Tire Warning

[Dawgbyt]

I bought my 2010 Expedition 4x4 a year ago from Trucks Only in Phoenix, AZ. (I live in Flagstaff, AZ, about 2hrs away.) They are well known for lifting and putting on over sized tires and racks on their cars before selling them. They did the same thing with the car I purchased from them. Anyway, the past couple months I have been getting a tire warning alert, it happens after I have driven it for a while. Then it pretty much stays on the entire time (or a new tire warning comes on if the warning light turns off, this happens over and over.) Its a loud beeping sound as well as a light on my dash. I have checked the tires and do not see a nail or anything in any of the them and have checked the pressure many times which has always been fine in all the tires. The tires are still in good shape with little wear. The warning is not only very annoying but is also troubling, since I often drive back and forth between AZ and CA alone. I do not have a spare the same size as the tires that are on there either, just what is underneath the vehicle (a standard tire.) I have Triple A, but it is still unsettling, makes you think is a tire going to blow out when I am passing an 18 wheeler? Anything is possible when it comes to tires.

My question to you is, what would you do if it were your car, your wife's, daughter's, or mother's car?

Thanks in advance.

 

[bobmbx]

You may be getting a high tire pressure alert. As the tire rolls, it will heat up and the air expands, causing a pressure rise. Over-size tires produce more heat because they produce more friction both to the road surface and within the tire itself.

Check your pressures when the tires are cold (in the morning before driving), then as soon as the alert pops up, pull over and check each tire's pressure again.

It could also be one or more of the TPMS sensor batteries is getting weak. Those batteries generally have a life span of around 7 years. Do you know how old yours are? Your truck is 7-8 years old now, so it could be time for new sensors.

 

[Dawgbyt]

Thank you Bobmbx!
I know it has something to do with the tires warming up, since it doesnt do it when they are cold I will check the pressure before I drive it and when it goes off to check the difference. I thought it could be related to altitude (I live at 7000' elevation), but ruled that out when it was going off in CA as well at sea level. I do not know even what TPMS sensors are or where the batteries are located for that (I am a single girl ) but can have a mechanic check / replace them for me. Hopefully its not too expensive. Interesting enough, it goes off whether its below freezing and in the teens, or over 100 degrees. The fact it wasnt going off this summer, leads me to believe it definitely could be the sensor batteries you mentioned. Thank you again, really appreciate it.

 

[bobmbx]

TPMS is the Tire Pressure Monitoring System. It monitors your tire pressure and set an alarm when it get too low (or too high). The sensors are located inside each tire, either as a part of the valve stem or strapped to the inside of the wheel itself.

Strapped:
https://acdn.americanmuscle.com/i/20121021091010_8019.jpg

Valve stem:
https://www.stevejenkins.com/blog/w...11/tire-pressure-monitoring-system-sensor.jpg

Being a girl has nothing to do with this, btw

There is no real way to check the battery condition, as they are not replaceable. You'll need a whole new sensor if thats the problem.

 

[Dawgbyt]

Great info, thank you for educating me!!

 

[Dawgbyt]

Since the tires are only a year old and were replaced with brand new bigger rims and tires, wouldnt the tire sensors be a year old as well? Just wondering?

 

[bobmbx]

Not necessarily. If you have the strap version, they can be easily swapped to a different wheel, so you still may have the factory sensors. If you have the valve stem version, its more likely they were replaced because you're not 'supposed' to re-use valve stems. Check your bill for the tires if you have it. The sensors should be listed if they were replaced. Or the shop that did it may be able to tell you.

 

[Dawgbyt]

I will call the dealer and try and find out what I can.
Thank you.

 

[Flexpedition]

Not necessarily. If you have the strap version, they can be easily swapped to a different wheel, so you still may have the factory sensors. If you have the valve stem version, its more likely they were replaced because you're not 'supposed' to re-use valve stems. Check your bill for the tires if you have it. The sensors should be listed if they were replaced. Or the shop that did it may be able to tell you.

Not 100% sure I follow you this. When the TPMS sensor is attached to the metal sleeve style valve stem, the valve stem core is replaceable and should be replaced as its common practice to remove the old to speed up deflation. Its a $2 charge/each wheel give or take.

Shops don't (rather shouldn't) replace the entire TPMS when changing wheels. My factory sensors are currently installed on aftermarket wheel set number 4.

I'll agree non-TPMS rubber valve stems shouldn't be reused and band type sensors should be.

 

[bobmbx]

Not 100% sure I follow you this. When the TPMS sensor is attached to the metal sleeve style valve stem, the valve stem core is replaceable and should be replaced as its common practice to remove the old to speed up deflation. Its a $2 charge/each wheel give or take.

Shops don't (rather shouldn't) replace the entire TPMS when changing wheels. My factory sensors are currently installed on aftermarket wheel set number 4.

I'll agree non-TPMS rubber valve stems shouldn't be reused and band type sensors should be.

Thats why I recommended the OP check with the shop to find out. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. They would have been 6-7 years old at that point.

The point is that a battery may be causing the TPMS alarm. If they're only a year old, then the problem is most likely something else. To my knowledge, I've never had the valve stem TPMS sensors on a car of mine.

 

[Dawgbyt]

Since they are over 2 hrs away (one way) - the Car Dealership, and its been a year since I bought the car from them, do you think if I took the car to a local place like Just Tires or America's Tire, they could check it out / figure it out / fix it?

 

[bobmbx]

Lets first find out if the pressure in the tires is the problem first. Thats free.

 

[sjwelds]

This thread strikes a chord with me, as I have been having an intermittent "tire pressure sensor fault" notification pop up on me.

A few months ago I had new tires installed by my Ford dealership, and they said the sensors were fine. I don't know how they can tell. They did have to replace one of the bands that hold the sensor, as the tech messed it up when he took the tire off. (They did this on their dime, which I thought spoke well of the dealership)

Now a few months later, the intermittent fault message... Sigh. Should have probably just sprung for new sensors while they had the tires off.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Since they are over 2 hrs away (one way) - the Car Dealership, and its been a year since I bought the car from them, do you think if I took the car to a local place like Just Tires or America's Tire, they could check it out / figure it out / fix it?

To answer your question any tire shop can check your sensors. The have a device they use to "train" them so they talk to the vehicle's computer. But like Bob said, check your pressures in the morning preferable before the sun shines on the tire and heats them up. then check them when you get the warning. You might also find that that tires are within a half a pound of each other and they heat up at different rates and that could make the sensor go off because the tires are not at the same pressure within the normal range for the sensor.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

This thread strikes a chord with me, as I have been having an intermittent "tire pressure sensor fault" notification pop up on me.

A few months ago I had new tires installed by my Ford dealership, and they said the sensors were fine. I don't know how they can tell. They did have to replace one of the bands that hold the sensor, as the tech messed it up when he took the tire off. (They did this on their dime, which I thought spoke well of the dealership)

Now a few months later, the intermittent fault message... Sigh. Should have probably just sprung for new sensors while they had the tires off.

Sensors will last 7-10 years depending on how often you drive. The sensors check in with the computer about once an hour when the vehicle is parked and it when the vehicle is moving the sensor checks in more often but I can't remember how often. If I remember correctly they have centrifugal switches in them.

 

[sjwelds]

Hmm. Mine's an 08, so that would sound about right...

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Hmm. Mine's an 08, so that would sound about right...

They are probably getting close to end of life.

 

[Adieu]

Your sensors could be messed up or something.

Also, your sensors could be calibrated to a lowish profile Passenger tire (~30-40 psi cold), while you might be running an LT rated big ass truck tire whose hot tire pressures can be 50-80psi

 

[Adieu]

I bought my 2010 Expedition 4x4 a year ago from Trucks Only in Phoenix, AZ. (I live in Flagstaff, AZ, about 2hrs away.) They are well known for lifting and putting on over sized tires and racks on their cars before selling them. They did the same thing with the car I purchased from them. Anyway, the past couple months I have been getting a tire warning alert, it happens after I have driven it for a while. Then it pretty much stays on the entire time (or a new tire warning comes on if the warning light turns off, this happens over and over.) Its a loud beeping sound as well as a light on my dash. I have checked the tires and do not see a nail or anything in any of the them and have checked the pressure many times which has always been fine in all the tires. The tires are still in good shape with little wear. The warning is not only very annoying but is also troubling, since I often drive back and forth between AZ and CA alone. I do not have a spare the same size as the tires that are on there either, just what is underneath the vehicle (a standard tire.) I have Triple A, but it is still unsettling, makes you think is a tire going to blow out when I am passing an 18 wheeler? Anything is possible when it comes to tires.

My question to you is, what would you do if it were your car, your wife's, daughter's, or mother's car?

Thanks in advance.

PS get yourself a tire pressure gauge. One of the big dial ones with a relief valve.

TPMS ***solely*** measures tire pressure, and if your truck isnt equipped with a numerical readout for each wheel in psi, then in effect the alert ONLY signals an unexpected reading....if you got TPMS beeping for one specific wheel, you measure them and they're all the same (or both fronts and both rears match), then it's a sensor glitch.


PPS *****if***** youve been to a lousy mechanic or quicklube or dealership recently with LT tires and DIDNT tell them to fill it up to 40-45-50-whatever you usually run, then your TPMS is pinging you very correctly about ALL four tires being drastically low @~32psi. And if you go to a chain shop and have their gofer dropout loser measure your tires, he'll come back and say ALL OK BOSS....

....filling up to 32 all around only actually works for small front wheel drive sedans though. Trucks, sportscars, etc., you EVER go into a service station you ALWAYS tell em "dont touch the tires" OR "fill em up to XX front, YY rear" (and then check anyway, its usually 5 or so psi off).

In many jurisdictions like CA there's an actual rule that says these punks are supposed to check and adjust your tires UNLESS you specifically tell em not to, and arent obligated to tell you they did..."technically" theyre supposed to adjust fill to correct pressures, but in practice 95% of these ******** will bleed all 4 tires down to 32psi.

 

[1997SCEBFEX]

perhaps I missed it, air or nitrogen filled?
hope you figure it out.