Poor TPMS advice from Consumer Reports!

[Ken2]

Quote:
TPMS are a solution in search of a problem.

Not. At. All.

Way too many drivers are under the understanding that the only thing a car needs are gasoline and a key. Off you go. Enjoying driving down the freeway at 80 on the barely inflated tire until it separates and the car flies sideways into a school bus.

TPMS is a solution in search of non-BITOGERS.

 

[Rolla07]

Instead of adding a feature to help people to add 2 and 2 together teach them to take a walk around the car for visual inspection. While you may not notice a few psi difference you will notice if the tire is low enough to be a problem. I experienced 3 flats/low tires in past 3 weeks..bad tires... and didnt need a TPMS to tell me. Who cares about TPMS, do a visual inspection before taking off..

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
TPMS really should be standardized, the variances are amazing from mfgr to mfgr...


Wholeheartedly agree with this. I personally think all sensors should be metal stem style mounted directly on the valve stem. The system should be able to be reset and put in learn mode from the car. Also there should be a display showing the pressures and tire temperatures inside the vehicle that can be viewed either on the instrument cluster or on the media display. The technology exists and would require little investment to make standard industry wide.

TPMS has saved me a couple times. I walked out to my car a couple weeks ago from work and it was dark. Got in and the tire light was on. I completely missed that the right front was down. Someone let the air out of that tire almost completely flat and let air out of the others as well.

 

[Papa Bear]

TPMS should also come with an "OFF" switch.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
TPMS really should be standardized, the variances are amazing from mfgr to mfgr...


Wholeheartedly agree with this. I personally think all sensors should be metal stem style mounted directly on the valve stem. The system should be able to be reset and put in learn mode from the car. Also there should be a display showing the pressures and tire temperatures inside the vehicle that can be viewed either on the instrument cluster or on the media display. The technology exists and would require little investment to make standard industry wide.

TPMS has saved me a couple times. I walked out to my car a couple weeks ago from work and it was dark. Got in and the tire light was on. I completely missed that the right front was down. Someone let the air out of that tire almost completely flat and let air out of the others as well.


Since my only vehicles with tpms are Chryslers (not counting fleet trucks) I have had great things to say about it.

The system alerts at 26 psi, displays individual tire pressures in the dash cluster, and requires no tool to set it up. Ten years old and never even bought a battery! Doesn't get much simpler...

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: Donald
...I think one needs to take the advice from CR with a bit of sense. If you come out and see you have a flat and start the car and the TPMS light comes on you should not ignore it.

+1 I'd say implicit in the CR instructions is a tad of common sense. I suppose to dumb it down they could/should have said, after you do a vehicle walk around and tires appear normal, then after driving few miles...yada yada yada.

Not a big fan of TPMS, but since it's here to stay it is what it is.

 

[Nate1979]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Instead of adding a feature to help people to add 2 and 2 together teach them to take a walk around the car for visual inspection. While you may not notice a few psi difference you will notice if the tire is low enough to be a problem. I experienced 3 flats/low tires in past 3 weeks..bad tires... and didnt need a TPMS to tell me. Who cares about TPMS, do a visual inspection before taking off..


I disagree that visual can help when near the warning pressure. I have had two instance of screws in tires that didn't look low but the light goes off while driving after a few miles. The light going off got me to do a visual inspection and was low. Had it changed and fixed and didn't destroy the tire. Other cases I get in to take off in the morning. The light is on, check the tire, it is low due to slow leak from a screw. Since I don't check the pressure before every trip the TPMS system is great. Even better is the Silverado which shows actual pressure for each tire. Very convenient.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: sayjac

+1 I'd say implicit in the CR instructions is a tad of common sense. I suppose to dumb it down they could/should have said, after you do a vehicle walk around and tires appear normal, then after driving few miles...yada yada yada.

Not a big fan of TPMS, but since it's here to stay it is what it is.


If the pressure is too low at low temp, it still too low for that ambient temp and needs to be pumped up, right?

 

[rshaw125]

Mine went off this morning. Ford Explorer very sensitive. I visually inspected the tires and drove on. 10 minutes down the road and it switched off.

 

[Traction]

Originally Posted By: rshaw125
Mine went off this morning. Ford Explorer very sensitive. I visually inspected the tires and drove on. 10 minutes down the road and it switched off.


A visual and the light turning off down the road is not proper tire pressure maintenance. You have one or more tires 25% low. TPMS is telling you to get out your tire pressure gauge and add air, not drive down the road hoping it turns off. TPMS is just another tool. If you have a blowout, the light won't come on till after the crash.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I have mixed feelings on TPMS. I don't like it because it's adds cost and complexity to the car and can cause frustration later when it stops working.

But, I also have friends who have ruined tires and drove around on low tires popping the bead off. I'm not sure if they would have paid enough attention, though, to avoid doing it if the (!) light illumated.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek

If the pressure is too low at low temp, it still too low for that ambient temp and needs to be pumped up, right?

Yes. When it starts getting cold out, I always add air to all my tires so they're still at the recommended/correct cold pressure. Then in the spring when it starts getting warmer, I let that extra air out so once again, the "cold" pressure is still correct.

 

[Traction]

Most people that don't own a tire pressure gauge, do not know what the light means either, so it can be useless. My wife, 2 different times drove with the light on for 3 days, until I caught it and found a screw in one, and a headphone jack with the cord still attached the other time. TPMS was a great idea that was poorly implemented. Instead of turning on a stupid looking light they should have required The Corvette system used 10 years before it was mandatory, like on my 1997. It not only displayed pressure, and which tire, it is easy to program.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: Traction
TPMS was a great idea that was poorly implemented. Instead of turning on a stupid looking light [...]


Blame your representatives who voted on the laws that also covered the symbols too.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3542396/1/I_just_got_the_tire_malfunctio

 

[supton]

But I'm sure the argument for "make it as cheap as possible" comes from "if we have to mandate it, then we should chose the cheapest option so that consumers can still afford to buy new cars every 2 years." 'cuz you know the gov makes out on new car sales, and it'd be a bad thing to impact that.

That or the OEM's insisted that the high tech readout would bankrupt 'em.

*

Snark aside my biggest complaint (aside from poor implimentation) is the requirement that TPMS be operational in some states. Mine does not have the requirement, so I can disable at will (save for removing the stupid light). But I'd be pretty mad if I lived in a state that required it.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: sayjac

+1 I'd say implicit in the CR instructions is a tad of common sense. I suppose to dumb it down they could/should have said, after you do a vehicle walk around and tires appear normal, then after driving few miles...yada yada yada.

Not a big fan of TPMS, but since it's here to stay it is what it is.

If the pressure is too low at low temp, it still too low for that ambient temp and needs to be pumped up, right?

Well, it's "too low" for the TPMS sensor at the start, but may not be too low for the TPMS sensor after the tire is warmed after the CR referenced few miles.

To look at from CR's standpoint if the light goes out after a 'few miles' then the tire is not that far out of recommended pressure spec. Thus not a major issue indicative of imminent tire failure. Now me, if that situation occured I'd likely air the tire up to placard in a cold/undriven condition at my earliest convenience.

That said, taken in context my specific +1 agreement with Donald( not quoted) was to OP saying, 'so drive down the road a few miles with a flat tire,' a tire failure, before doing anything. Thus the common sense of a prior walk around as opposed to driving on a flat tire, an obvious problem.

 

[edhackett]

Originally Posted By: exranger06
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek

If the pressure is too low at low temp, it still too low for that ambient temp and needs to be pumped up, right?

Yes. When it starts getting cold out, I always add air to all my tires so they're still at the recommended/correct cold pressure. Then in the spring when it starts getting warmer, I let that extra air out so once again, the "cold" pressure is still correct.


Taking Reno, NV as an example, what is the correct ambient to adjust the tires? The 50F when I left the house in the morning or the 90F when I left work in the afternoon?

The TPS in my Subaru drove me crazy. It went off at 32 psi. I had to run 3 psi over placard to keep the bleeping thing from triggering with daily temperature variations. That was enough to get noticeable center wear.

Ed

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: Traction
TPMS was a great idea that was poorly implemented. Instead of turning on a stupid looking light [...]


Blame your representatives who voted on the laws that also covered the symbols too.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3542396/1/I_just_got_the_tire_malfunctio
Blame the people who voted them in and keept them in office, Using name recognition is all most voter knows about the politician they pull the lever for so to say.

 

[Traction]

More often that not, the right rear tire catches the nail. Most people only see the drivers side of the car, and away they go. Mile or 2 later they happen to notice the light, then maybe think that their car feels different. By then the tire is junk.

 

[Traction]

Bottom line is, if you maintain your tire pressure, then, and only then, when you see the light, you have a problem. That's all it can do. when the temps go down you add, and when they go back up you bleed them down. You also need to anticipate upcoming temp changes and adjust accordingly. You just need to keep it in a HAPPY range. That's the best you can do.