TPMS Warning Light in Your Car – Causes and Solution
If a TPMS sign blinks on your vehicle’s dashboard, it can signal that the tire pressure is low. In any case, you should not ignore this sign, as maintaining optimum tire pressure is essential for the vehicle’s safety.
Tire pressure is necessary while maintain safety while travelling. Although many drivers consider it a small part of vehicle maintenance, low or high tire pressure can cause a significant accident.
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A report published by the Road Safety Authority (RSA)(3) illustrated that the tires were the most important factor causing around two third of the accidents reported between 2008 to 2012. In traditional vehicles, the owner has to take care of the tire pressure as there are no sensors or warning lights. However, modern vehicles have a TPMS (Tire Pressure Management Sensor) that will display a warning sign if the tire pressure is low. Another reason that can cause this light to blink on the vehicle’s dashboard is low tire pressure.
Importance of Maintaining the Correct Tire Pressure
If a tire is over-inflated or under-inflated, the car loses its stability, impacting the vehicle’s handling, stopping and performance in cornering.
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Uneven tire pressure can also cause internal and external damage, leading to tire failure. You might have heard about the accidents caused by bursting tires. Uneven tire pressure is one key reason that leads to the bursting of tires, causing deadly accidents. Thus, to increase the lifetime of the tires and enhance your travel safety, you should maintain the correct tire pressure.
How Often Should I Check the Tire Pressure?
It is recommended to check the tire pressure after every two weeks.
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Although, modern vehicles have an option to display the tire pressure on the vehicle’s cluster meter. It can help maintain the optimum pressure in the tires. However, if your car does not have this feature, you should go for a tire pressure check every two weeks. And it is also recommended to fill the air in your tires every month. The experts say an average tire loses around 1 PSI(3) (pound per square inch) pressure per month after moderate use.
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The experts also recommend checking the tire pressure in cold/warm weather in the morning. You should check the tire pressure before going on a long journey or after completing a long off-routine journey.
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Reasons the TPMS light is on?
Less Tire Pressure
The tire pressure monitoring system(1) plays an essential role in cars and helps make the drive safe, reducing the chances of accidents. Thus, any tire pressure monitoring system error will turn on the light. The tire pressure monitoring system is a sensor-based system connected to the tire system. Whenever the tire is filled with excess air, or the air becomes less in the tire, the information is sent to the tire pressure monitoring sensor, and the light is turned on to make the driver alert on time. Due to sufficient air or less air than the requirement, the tire can be worn out before time. Due to excessive air, the tire will become overinflated and will affect the traction process. Also, it will fail to absorb the road impact.
If the tire pressure(2) exceeds the requirement, the tire’s performance will become less, consuming more fuel. Also, the tire will get excessive heat and wear from both sides. The pressure in the tire becomes low due to various factors, such as leakage. Moreover, the tire’s pressure can become low due to excessive traveling.
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Due to different air pressure in the tires, the light can illuminate to prevent accidents
You can check the tire pressure in your vehicle’s cluster meter. If your car does not provide this feature, you should visit a local tire shop to check the pressure. It is recommended to keep the tire pressure as mentioned in the vehicle’s instruction manual. Further, you should also check the tire size and weather conditions before filling in the air in your tires.
Defected TPMS Sensor
The TPMS of the vehicles plays a very beneficial role in the cars. The tire pressure(1) monitoring system doesn’t measure the overall pressure in each tire. Instead, they operate in a very different manner. The TPMS measures the “rolling radius and rotational characteristics of each wheel and tire” and then compares the characteristics. This helps monitor the tire pressure and alerts the driver before any accident occurs.
The warning light appears on the dashboard because there are chances that the pressure in the tires is normal and the tires are working perfectly accurately. But the issue has occurred with the tire pressure monitoring system. The TPMS is sensor-based. When the car is turned on, the light appears for 60 to 90 seconds and disappears. If the light constantly illuminates after 90 seconds, then there is a defect in the TPMS sensor.
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The warning light indicates that the sensors cannot communicate with each other, and pieces of information are not accurately transferred. The defect in the sensor means either the tire sensor is not accurately installed in the tire system or any of the sensors are missing.
Also, the sensor may get corrode, which can impact its performance. Other than it, the illuminating light of the tire pressuring monitoring system indicates that the battery supplying the power to the sensors has become weak; therefore sensor is not accurately operating.
If the TPMS light is still blinking after maintaining optimum tire pressure, you should check the TPMS sensor. It is located inside the inner part of the rim that can be seen after removing the tire. First, clean the sensor and drive the vehicle for a few kilometers. If the TPMS light is still blinking, the sensor might need replacement. In this case, you have to take your car to a mechanic or service center to get the TPMS sensor replaced.
Failure to Initialize
As discussed above, the tire pressure monitoring system(4) does not measure the pressure of each tire individually; instead, it works by comparing the characteristic of each tire. There are chances that the sensors cannot accurately determine the condition if the tire is at low pressure and other tires are also losing pressure simultaneously. The wrong information is concluded after the comparison, and the warning light is illuminated due to the false information. In winter, the tire’s air pressure drops by 25%; therefore, the warning light is turned on. Also, there are valves and electrical connectivity between the sensors. Therefore, there are chances that the wiring between the sensors becomes weak and is unable to work.
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Thus, weak electronics will reduce the working, and the system will fail to operate. The warning lights are also illuminated in this situation to show voltage or weak electrical connectivity issues.
If the TPMS cannot initialize or is initializing wrong information, it is recommended to take the car to a professional service center. The TPMS circuit is complex and cannot be comprehended by a simple driver.
Cost to Resolve the Issue
The following table illustrates the cost required to resolve the TPMS issue:
Common Issues
Cost Required to Resolve the Issues
Less Tire Pressure
$1-2 for filling in the tire air, $100-400 to replace the tires depending upon the vehicle
Defected TPMS Sensors
$50-100 to replace each TPMS sensor
Defected TPMS circuit
$100-200 depending upon the issue
Labor Cost
$10-50 depending upon the issue
It is to be noted that the cost required to replace the tires can change depending upon the vehicle model and tire manufacturer.
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Conclusion/Key Takeaway Points
So, TPMS plays a significant role in increasing the overall safety of your vehicle. The TPMS light blinks on the vehicle’s dashboard when the tire pressure in any or all tires is not normal. If the TPMS light flashes, you should check the tire pressure and health. If the pressure and tire health are normal, you should check the TPMS sensor in the inner rim. Similarly, there can be issues with the electronic circuitry of TPMS that can cause the warning light to blink on the dashboard.
Yes, it is recommended to change the tire pressure according to the weather conditions. For example, in winter, it is recommended to keep the tire pressure a bit above the normal range and vice versa in summer. You can also check the vehicle’s instruction manual to get an idea about the tire pressure according to the tire size and the weather conditions. The manufacturers have tested the tire performance in different situations and recommended a safe range. This can be followed to avoid tire wear or an accident.
The TPMS light may be blinking due to a dirty/corroded sensor. In this case, the sensor will send the wrong information to the car’s ECU, which will cause the light to blink. So, you are recommended to clean the TPMS sensors. If the problem persists, you should get the TPMS system checked by a professional mechanic.
Although, the tire shops can service the TPMS after changing or installing new tires. This service replaces the valve core, seal, cap, valve stem, etc. Finally, the TPMS is tested to check whether it is operating correctly or not. However, a tire shop cannot change the TPMS sensors or other circuitry elements. For this purpose, you should contact a professional mechanic.
