Tyre pressure ghosts

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Andy Beats
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Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by Andy Beats »

Tyre pressure warning went off last night, tyre pressures were perfectly fine and even across all four tyres. :roll:
This sort of thing really grips my poop, as it just introduces stress and inconvenience on a journey.
Luckily I carry a tyre pressure gauge with me.
Anyone else had this? :?:
Also, should the car/tyre graphic on the display show which tyre it thinks has deflated?
All four tyres were orange on the display until reset, then they turn white.
vc-10
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by vc-10 »

It's not a tyre pressure monitoring system, it's a tyre deflation monitor. It measures pressure very indirectly- it compares the speed across the 4 wheels. If one is deflating, it will have a smaller rolling diameter, so therefore will be going faster than the others.

In my old Fabia I found that the car would often say which tyre it thought was deflating (I had a slightly dodgy valve in one wheel causing a slow puncture, so got the alarm a few times!), but not always. No idea why.

The system is absolutely not a replacement for regular checking of tyre pressures!
Griff74
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by Griff74 »

I get this a couple of times a year in my current Leon (which uses the same system), tyre pressures always fine when checked, our i3 which has a proper TPMS (sensors in the tyre valves) never does it, I put it down to our VAG cars having an inferior system which just uses the ABS sensors on the wheels.
Andy Beats
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by Andy Beats »

vc-10 wrote: Tue May 21, 2019 10:20 am The system is absolutely not a replacement for regular checking of tyre pressures!
I'm aware of this.
I check my tyres very regularly, hence the pressures being spot on and the warning being completely weird.
It really is a good job my wife rarely drives this car.
Between erroneous tyre warnings and the crash radar binging for nothing, she'd be far too stressed and would tell me where to poke it.
Griff74
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by Griff74 »

Oh something I forgot to mention re this issue, when I was checking my cars stored fault codes the other week it showed old ones (so not current) for the ABS sensors on the wheels I have had the TPMS alert for and the codes are from around the times I had the alerts. I suspect a brief fault on the ABS sensors (maybe some dirt or something on them) is what sets it off.
RUM4MO
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by RUM4MO »

vc-10 wrote: Tue May 21, 2019 10:20 am It's not a tyre pressure monitoring system, it's a tyre deflation monitor. It measures pressure very indirectly- it compares the speed across the 4 wheels. If one is deflating, it will have a smaller rolling diameter, so therefore will be going faster than the others.

In my old Fabia I found that the car would often say which tyre it thought was deflating (I had a slightly dodgy valve in one wheel causing a slow puncture, so got the alarm a few times!), but not always. No idea why.

The system is absolutely not a replacement for regular checking of tyre pressures!
While you may be roughly factually correct, the system is sold as being TPMS and the current EU regs demand that all new models built after ???? (which has passed), do have, for improved safety reason a build in TPMS.
vc-10
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by vc-10 »

Absolutely- the price list says Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, which it isn't. It could be listed as a Tyre Pressure Warning System.
monkeyhanger
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by monkeyhanger »

vc-10 wrote: Tue May 21, 2019 5:19 pm Absolutely- the price list says Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, which it isn't. It could be listed as a Tyre Pressure Warning System.
It is a tyre pressure monitoring system. It indirectly tells you that the tyre pressures have decreased (detecting a decrease in rolling circumference via the ABS sensors), even if it won't tell you by how much.

I'd rather have this system then those individual sensor systems that the tyre changing monkeys always seem to wreck.
vc-10
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by vc-10 »

Totally agree that I'd rather this system than the one with sensors in the wheels.

But to me something that's calling itself a pressure monitoring system would give some direct readout of the pressure!
Rosinfield
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by Rosinfield »

Happened twice a certain time after I had the tyres inflated a bit and values stored, i.e. such a false alarm. In my previous car, a Fabia with the same system, it never occurred.
Andy Beats
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by Andy Beats »

Even if this is a basic system that 'only' senses a difference in wheel speed, rather than an actual drop in pressure, surely it can tell us which wheel on the display.....?
SRGTD
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by SRGTD »

Andy Beats wrote: Wed May 22, 2019 9:01 am Even if this is a basic system that 'only' senses a difference in wheel speed, rather than an actual drop in pressure, surely it can tell us which wheel on the display.....?
Some Golf owners over on golfmk7.com have said that their car does indicate which tyre had triggered the TPMS warning, and as far as I’m aware, the Golf also has the indirect TPMS that uses the ABS wheel speed sensors to monitor differences is wheel rotation speed - not the wheel or tyre valve sensors that direct TPMS use. I’ve also read on other forums that mk7 Golf owners have said the TPMS in their cars just triggers a warning without indicating which tyre has caused it to trigger. So, it seems that VW may use (or may have used in the past) different versions of TPMS in different markets.

I’ve only had one false alarm and didn’t find it a big issue or inconvenience to quickly check tyre pressure of each tyre - always keep a tyre pressure gauge my tyre inflator / compressor in the car as you never know when you might need it.
Andy Beats
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by Andy Beats »

SRGTD wrote: Wed May 22, 2019 9:20 am I’ve only had one false alarm and didn’t find it a big issue or inconvenience to quickly check tyre pressure of each tyre - always keep a tyre pressure gauge my tyre inflator / compressor in the car as you never know when you might need it.
You're right, it doesn't take long but it's still an avoidable thing to have to do.
I mean, you could be on your way to a meeting and you've to remove four mucky dust caps instead of going straight to the problem one.
And I'm glad I was driving and not my wife, I can assure you having a pressure gauge and pump in the car would be no consolation....
Her ownership experience of cars is very much based on trust, and false alarms have her hating cars.
If she owned the Polo and experienced the problems I've had with it, she'd have got rid.
Griff74
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by Griff74 »

SRGTD wrote: Wed May 22, 2019 9:20 am Some Golf owners over on golfmk7.com have said that their car does indicate which tyre had triggered the TPMS warning, and as far as I’m aware, the Golf also has the indirect TPMS that uses the ABS wheel speed sensors to monitor differences is wheel rotation speed - not the wheel or tyre valve sensors that direct TPMS use. I’ve also read on other forums that mk7 Golf owners have said the TPMS in their cars just triggers a warning without indicating which tyre has caused it to trigger. So, it seems that VW may use (or may have used in the past) different versions of TPMS in different markets.

I’ve only had one false alarm and didn’t find it a big issue or inconvenience to quickly check tyre pressure of each tyre - always keep a tyre pressure gauge my tyre inflator / compressor in the car as you never know when you might need it.
My 2016 Leon which uses the ABS sensors for TPMS indicates which tyre it thinks (there has never been issue with a tyre when it's gone off) has lost pressure.

Our i3's TPMS has given us a warning once, it uses the valves with sensors in so we can check the actual pressures via the iDrive, and it was correct the front nearside tyre had a screw in it and a slow leak.
Andy Beats
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Re: Tyre pressure ghosts

Post by Andy Beats »

Well, perhaps the Polo system is supposed to tell us which tyre.
But seeing as it was a false alarm and all tyres were fine, it couldn't/wouldn't....
Interested to find out if a proper warning would have shown the affected tyre.
The graphic does suggest it would.
All four tyres were showing as a sort of orange on the graphic, then turned to white (I think) when I confirmed.
Perhaps a proper warning would have shown one red...
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