Chrysler "Service Tire System Soon"

[zrxkawboy]

'05 Chrysler T&C. For a few months, it has occasionally displayed a "Service Tire System Soon" message after starting. The message disappears within 30 seconds. Lately it has been happening much more frequently. The guy at the tire shop and I both assumed it was a weak battery in one of the TPMS sensors, and the recent cold weather was making it worse. We dropped off the van at the shop last night, and it sat outside all night. This morning the manager started it, and of course, no message displayed. He then tested all the sensors, and said they were all working well. It was 3*F this morning, so if one was getting weak, it should have acted up then!

He still believes it is probably a sensor, and he sure could be right. Anyone here have any advice?

 

[mattwithcats]

TPMS sensors last about eight years.

Replace all four sensors, $30 each...

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/chrysler,2005,town+&+country,3.3l+v6,1430643,wheel,tire+pressure+monitoring+system+(tpms)+sensor,12036

 

[Snagglefoot]

I find that when a tire senor fails, it goes like you describe, intermittent and mysterious. Also, I had one go out and the other three where still working a year later on a 4 read-out system on a GM.

 

[Sierra048]

Just got back from a 1500 mile round trip visit to my MIL for Thanksgiving. Took my wife's 2014 Frontier. The TPMS idiot light started going on and off with no discernible pattern (First time it has happened since new). All the tires were checked, and rechecked, at every stop. All read 34/35 lbs each time. I'm not a fan of the mandated TPMS system on cars. I've let my feelings be know on past threads. To me it was just a political feel-good solution looking for a problem. Just a "too lazy to occasionally check my own tires" tax along with the added inevitable maintenance expense down the road.

 

[StevieC]

It's most likely a weak battery in one or more of the tires given the vehicles age, but it could also be one of the sensors that picks up the transponder in the tire.
A code scanner that reads Manufacturer codes will be able to tell you the exact problem (battery is low or sensor issue). It will store this code even if the message isn't currently displaying as well.

 

[Sierra048]

StevieC,

I've got a scanner. Never thought about checking this problem with it. I'll give it a try when it's a little warmer outside. Will it be able to tell me which tire/wheel it is?

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted by Sierra048
StevieC,

I've got a scanner. Never thought about checking this problem with it. I'll give it a try when it's a little warmer outside. Will it be able to tell me which tire/wheel it is?


It depends. Some of the modules will tell you which wheel. Some will just tell you that the TPMS is the problem but not specify which one. It depends on the vehicle and I don't remember which ones have which type of reporting. It's pretty great the information that you can get out of a Chrysler vehicle via the scan-tool.

I read the modules in my new van and found that the one power sliding door had 4 latching faults while closing at some point although it's operating fine at the moment.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by StevieC
Originally Posted by Sierra048
StevieC,

I've got a scanner. Never thought about checking this problem with it. I'll give it a try when it's a little warmer outside. Will it be able to tell me which tire/wheel it is?


It depends. Some of the modules will tell you which wheel. Some will just tell you that the TPMS is the problem but not specify which one. It depends on the vehicle and I don't remember which ones have which type of reporting. It's pretty great the information that you can get out of a Chrysler vehicle via the scan-tool.

I read the modules in my new van and found that the one power sliding door had 4 latching faults while closing at some point although it's operating fine at the moment.



Do you have a scan tool?

 

[StevieC]

Yes.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by StevieC
Yes.


Which one do you have? Pretty cool that it shows oem codes.

 

[StevieC]

Mine is the Autel MaxiDiag but my dad has a full out Snap-on. Both do OEM codes.

 

[HowAboutThis]

Originally Posted by zrxkawboy
'05 Chrysler T&C. For a few months, it has occasionally displayed a "Service Tire System Soon" message after starting. The message disappears within 30 seconds. Lately it has been happening much more frequently. The guy at the tire shop and I both assumed it was a weak battery in one of the TPMS sensors, and the recent cold weather was making it worse. We dropped off the van at the shop last night, and it sat outside all night. This morning the manager started it, and of course, no message displayed. He then tested all the sensors, and said they were all working well. It was 3*F this morning, so if one was getting weak, it should have acted up then!

He still believes it is probably a sensor, and he sure could be right. Anyone here have any advice?


2005? Easy fix. Put black electrical tape over the light that comes on, give tires a visual every day, check pressure every week or two with gauge. Just my $0.02

 

[StevieC]

He can't do that because it's a message in the EVIC, so that would mean he wouldn't get other messages.

 

[Sierra048]

After my last posting I did some searching and watched some Youtube videos. Since I rotate my tires every 7500 miles, I don't have a clue where the original positions are for my sensors. My LF might now be my LR and the system would have no way of knowing other than the sensors are present and working, or not working. Short of getting a TPMS tool that can indicate a sensor with a malfunctioning battery or can identify a bad sensor by a serial number that could be verified by my scanner (if it will even do that, I haven't checked yet due to weather), I'm not sure how I would know which one it is. I'm leaning towards leaving it alone until I replace the tires within the next 10K miles and addressing this issue then, if at all. I sold our Xterra to an eager buyer with the TPMS idiot light on for over three years with full disclosure that I just didn't like, or feel the need, to repair a system I thought was useless anyhow. The buyer understood and happily paid me my asking price anyway.

 

[StevieC]

I don't know if it existed in that year of van but in the newer Chrysler vehicles it doesn't matter where you put the tire the system will figure it out and change the designation of which TPMS is where automatically so no re-learn procedure is required when you rotate the tires. You can test this theory by lowering the pressure in one of the tires by say 10 PSI and see what it reports.

 

[SteveSRT8]

My August 2005 build date sig car has never had any issues with the factory TPMS. As stated above it is a "smart" system that knows where the tires are no matter what you do.

Per my manual it will not transmit unless moved or the pressure changes dramatically while sitting still. The threshold for a warning light is 26 psi. Nifty individual readout for each tire. Nearly perfect system.