Hello,

I was wondering if the cold could cause an issue with the tpms sensors?

It was the coldest day so far this winter yesterday, 6*F , and on my drive to work, one of the rear sensors was not being read. Same thing on the way home. I have a 2006 350Z that shows all 4 tire pressures.

Could it just be coincidence on the timing and it just crapped out? Car has 106, 000 miles.

Thanks for any input
Joe

 

Joe,

Most likely the TPMS sensor has stopped communicating with the car and needs to be reset.

Try and find a mechanic that will reset the TPMS for you for free. They'll use a small handheld device that communicates to the TPMS without having to remove the tire from the rim and it takes seconds to complete.

Don't go to the dealership because they will tell you the battery is done and they will charge you around $100 for a single TPMS unit plus labor, etc.

I've had this happen to me numerous times and a reset fixes the issue. Although once this issue starts, it's more likely to continue happening every 6 months or so. My light just came on this morning for the 2nd time on the same wheel (tire pressure is fine).

You can run with the TPMS error for a while, although the tire light is annoying and you won't know if you actually have a low pressure situation later on. It's up to you.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll go a local tire shop see if they can reset it.

Im no stranger to driving with the light on though. My summer wheels don't have TPMS in them so I drive all summer with the light on. I only have the OEM sensors in the OEM wheels that I use for my winter tires.

 

UPDATE

Never got around to going to a shop to attempt a reset.

But! Now my other rear TPMS is no longer working. Is this just a weird coincidence that 2months after getting new tires on the rear wheels only, that both sensors crap out? Could the shop have done something to expedite their failure? It felt like -40* C yesterday and the first sensor failed on a day that was about -20* C

Joe

 

Make sure air pressure is up; it drops when it gets real cold and can cause the light to come on. I had to add air recently during a cold spell, all 4 tires went down about 5 lbs., little shot of air, light was off. Give it a try anyway; don't think that 2 sensors would go out like that.

 

Could u just take back to the tire place and have them check? Shouldn't charge you I wouldn't think unless they are bad. And I don't have any tpms on my wheels and my light doesn't come on. Hmm. I won't complain about that. GL w your prob.

 

Put a piece of black electrical tape over the bulb. You'll need to remove the cluster.

 

If you do that, just disconnect the bulb

 

Bulb is LED & soldered.

 

I had the same thing happen recently during a cold spell here in upstate NY on my 08 Frontier pickup. I added some air to all my tires (35 psi), as a precaution and the TPMS light went out after a short drive. I would try adding some air to your tires as previously suggested.

 

That's why I said disconnect and not 'take bulb out'.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. The problem isn't pressure. My car is an 06 and my multi gauge actually gives me PSI readings for all 4 tires. Even if the pressure is low it will tell me what the pressure is. Using a tire pressure gauge, the rear tires are both at 32psi right now. What is happening now is the sensor is not even being recognized, represented by a " - - " on the screen for both " R " (rear) sensors. (see pics below) If a sensor is attempting to read PSI, it will flash " - - " till the PSI displays. If the sensor is not recognized or found it will be a solid " - - " such as what I experience over the summer with my wheels that don't have sensors.




I don't mind the light being on, I drive that way all summer because my summer wheels don't have sensors in them. I like being able to read the PSI off the gauge in the winter because of the fluctuation in temperatures and not having to manually read tire pressure in -0* weather.

I just find it too odd of a coincidence that only the rear sensors have failed. Especially given that I just had new tires put on the rear wheels and not the front wheels. Tires were done at a very reputable shop that works on mostly high end vehicles in the GTA. I guess next step is to call them to see if they have any suggestions.

 

Yeah, you may need to get them recalibrated, which is easy to do. I know the local dealer did mine in a few min. when I got new wheels, but charged about $50 for all 4. GL with it.

 

hopefully the shop that installed your tires didnt crack one of the sensors.

I cracked my first one on a Mercedes yesterday, but it was easily replaced at no cost.
But sometimes they can crack and not have anything wrong with them, until maybe the crack expands?

 

Sounds like the place who installed them somehow messed up.. it's annoying but I put a piece of tape over the bulb lol been like that for over 1 year

 

So I took my car back to the shop today. They used their programmer to read the sensors...which the programmer picked up just fine. However, they were both showing "Low Volt" which means that the batteries are dead/dying. So, they could reprogram them but it is likely it would just lose the programming once the battery fluctuated down too low again.

I opted not to have them reprogram them and with replacements being a bit pricey for a part that is very much not needed...I'm leaving it at that! Thanks for all the comments and help guys. I'll think about taking the cluster apart and blocking out that light once the weather warms up