'16 Mustang, 64,000 miles, auto, & meticulously maintained, never driven hard.
Long story short...
Just this past Saturday I had 4 new OEM TPMS sensors installed (I specifically asked for OEM's) because over the past month or so, I've had one tire sensor that had "failed" 3 times & the info cluster on the dash would say (something along the line of) "TPMS SENSOR FAILURE". I would bring up the sensor screen & it would always be the left driver's side that showed --- as the pressure while the other three showed the correct pressures. I figured that since the car is technically 6 years old, the batteries inside each sensor were probably getting very weak & time to replace. But each time I would shut off the car, let it sit for a moment & start it back up, the "failed" sensor is now showing the correct pressure & would keep showing the pressure for several days or a week, then "fail" again. Shut off the car, start up, sensor works again. Lather, Rinse, Repeat! That's why I had all 4 replaced at once. Just like a burned out headlight...if one burns out, change them both! I thought that would be it. Wellllll.......
Here's why I'm asking for help. Tonight while I was driving home from work, the TPMS warning went off again, but THIS time there were three failed sensors showing --- as the pressure, but one tire was still showing 33 psi. (I keep them at 32). What the??? Three this time?? So I parked the car, shut it off, waited a moment, then started it back up. THEY'RE ALL WORKING AGAIN!
This issue only comes up while I'm driving to & from work, on the Interstate, about 20 miles each way. That's where most of my miles are, with VERY little city driving (if speed makes any difference here).
Has anyone seen this behavior in their own vehicle before, or a mechanic know what may be going on? I'd hate to think that the money I spent on 4 OEM sensors & labor charge didn't fix the problem.
By the way, I took it to Goodyear where I bought the Eagle F1's for it a year & a half ago. Their price for parts & labor were FAR more fair than the dealer's service dept where I bought the car back in '16!
I don't think the answers arguing that a manual air gauge is better than a TPMS system really help. As OP stated, an air gauge doesn't do anything to stop the lights and chimes. And if you buy a recent vehicle, it will have TPMS. Suggesting OP buy an old car that doesn't have it or arguing that TPMS doesn't work does not help OP with his issue.
OP, I would get a TPMS diagnostic tool and.check each sensor. Unfortunately some of them are bad out of the box...even the OEM ones.
If you have any aftermarket electronics plugged in like a dash cam, GPS or cell phone charger you could try unplugging them. Something like that might be causing radio frequency interference. Does it always happen in the same location on your commute? Perhaps you drive past something that interrupts the signal. If something like that doesn't pan out, you'll need a trustworthy mechanic with a high level scan tool to check for fault codes and proper operation. Good luck.
"In the same location" theory sounds interesting! I've been taking the same route (on the Interstate) to & from work for the past 8 years. The TPMS warning has only recently gone off when I'm driving home, but never going to work. Possibly....something transmitting close to the Westbound side of the Interstate but not the Eastbound side (although they're only separated by about 20 feet or so). There is a parallel side road on the last leg of the journey home, but that's a main thoroughfare & traffic is usually heavy there. In other words, it'll take more than 15 minutes to travel the same distance I can travel in 3. It's an exit for a military base or the side road that goes 3 miles West to connect to the road I live on. Hard to explain here!
And as far as a dashcam, yes! I've run it for the past several years. The only issue there is a microSD card went bad & got replaced. Never seen a TPMS warging with the dashcam running, but I'll try that theory here & there!
Bare in mind that a TPMS sends a pulse every 15, 30 or 60 seconds so if a signal is interrupted it will take some time before the PSI reading is replaced by the -- thing. It won't be an instantaneous loss. You may have to take several trips to narrow things down. The military base you mentioned is a likely suspect. I almost asked yesterday if you drove past anything like that. Please let me know how it goes.
I took a completely different route home this evening (for this experiment & it's FAR from the Interstate!) & the TPMS warning went off again at about 20 minutes into the commute, just like it does on the drive home on the Interstate. I lost the reading in the two fronts. The two backs were showing pressures & kept reporting like they should.
This is so strange. It ONLY has done this on the trip home, never going to work, even though I took the Interstate this morning, passing by the same military exit. I think that's out of the question now.
So, slow bumper-to-bumper traffic or at high speeds, it doesn't seem to matter there. And as I mentioned in the original post, after the car is off for a few minutes & I start it back up, all 4 are showing the pressures. The lost readings never start showing until I shut it off & back on again.
That's too bad the simple things aren't panning out. It was worth a try. Maybe you should start looking for the trust worthy mechanic with a high level scan tool to check for fault codes and proper operation.
Yeah, that's my thought! Maybe....it's just faulty (or dirty?) receivers in the car's tire wells. After all, electronics DO break down. And as Scotty has drilled into our heads hundreds of times, nothing is made like it used to be!
If it was me, I would try this next. watch the video from 5:50 where he does the relearn procedure. Did your OEM sensors come with a training tool? If you don't have one they are widely available online and some are very inexpensive. There is a Motorcraft version available at LMR for $60. Some on Amazon are $13.
No. Goodyear didn't give me the training tool they use & I don't have one.
I wanted to give you an update to this. Over the past week, not ONE.... TPMS warning has occurred. I watch the individual pressures while I drive & they all report the rising pressures equally. Well, almost equally, as each tire heats up slightly differently. I still drive by the "questionable" area daily, but no warnings...YET! It's just...WEIRD! :hmm:
I'll eventually figure this out. It just takes time. All TPMS are working as they should (they ought to, they're brand new!) so we'll see what happens from here.
I appreciate your advice greatly!
Well, I'm glad to see they're working correctly now. I have those things on a 2019 F-150 and really like them. I've always been a little OCD about tire pressure and those things are like having a pill to calm me down. I usually keep that display up. I also had an aftermarket replacement set installed on my mother's car along with new tires and they've been working fine since Sept. You may never know what was causing your problem and hopefully it won't come back. If it does, please keep me informed. Good luck again.
My $4 tire gauge from Walmart works all the time too 20th!
That doesn't stop the warning chimes & the flashing tire indicator each time it happens. THAT'S the annoying part!
Probably good time to use some good TPMS diagnostic tool or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33QPO8fqKZc
Just like a burned out headlight...if one burns out, change them both!
Nonsense if you ask me.
Gee, you're lucky to have that system. All i have is an air gauge to tell me if my tires need air.
It's not just needing to know if there's air in there or not, it's the constant warning chimes I have to hear & see the tire indicator go off EACH TIME it happens.
A tire gauge is useless in this situation.
that's the point, my air gauge doesn't have any chimes and whistles. so which is better?
I’d argue that an after market TPMS unit beats both. Easy to service and doesn’t breakdown - it’s just incredibly useful.
Instead of having to put on a spare, I can air up my tire and see how it holds air. Alternatively if I s get an alert I’m slowly loosing air, I can just navigate to the closest tire shop instead of finding out when it’s too late.
^ this happened to me recently, got a puncture alert. By the time I reached the local tire shop I still had air. Otherwise I’d probably have to change a tire at the side of the road… and drive on a space saver wheel