Tire pressure warning

10345 Views 6 Replies 4 Participants Last post by G Joneson, Jan 16, 2016

tortoisecampervans

Discussion Starter · Jan 9, 2016

My sensor keeps warning me about checking my air pressure. Sometimes it will do this when it is colder out (40 F) and then the light goes out after warming up for an hour or so. Is the gauge too sensitive? Do other people experience this problem? Do you just over -inflate your tires? This is the first vehicle that I have owned that recommends such a high tire pressure (45/48 psi).

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mdbuilder

· #2 · Jan 12, 2016

It is normal for the light to go on when the air temp goes down, it means you need to add air. Lower temp = lower pressure, it is physics. Typically tires will loose a psi or two every month and need a bit of air every few months. The tolerance on the sensors is generally around 10PSI so it'll take a few months for it to warn you of low air. If the temp suddenly drops 20 degrees or more overnight you are going to loose a couple more PSI even though no actual air leaked out overnight and the light will come on.

I'm in the Northeast, I have a second vehicle I haven't driven in 2 months. Sunday afternoon I moved it to rotate the fleet and drive it for the week, it was about 60F. Monday morning it was 25F and when I started it up sure enough, the tire light came on. The tires take 34 PSI and when I went to fill then they were at 26 - fill to 34

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tortoisecampervans

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 12, 2016

I drive a Mazda 3 and have a pressure sensor as well, but not nearly as sensitive. I am all for over inflating a bit but the specs are 44 psi front 48 psi rear and that is substantially higher than any other vehicle that I have owned so far.

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mdbuilder

· #4 · Jan 12, 2016

tortoisecampervans said:
I drive a Mazda 3 and have a pressure sensor as well, but not nearly as sensitive. I am all for over inflating a bit but the specs are 44 psi front 48 psi rear and that is substantially higher than any other vehicle that I have owned so far.

Maybe your sensors are set particularly close to the recommended pressure then, I believe the value can be set at the dealer or tire store but maybe not all sensors. The sensors on my NV are not critical, I bought it in October - no lights, some time in December we had a morning that was 18F, the lights came on so I added air that day. I think they were 5 or so PSI low but I don't really remember clearly.

Point is, every vehicle I've owned with sensors will go off the first cold morning of the winter. It's a joke between my wife and I, time to add winter air!

None of them go off otherwise except occasionally if I haven't checked pressure in months. You are supposed to check once in a while <g>.

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TJsNV200

· #5 · Jan 12, 2016

tortoisecampervans said:
This is the first vehicle that I have owned that recommends such a high tire pressure (45/48 psi).

Yes, this is the correct PSI for the stock tires, and you should definitely inflate to that (or slightly above) then see if you get warnings. Of course, also inflate to those PSIs when the tires are cold. Try then to do it after the van has been sitting e.g. overnight and before leaving the house.

I had warnings for some weeks this summer and it turned-out that I had a screw in one of the tires. It had a slow leak!

:surprise:

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mdbuilder

· #6 · Jan 13, 2016

If it isn't clear, the recommended pressures are high because the tires are tiny and the fully laden weight with well over 1,000 pounds of cargo in the back is fairly high. To carry a big load on small tires requires higher pressures.

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G Joneson

· #7 · Jan 16, 2016

The TPS's are set from the Fac. the rears are the high ones at 48 psi rotate every 4 k and re set the pressures at the time . Good Luck

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