Hi guys, just a quick one.

Does the tyre pressure monitoring in the new Octavia (particularly the vRS) actually monitor individual tyre pressures now or it is ABS sensor monitored (i.e warns of potential tyre pressure issues for all four tyres and you have to guess which has an issue)?

cheers

Edited 13 October, 201312 yr by pipsyp

No, it's the on-the-cheap monitoring system that works by comparing the rotational speeds of the wheels. A flat tyre has a smaller diameter so rotates faster than the others, and this is what triggers an alarm. Wheel spins can inadvertently set the alarm off. It doesn't therefore identify which tyre may have a puncture.

The far superior Beru system, used by the likes of AMG and Porsche has pressure sensors fixed inside the wheel rims and transmits the actual pressure by means of radio to a receiver which displays the actual pressures in the on board computer displays.

As far as I can make out it's one that flags up potential tyre pressure issues and you have to guess which tyre.

Timoctav has it spot on. It's given me palpatations at least once! We'd driven to the French Alps during some very hot weather in 2011 and were expecting some friends to come and stay in our (rented) chalet halfway through the trip. So I had to go to Geneva airport to pick them up, I didn't have a 'vignette' so I couldn't use the Swiss autoroutes so drove through Geneva town on a route I'd plotted ahead of time to avoid the charge. As I was working my way through Geneva the dash alarm went off indicating a problem with a tyre. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but with the stress of being in your car 900 miles from home in a strange city and being told you have a problem

 

Anyway, point of the story, it seems to have reduced accuracy in very hot weather, as the only other time it has gone off was on another visit to the alps in summer this year.

 

One to watch out for (and ignore - probably).

Ah OK thats a bit of a shame, no different to the MK2 then.

its useful but a pain when you cant work out exactly which tyre is the problem, if its a problem at all!

Ah OK thats a bit of a shame, no different to the MK2 then.

its useful but a pain when you cant work out exactly which tyre is the problem, if its a problem at all!

In the vehicle status screen on the bolero it shows a diagram of the car and I'm pretty the tyre at fault will light up on it..... The petrol tank lights up when fuel is low.....

In the vehicle status screen on the bolero it shows a diagram of the car and I'm pretty the tyre at fault will light up on it..... The petrol tank lights up when fuel is low.....

Nope, all four tyres light up with the low pressure alarm.

Nope, all four tyres light up with the low pressure alarm.

 

But the TPM screen should show which tyre it is;

 

Anyway, point of the story, it seems to have reduced accuracy in very hot weather, as the only other time it has gone off was on another visit to the alps in summer this year.

 

One to watch out for (and ignore - probably).

If I remember right when the tyre gets hot the tyre pressure increases so the ambient temp plus the drive must of been enough for the system to register a problem. For what it believed to be over inflation? The system may have a limited accurate working temp range.

That's why we are always told to set our tyre pressures when the tyres are cold I think.

Monitoring the wheel rotation detectors for any sustained discepancy in rotational speed should be easy to do, and an elegant, cost-effective solution compared with an elaborate system of pressure transducers and radio transmitters.

And I can't see any difficulty in both determining and displaying which wheel is beginning to rotate slightly faster.  If the system only says "possible puncture" but does not indicate which wheel, they're just being mean and silly.  If the system wasn't capable of detecting which wheel was rotating at an odd speed, then the ABS wouldn't be able to do its job, would it?   

But the TPM screen should show which tyre it is;

Is that columbus? My Bolero definitely didn't do this when I had an alarm a couple of weeks ago, all four tyres were lit up.

Monitoring the wheel rotation detectors for any sustained discepancy in rotational speed should be easy to do, and an elegant, cost-effective solution compared with an elaborate system of pressure transducers and radio transmitters.

And I can't see any difficulty in both determining and displaying which wheel is beginning to rotate slightly faster.  If the system only says "possible puncture" but does not indicate which wheel, they're just being mean and silly.  If the system wasn't capable of detecting which wheel was rotating at an odd speed, then the ABS wouldn't be able to do its job, would it?

Your logic is correct Stuarted, can't say for sure on the Skoda whether the system shows which tyre is suspect or not, certainly on the BMW 123d I had you just got a warning light and left it to the driver to park up and inspect all the tyres.

Trust me the radio detection system is far superior, you have the tyre pressures displayed constantly ( should that mode be selected ) and it gives a great peace of mind when driving fast or on long distances. It is a £450 option with Porsche and worth every penny.

Is that columbus? My Bolero definitely didn't do this when I had an alarm a couple of weeks ago, all four tyres were lit up.

 

No, that's from the bolero manual.

I'm slightly disappointed that it's not a true 'pressure monitoring' system as it took the TPM on my Fabia about 4 miles to realise that I had changed the wheel. If it was a flat I would have probably realised before the car.

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No, that's from the bolero manual.

In that case then I'm not sure as like I said, all 4 of mine were lit up when the alarm went.

I'm slightly disappointed that it's not a true 'pressure monitoring' system as it took the TPM on my Fabia about 4 miles to realise that I had changed the wheel. If it was a flat I would have probably realised before the car.

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It's a lot better than nothing which is what most cars, especially at the Octavia's price have!

I suppose it may be that the reason why the "cheap" wheel-speed-detection system is  arranged only to say "possible puncture" but not which wheel, is so that the driver has to go round and actually check the pressure in each tyre.

And this may be as an additional safety precaution since this "wheel speed" system only detects possible punctures in a rather indirect way.

... maybe.

Is that columbus? My Bolero definitely didn't do this when I had an alarm a couple of weeks ago, all four tyres were lit up.

That image is also in the columbus manual. I don't know if its the same in the bolero.

I believe the MK3 system can detect and display an individual tyre, whereas previous incarnations you simply got the warning.

 

Certainly the Mk7 golf I had as a loaner for a day told me which wheel to check.