to be fixed by a third party and they found the TPI and put it back in.
Side Note 2 (question actually): The TPI was out of the RF tire for a LONG time. Even though it is now back in the car, it does not register. Is it possible that the TPI is fine it just needs to be recalibrated? Fairway Chevrolet is sending me to a Nissan dealer to get it fixed but I'm curious as to whether or not the TPI is broken or not.
Anyway, after they put the sensor back in the LR tire, I went to Discount again. I knew which tire had the leak and I knew why everything was mixed up. They must have put the wrong TPIs with the wrong tires when they put my tires on back in July 2004. So, I tell them that what's wrong and they start to work on the car. Now, I do NOT blame Discount Tire at all in this matter (except for mixing up the TPIs). I definitely don't blame them for calling a Nissan Service place and asking them if they REALLY needed to break down all those tires, take the TPIs out and put them in the place I requested and then put the tires back. That's a lot of work if it was unnecessary to do it. And that's exactly what the Nissan Service rep told them. According to the Nissan Service rep, it only matters where the TPIs are in relation to the car. The TPIs are NOT associated with each tire specifically. (I give a better explanation in the short version above). So, the Discount Tire reps came to me and told me this and I said that's impossible.
I had two reasons for MY theory. One, the tire on the RF was low and the computer was telling me it was the tire on the RR. Secondly, I had no sensor in the LR for a while but the computer was telling me that I did. Both are very valid reasons to me that the Nissan Service rep was wrong. So, the Discount Tire people went back in and started to work and then the manager came out and basically pleaded with me to not make them do the work. (Again, I don't blame him.) But I was determined, I wanted the sensors moved. And so they did. (Thank you Discount Tire people for putting up with me.)
So, to end this story, the Discount Tire people put my car back together. Found the leak in the RF tire and fixed it and moved the sensors to where I wanted them. They put all the tire pressure to 40PSI and they gave me my keys. On the way home, I waited for the computer to register the tires. The LR tire was at 39PSI according to the computer. I stopped and bled some air out of the tire and drove some more. It now registers 35PSI. This also tells me that I am correct in my assumption, and that the Nissan Service rep is out of his freaking mind.
I am writing a letter to about a dozen people in regards to this. I'm real ticked off that the Discount Tire people were told incorrect information from a Nissan Service rep. It made the ordeal that much harder. But I wanted to ask people who are in the know about this?
Are the TPIs positional (Nissan's position) or are they tied to being the LF, RF, RR, LR tires (My position)?
Thanks for you responses,
Thoalex
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
From: Richmond,Virginia
Although you are well informed, I would have to agree with the dealer on this point. You actually could put anyone of those sensors in anyone of the wheels and if caliobrated correctly,it should read the tire pressure for that specific wheel. I think it all has to do with the positioning of the sensor inside the wheel. When I went to an aftermarket wheel,the wheel shop put the sensors in at random. Nothing was designated as right front or right left,etc. I just had to go to dealer and get them recalibrated and it has worked fine ever since.Now if you find through your research, that I am incorrect please let me know. I am just giving you my experience. I would like to know the definite truth on this situation.2005 350zr.
Last edited by kimara; Mar 14, 2005 at 05:29 AM.
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From: Las Vegas
Originally Posted by kimara
Although you are well informed, I would have to agree with the dealer on this point. You actually could put anyone of those sensors in anyone of the wheels and if caliobrated correctly,it should read the tire pressure for that specific wheel. I think it all has to do with the positioning of the sensor inside the wheel. When I went to an aftermarket wheel,the wheel shop put the sensors in at random. Nothing was designated as right front or right left,etc. I just had to go to dealer and get them recalibrated and it has worked fine ever since.Now if you find through your research, that I am incorrect please let me know. I am just giving you my experience. I would like to know the definite truth on this situation.2005 350zr.
I am saying that if you have a sensor and it's calibrated for sending information to the computer's Right Front wheel display, it's going to ALWAYS send information to the computer's Right Front wheel display no matter what wheel it is on. (Until it is recalibrated to send information to a different computer's display which it can do without any problem)
The Nissan Service rep was saying that the sensor would send information to the computer's display depending on which tire it was in on the car. So if the sensor was in the Right Front tire, it would send information to the Right Front display, if it was in the Rear Left tire it would send information to the Rear Left display. WITHOUT calibration.
Is that a better job of the descriptions? I think you and I had the same issue, I just fixed it in a different way. I made the tire dealer put the sensors back in their correct positions while you went to Nissan and had them calibrate it for you. The reason I didn't do that is because Nissan charges $60 to calibrate the sensors. Plus, the Nissan dealers out here all don't want to work on the sensors because I don't have Nissan rims on the car.
Thoalex
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