Nail / Stone - could this be it ?? (PIC)

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97tbird

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SO the TPMS light on my BMW has been coming up (this type doesn't tell you WHICH tire it is), and I did not see any of the tire losing air, and I had pretty much decided that a sensor was going south...even a Firestone shop took a look at the tires and found nothing...

then yesterday TPMS went off again !! AND one of tires DID look flat and needed quite a bit of air to get up to recc'd level...so i checked that tire thoroughly..

then i saw THIS: IDK weather it's a weird shaped nail head or a sharp stone but it's in there DEEP -
did the tire place miss this when they checked it? (or did they ever check the tires...) ...is the TPMS right after all, or did i just pick this nail/stone up?

Take a look and see what you think....

photo-2.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
SO the TPMS light on my BMW has been coming up (this type doesn't tell you WHICH tire it is), and I did not see any of the tire losing air, and I had pretty much decided that a sensor was going south...even a Firestone shop took a look at the tires and found nothing...

then yesterday TPMS went off again !! AND one of tires DID look flat and needed quite a bit of air to get up to recc'd level...so i checked that tire thoroughly..

then i saw THIS: IDK weather it's a weird shaped nail head or a sharp stone but it's in there DEEP -
did the tire place miss this when they checked it? (or did they ever check the tires...) ...is the TPMS right after all, or did i just pick this nail/stone up?

Clearly it was correct. Try spitting on the stone and see what happens.
 
Hard to tell. ? I would pull it out and see. The last flat i had was in the same spot as yours, in the block part of the tread. It was a nail with the head worn off. Funny thing is when i pulled it out it would not leak or i thought did not leak, the nail must have just punctured the tire. Sitting the tire would not go down, when driving and with the tire flexing it would leak, this had me stumped for a week i was sure it was a faulty stem finally a stuck a awl in the spot were the nail was pushed it in and twisted it around and could hear a slight wisp of air.
 
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Ooh, right where the sipes meet. Thanks for posting, I'll have to keep an eye on the DWS's on the Fit.

That looks like it should be an easy fix for a tire shop.
 
You can pick up a nail or any object like that at any time. I had a new set of tires put on the truck at work and at the end of the first day of driving with them, one had a chunk of steel jammed into it, making a brand new tire into garbage. Not much you can do about it.
 
Put a magnet up to it. If it's a nail...take it to a tire shop and have them plug it. If it's a stone...pry it out with a screwdriver.
 
Just check the tire pressure. The light will only turn on if the tire leaks enough to make the pressure go down. Low pressure = tire leaking. Good pressure = bad sensor.
 
Originally Posted By: exranger06
Just check the tire pressure. The light will only turn on if the tire leaks enough to make the pressure go down. Low pressure = tire leaking. Good pressure = bad sensor.

this.

Nowhere in the OP's post did he put a gauge on a tire...he "checked the tires, they looked OK..."

I've been around cars for a long time...but my eye isn't calibrated to PSI the way a gauge is...
 
Ummmm. I CHECKED tire pressure -- each time the TPMS light has been on (that's what I meant by "didn't see any tire losing air" = none of the tires needed adding air - sorry it wasn't clear - I didn't mean "SEE" as in I just looked at it. (more like didn't SEE / NOTICE any of the tires needing air after checking AP)

- only THIS time was one tire actually low enough to NEED air...

This is why I think this might have been a fluke. - the TPMS could be still acting up, but THIS time, it got lucky as a tire was actually losing air.
 
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
This is why I think this might have been a fluke. - the TPMS could be still acting up, but THIS time, it got lucky as a tire was actually losing air.

Every BMW I've come across with that sort of issue had an actual leak. I don't know that they all work this way or whether or not yours does, but many BMWs have a TPMS system that is happy to monitor for whatever tire you, as the driver, tell it is correct. If you use an inconsistent gauge or use more than one gauge you can easily tell it to monitor (each tire) for one pressure, have the light come on due to a leak, and then have the same low-quality gauge or some other gauge lie to you telling you the tire hasn't leaked.

A meter that lies is worse than no meter at all.
 
Be a man, use needle nose pliers and pull it out of there, spit on it to see if it leaks. If it does, plug it, REAL SIMPLE. Try checking around the rim for leaks and take the valve stem cap off and spit on the stem too and check for leaks. Might be loose valve core.
 
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I would pull it, but I'd do it in a tire shop's parking lot. If the tire instantly deflates when you pull out the bugger, then the tire shop can fix it for you right there and you won't have to put on a spare.
 
I'd confirm that you do in fact have TPMS sensors. A lot of e46s had a TPMS system that was solely based on wheel speed (low tire = turns faster) and didn't have sensors inside the tires. This system usually wasn't as sensitive either.
 
Originally Posted By: cutlassvillager
A lot of e46s had a TPMS system that was solely based on wheel speed (low tire = turns faster) and didn't have sensors inside the tires. This system usually wasn't as sensitive either.

That was my understanding as well - ABS system based. But then I see some places on the web selling replacement TPMS sensors for this car. Were both types used on the E46?
 
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