Tyre Pressure Sensor - a bit rubbish?

[unclerichy]

Thanks to driving through the detritus from the local roadworks I ended up with a puncture yesterday. At first I thought I had a stone trapped between the brake and the alloy as it was a semi-regular clonking noise for about 30 seconds (just after I turned onto a side road).

I pulled over and found that my rear nearside wheel was flat as a pancake. I had the RAC out and we found the cause of the puncture - a curved piece of metal about the size of a 10p coin had made a fairly substantial hole that had resulted in a pretty rapid loss of air. I wasn't going fast and it wasn't going to result in a blow-out but it was no slow puncture either - from inflated to flat in less than a minute.

However, the TPS didn't come on at all until I pulled away with the space saver spare fitted. I'd have expected it to ping up a warning before I'd stopped to check.

It makes me wonder what use the TPS is - perhaps it would have warned me when I was kicking up sparks from alloy to tarmac contact :(

[dippo]

Exactly the same; I had a puncture in a front tyre. I noticed it because the car was pulling to one side. When I checked, the tyre was flat, but the light didn't come on until I was on the spare.

[Ootohere]

Had you checked and set tyre pressures then Re-set the TPMS.?

Gradual pressure loss can be missed at lower speeds, and often people never set the TPMS anyway.

The system needs the wheels to be turning for the brake system sensor to pick up on the change of tyre size/rolling radius..

(the system kind of works better at letting someone with Run Flat tyres know there has been a sudden tyre pressure loss.)

george

[Guest]

AS above you should check tyre presssures every week and reset thwe TPM at the same time. They are not accurate enough for slow pressure loss unless you keep setting them. Relying on it only is sheer stupidity as it is not designed for that prpose.

[Binzie]

Mine are a pain in the arse 0.4 bar difference dash lit up !

[dippo]

AS above you should check tyre presssures every week and reset thwe TPM at the same time. They are not accurate enough for slow pressure loss unless you keep setting them. Relying on it only is sheer stupidity as it is not designed for that prpose.

Thank you for the sheer stupidity comment. As you don't know how quickly the tyre deflated, I think it's unjustified.

[Ootohere]

I never read that comment as against you,

but as a general comment on those that do not check tyre pressures regularly because they think there is a device that tells them pressures are not right..

george

[dippo]

The fact remains that even if you check your tyre pressures weekly, you can still get a puncture and have a totally flat tyre. In those circumstances, as I said above, I would have expected the light to come on - otherwise, what is it there for? In my case, it didn't, and therefore I agree with the OP that the sensor is 'a bit rubbish'.

[Ootohere]

Do you press and check and reset your TPMS quite often?

[alanbathurst]

My experience of tpms was that when I picked up 4 large chaps ans a shed load of luggage the tpms light came on after a mile .......due I think to the extra weight over the rear wheels causing a difference in revoloution between front and rear.

I stopped and checked the tyre preasures and found them to be all the same.....so no puncture....added preasure to rear tyres..reset tpms and all was well.

[Rob_Quads]

Unfortunately Skoda have gone for the cheap option on the TPMS. It relies on the rotation rates of the wheels which is a very rough way of working out if you have a puncture. If your tyres have good strong sidewalls you could have a very flat tyre before it gets pinged up.

To be reliable IMO you really need a proper pressure sensor in each wheel that is then monitored but these system are much more expensive to implement.

[Always time for a car]

My experience of tpms was that when I picked up 4 large chaps ans a shed load of luggage the tpms light came on after a mile .......due I think to the extra weight over the rear wheels causing a difference in revoloution between front and rear.

I stopped and checked the tyre preasures and found them to be all the same.....so no puncture....added preasure to rear tyres..reset tpms and all was well.

Same thing happened to me. Warning sound came on twice now, both with full car , both times tyres perfect.

[Danny 57]

My TPMS came on and I checked the tyres and pumped a couple up and they are all the same but the TPMS warning will not go out. I have checked the book and cannot find where the TPMS re-set information is but I will have another look.

[KBPhoto]

I have checked the book and cannot find where the TPMS re-set information is but I will have another look.

Do you have a TPMS button on the dash that you press to reset it after pumping up the tyres?

If not, and the warning beep and light are on the dash, then it may be that it has been activated using VCDS and will need deactivating or resetting using the same.

Either that, or it's not working properly.

[ashfan]

I have a button next to my DSG gear lever which I'm fairly sure is the TPMS button you refer to but what do I do with it. I have read the manual several times and I can't find any reference to it at all or how to use the TPMS system

[Devon Wanderer]

My TPMS came on and I checked the tyres and pumped a couple up and they are all the same but the TPMS warning will not go out. I have checked the book and cannot find where the TPMS re-set information is but I will have another look.

It's the button to the left of the gear lever with the same symbol. Just hold it down til it boings.

[KBPhoto]

Check your tyre pressures, inflate/deflate if needed and then press the button until it 'bongs'.

This effectively resets the system, but the car will take a short while to 'learn' the current settings (revolutions if each wheel at current pressure).

[ashfan]

Thanks guys. You'd think the manual would be able to explain it as easily

[unclerichy]

ashfan - I found that the TPMS reset only worked for me if I'd just turned the ignition on. When I'd been driving for a while it wouldn't reset no matter how long I held it for. Turning the ignition off and on again it then took just a couple of settings of holding the reset button before it bonged and the light went out.

I had my new tyre fitted this morning and forgot to reset the TPMS before I left the fitters. It waited for 3 miles before telling me there was something wrong which surprised me. Not the length of time but the fact it thought my new tyre was problematic. After pulling over and checking for a problem (there wasn't one) it seems that it doesn't matter whether the change in rolling circumference is plus or minus - it just knows there's a difference. Eventually.

[mandp]

Taken from the manual...

The tyre control display compares the speed and thus the rolling circumference of

the individual wheels with the help of the ABS sensors. If the rolling circumference of a wheel is changed, the warning light ? in the instrument cluster » page 28 and an acoustic signal sounds.

The rolling circumference of the tyre can change if:

›the tyre inflation pressure is too low,

›the structure of the tyre is damaged,

›the vehicle is loaded on one side,

›the wheels of an axle are loaded heavily (e.g. when towing a trailer or when

driving uphill or downhill),

› snow chains are mounted,

›the temporary spare wheel is mounted,

› one wheel per axle was changed.

Basic setting of the system

After changing the tyre inflation pressures, after changing one or several wheels,

the position of a wheel on the vehicle (e.g. exchanging the wheels between the

axles) or when the warning light lights up while driving, a basic setting of the system must be carried out as follows:

›Inflate all of the tyres to the specified inflation pressure » page 195.

› Switch on the ignition.

ä

› Press and hold the button ??? ? » Fig. 172 for longer than 2 seconds. While

pressing the button, the indicator light ? illuminates. At the same time the

memory of the system is erased and the new calibration is started, which is confirmed with an audible signal and then the warning light ? goes out.

›If the indicator light ? does not go out after the basic setting, this indicates a

system fault. Visit a specialist garage.

The indicator light ? is lit

If the tyre inflation pressure of at least one wheel is insufficiently inflated in comparison to the stored basic value, the warning light ? » lights up.

The indicator light ? flashes

If the warning light flashes, there is a system fault. Visit a specialist garage and

have the fault rectified

[Danny 57]

The reset button, now an obvious sollution if I had remembered and it has now reset the TPMS. Thank you.

[ashfan]

Thanks mandp I feel like an idiot now but in my defence there`s no mention of it in the index at the rear

[mandp]

Thanks mandp I feel like an idiot now but in my defence there`s no mention of it in the index at the rear

Glad to be of help.

[Matt Pez]

Thank you for the sheer stupidity comment. As you don't know how quickly the tyre deflated, I think it's unjustified.

The TPS fitted to Skoda's seems to be more use with a slow puncture as it takes a while for the sensor to recognise the change in rolling circ, with a fast deflation the sensor is unlikely to activate before human intervention, but slow punctures are harder to recognise, hence the true value of the system is detecting the slow punctures usually between 0.5 and 1 bar deflation.

[lmb]

Sadly I experienced recently how poor the TPS is. Hit a pot hole on the way back from France, cut the tire and there was no message from TPS. However it gave me an error after fitting the spare tire .

You can't rely on it at all.

Edited 15 June, 2013 by lmb