trouble with TPMS
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Cargo Master
Joined: Jul 2003
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Likes: 250
trouble with TPMS
I have a 2013 F250 and to day the TPMS light came on with a low tire warning message. A little back history, I put new tires on the truck when I bought it and they currently have 9200 miles on them. I didn't like having the tires at the 80psi the tire shop set them at so I lowered them to 62psi right away and haven't had any issues with the low pressure warning going off. Today I was backing into a parking spot and the warning light came on with a low tire message. I checked all the tires and they were right where they should be, but when I got home I added another 5psi to see what would happen and the light never went off after taking it on a 10 mile drive.
My question is, do I have a wheel sensor issue or is something messed up in the computer? I know the door sticker says 75psi front/80rear, but I've been running the tires at 62psi for 9200 miles without trouble so I can't think that the pressure is the culprit. Also, does the spare tire have a sensor in it? In the manual in one paragraph it seemed like it does, but in the next it said that the spare doesn't have one so the light will stay on to remind you to change the spare out.
My question is, do I have a wheel sensor issue or is something messed up in the computer? I know the door sticker says 75psi front/80rear, but I've been running the tires at 62psi for 9200 miles without trouble so I can't think that the pressure is the culprit. Also, does the spare tire have a sensor in it? In the manual in one paragraph it seemed like it does, but in the next it said that the spare doesn't have one so the light will stay on to remind you to change the spare out.
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,676
Likes: 913
From: Milford, MI
I think your flirting with the limit of what the tpm system will tolerate. That said, try putting the pressures at the sticker values to relearn, then drop down some again. Did you try the learning procedure in the owners manual yet?
Tuned
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 366
Likes: 1
I've tried all the relearn steps in the manual and nothing works. The only way to permanently turn off the TPMS light while running below factory spec for tire pressure is to have a dealer reprogram your trucks computer to the lower setting.
For now I've just learned to deal with it as I run my tires at 55PSI and don't have the extra $50 to pay them to turn the light off.
For now I've just learned to deal with it as I run my tires at 55PSI and don't have the extra $50 to pay them to turn the light off.
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,333
Likes: 35
From: South Carolina
My F250 TPMS is a PITA - 2 bad sensors.
But a rental car I drove had the TPMS alert me when the pressure in one tire was low. I filled it up, and a couple days later the sensor came on again. Turns out there was a nail in the tire.
My daily driver TPMS just told me the tires were 3 psi low since the cold weather is here.
The technology is not that bad, but it has a ways to go before it will be consumer-friendly. The end user should be able to reset "normal" pressure, and the sensors need to be closer to the $5 each the safety advocates claimed they would be when they lobbied congress to make TPMS mandatory.
But a rental car I drove had the TPMS alert me when the pressure in one tire was low. I filled it up, and a couple days later the sensor came on again. Turns out there was a nail in the tire.
My daily driver TPMS just told me the tires were 3 psi low since the cold weather is here.
The technology is not that bad, but it has a ways to go before it will be consumer-friendly. The end user should be able to reset "normal" pressure, and the sensors need to be closer to the $5 each the safety advocates claimed they would be when they lobbied congress to make TPMS mandatory.
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 6,243
Likes: 2
From: Chicago and Mt Carroll IL
I've tried all the relearn steps in the manual and nothing works. The only way to permanently turn off the TPMS light while running below factory spec for tire pressure is to have a dealer reprogram your trucks computer to the lower setting.
For now I've just learned to deal with it as I run my tires at 55PSI and don't have the extra $50 to pay them to turn the light off.
For now I've just learned to deal with it as I run my tires at 55PSI and don't have the extra $50 to pay them to turn the light off.
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 108
Likes: 0
From: northeast Illinois
Did you check the spare tire pressure?
My spare tire loses pressure faster than the other four tires and activates the TPMS on my 2013 F250. It was the same way on my previous vehicle, a Toyota FJ Cruiser.
My spare tire loses pressure faster than the other four tires and activates the TPMS on my 2013 F250. It was the same way on my previous vehicle, a Toyota FJ Cruiser.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,361
Likes: 250
just an update. I checked the spare tire and it was down to 50psi so I aired it up to 75psi and took the truck out for a drive and the light is still on. I'm going to go ahead and air the main tires up to what the sticker on the door jam says just to rule that out. But I really don't think that is the issue since I've driven 9000 miles without any issues. If that doesn't work then I guess I'll have to call the dealer.
Does anyone know if the TPMS can be deactivated by the dealer? I know if it's possible most dealers will not do it, but I have a little pull at this dealership so maybe I could get lucky.
Does anyone know if the TPMS can be deactivated by the dealer? I know if it's possible most dealers will not do it, but I have a little pull at this dealership so maybe I could get lucky.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 6,243
Likes: 2
From: Chicago and Mt Carroll IL
Other than the atmospheric federal fines if a dealer is caught lowering the threshold or otherwise disabling TPMS, they would also be liable in the event of an under-spec tired vehicle taking out a busload of schoolkids. Some on here claim to have found dealers willing to do it, I sure don't know how. Thats a lot of risk to take on.
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Thread Starter
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Cargo Master
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,361
Likes: 250
Other than the atmospheric federal fines if a dealer is caught lowering the threshold or otherwise disabling TPMS, they would also be liable in the event of an under-spec tired vehicle taking out a busload of schoolkids. Some on here claim to have found dealers willing to do it, I sure don't know how. Thats a lot of risk to take on.
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,333
Likes: 35
From: South Carolina
My understanding is that it looks at the pressure from each tire, and compares it to "normal." If they all go down evenly, it should still alarm. It may be that 62 is just above it's lower limit for your truck.
If you want to play around with it, air them all up to spec, drive it for a while so the alarm clears, and then let some air out of them. You can eventually figure out it's trigger point.
If you want to play around with it, air them all up to spec, drive it for a while so the alarm clears, and then let some air out of them. You can eventually figure out it's trigger point.
Lead Driver
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 5,326
Likes: 18
From: Gilbert
true, I asked my dealer to day if the TPMS could be set to a lower pressure and he said no. I did get my light to turn off after I aired the tires back up to 75psi, but I can't figure out how I made it 9000 miles at 62psi without the light coming on. My dealer thinks that maybe the system is set to alert you when one tire gets too much lower than the others, instead of being set to alert you when the tires reach a preset number. I'm going to lower the pressure in all five tires to 65psi and see what happens. Maybe since the spare was down to 50 that triggered the light and since I aired it back up to 75psi the rest of the tires were lower so the light stayed on.
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