Hey guys, just letting you know that there is an actual fix if you are having tpms issues due to changing tires that are lower psi than stock. Here is my story...bought 2011 F350 6.2L. My truck's tires are rated 80psi rear, 65psi front. Well, the first thing I did (as I do all my trucks) was to change those go-kart size tires to something a little bigger/wider. I still went with an E-rated tired, but they are rated for a max psi of 65...therefore my truck threw a tpms error. I tried resetting using the owners manual trick (page 236), thinking that if I reset to a lower pressure that would stick...but it didn't. After I had almost conceded to the fact that I would just have to stare at my low pressure light, I went to my local Ford dealer and asked to speak to a tech. I told him that I wanted to lower my "threshold" for my truck down to 55psi. Basically the trucks computer is set to whatever your tire ratings are on your door jam, your pressure monitors in each tire report the pressure to the computer. If the pressure is off then, bingo, you have the low pressure light. By accessing the trucks computer settings and lowering the psi threshold to 55psi (or whatever psi you want), I now have a error free dash

Not every Ford dealer will do this, as there is a pretty hefty fine for changing this feature (breaking federal law from what I understand), but if you are in good with a service writer or a tech then you should have no problem. The cost was $98 (I probably could have had service done for free if I was a patient guy, but my service writer buddy was off a few days and I didn't feel like waiting and staring at the damn light another day). Total time took about 10 mins., as this was the first time the tech had ever done this.

Sorry if this is old news, but I searched on the internet for days without finding a clear and concise solution to this problem, so hopefully this is helping someone out that is as frustrated with the tpms as I was.

good luck!

Alan

 

Do you still have to manually manipulate the pressure set points in the ICM like you had to with the '08-'10 SD's. I know it was a bit of a pain and if the person doing it did not know EXACTLY what they were doing you could endup with a dead/bricked truck...

Oh, and the fine that you mentioned... It is a Federal offence and its $6,000 per vehicle which is why you will find very few dealers willing to help you out even if they knew how to do it...

 

Well, my trucks light was still on after they set the new psi, so they reset it for me since they can do it quite a bit quicker than I can. However, if they wouldn't have done it then I assume I would have had to do it or it may have possibly reset itself after driving a couple miles. Leave it to the government to have such a stupid mandate.

 

well, the issue is to get the general population to check their tire pressure.
it saves enormous amounts of fuel AND many lives..

IF we can change the setting easily, then we would (even you are trying to get the light off) and then the whole effect of the system would be useless.

Now, I do agree that some provision should be made for the fringe edge like us that fiddle with the tire configurations..

Sam

 

Not really trying to get in to a political debate here, but please provide me with information showing that tire pressure monitors save many lives? And I don't think people who want to change tires out to non oem go kart size are considered "fringe". I sell trucks for a living and believe me, one of the first upgrades customers make is larger tires to fill out the wheel wells.

 

While the TPMS is mandated you still have states with no inspection and states getting rid of inspections to "Save Money". So basically they are saying its ok to have people on the road with brakes that are completely shot just so the tires are inflated.

To the OP, the way it sounds your SOL. Find a nice piece of electrical tape or a sticker or something and put it over the light.

 

Can this be accessed via a wireless connection or only with the OBDII connection?

 

I hear ya.. I don't do that tho.. and there are a lot more like me..
remember, this isn't about trucks. its all (non-commercial) vehicles

not my data on the drivers for TPMS.. the exploder was a good case in point.

Sam

 

I guess my truck will not be helping save lives, since the TPMS light is alway on...I guess I'll never know when a tire is low! Too much crap legislated that they do not think all the way through -

 

How good/safe is a system that no one pays attention to? Seriously, the truck wants 65psi, the user puts on tires that are rated for 50psi, but this results in the light always being on. So the user gets used to it and ignores it. Checking the tires manually. Then all of a sudden you start to lose air and the vehicle becomes unsafe, you don't notice it because it's not a blow out. You continue to ignore the light because it's always been on. You come up on something in the road and have to make a sudden maneuver which results in an accident.

All this could have been prevented if the dealer was allowed to adjust the lower/upper thresholds to match the tires on the vehicle.

The government should just stick with what they know best, over paying for toilet seats and hammers.

 

Exactly my thoughts!

 

I'm not sure why dealers have an issue lowering the thresholds. Everything that I've read regarding the TPMS mandate has to do with trucks/vehicles with a GVWR equal to or less than 10k. I'm registered at 11,400 so essentially, dealers shouldn't have an issue with it.

Plus there's a fleet option of TPMS delete on the '12 F-350's... I may be missing something but I just don't get it.

 

You are not disabling the TPMS. So why would any Dealership have an issue? It's a laughable point.

I had nothing but trouble with TPMS in my Mustang. But it was a dummy system. It just made sure all 4 tires were same pressure. There were times I ran 20 PSI in all 4 and it didn't know. Let 1 tire differ from the others by 5psi though and that damn light

 

Then I guess my question is: In the manual it says (TPMS) (IF EQUIPPED). How can you tell if it is equipped? I have moved large and smaller tires around to get the look I want and never once did a TPMS light come on.

 

I know nothing of this "TPMS Mandate" but I'm wondering when it was issued. The only reason I ask is because I remember a couple of years ago when the occupier of the White House said in one of his speeches that maintaining tire pressure was the key to energy independence. He actually said it several times. I'm just wondering if the mandate resulted from this.

On another note, it was mentioned that the Firestone/Explorer issues were an example of how maintenance of tire pressure will save lives. I do not recall exactly what the problem was but I found a brain cell that remembers that it was a problem in the rubber itself and had nothing to do with tire pressure other than the fact that you do, in fact, have to have at least some tire pressure to have a blowout. The brain cell could be close to death and may misremember pertinent facts.

I also did a google search of my brain for "#OccupyWhiteHouse says tire pressure saves lives" and found no brain cells that remember this ever being an argument. Mr. Google did ask me, "Did you mean '#OccupyWhiteHouse says tire pressure leads to energy independence?'" It could be that the relevant brain cell already died.

In other word, I have recollection of only a few pertinent facts and really have no idea what I'm talking about. As you were...