So i've always read about people who couldn't get these lights off. I now have the opposite problem. I just put on my winter tires and was expecting the PSI indicator to come on as usual as I don't have the sensors in these tires. Funny thing is it has never turned on. Now I can live with that I guess, but then I let the car slip a bit and my SLIP indicator wasn't coming on either. Im kind of curious as to why none of the indicators are lighting up.

 

PSI light only comes on about about 30-45 minutes of driving. Once you turn the car off, the "clock" resets so it has to be continuous. Slip light shouldn't come on just because you changed wheels - it all has to do with relative tire sizes.

 

I know that. I was curious to see how far I took take these wheels before slipping. So I played around a little to get the back end going. The car is killing acceleration and everything but the light never comes on.

 

typically the TPS system won't light up until you've driven more than 30 minutes without a complete stop.

 

What are your tire sizes? ...Front size and rear size.

EDIT: I'm looking at the SLIP problem (and not the TPMS issue).

--Spike

 

i've got a slow leak in one of my tires, have to press it up about once every 2-3 weeks. the light comes on by the time i get to the end of my street, about 200 yards and seems to always come on when tire pressure drops to 30 psi.

 

The sensors react differently when you have functional sensors in the wheel responding.

If you have functional ones, they'll notify you after you go approx 20 mph. (don't quote me on that speed)

If you don't have sensors or your sensors are not functional (ie, dead batteries,) they'll notify you after 30 minutes of continuous driving with no stopping.

 

We talking about two different scenarios. When you have low pressure, the warning comes on immediately. You get the continual beep and the (!) and the pressures in the gauge cluster. When you don't have the sensors on the car (swapped wheels), you get a single beep and the (!) light stays on. There is no low-pressure warning displayed. The latter is what bender is talking about, the former is your problem.

 

Anyone have an explanation why he experiences traction loss but doesn't see the SLIP light?

--Spike

 

Light burned out? It's obviously kicking in since he says it cuts power.

 

That’s my thought on this. But, his problem is certainly an “orphan.” I haven’t seen this reported by anyone else, so I wonder. I reserve any comments until he reports his tire sizes (front and rear).

--Spike

 

Maybe his car is in stealth mode?

 

Nevermind, SLIP indicator is working. I think I thought it wasn't coming on because it's VERY delayed now with my winter wheels. I'll get the back-end going and I have to keep it slipping after the computer kills the acceleration atleast twice, then it'll flash. Good enough for now, I was just worried that it wasn't working at all. Thanks for your help.

 

That still isn’t how it should operate. The SLIP indicator should illuminate about the time TCS kills power to the rear wheels. And, I wonder why you are able to do this -- “I have to keep it slipping after the computer kills the acceleration” –since TCS should have killed power and stopped the slipping. But then you say “at least twice, then it'll flash.”

I think your “test” methodology may be faulty. Here is what is probably going on. When initiating the “test;” you start spinning the rears, lose some forward momentum, and expect TCS to kill power and see the SLIP light. You are expecting an event. In fact there isn’t enough traction loss to activate TCS. When you press down harder on the accelerator generating more rear wheel spin; TCS engages, kills the power and illuminates the SLIP light.

If that isn’t the case, then it’s probably tire sizes. That’s why I asked about this. The first set of snows I drove on was not sized correctly. In this case (wrong sizes) you get almost the reverse of what you expect from TCS. TCS occasionally engages when it shouldn’t (when your rear tires are not slipping) and doesn’t engage reliable when it should (rear tires are slipping).

Or, it could be a combination of these.

--Spike