TPMS on the fritz???

**channad** · 10-02-2008 01:03 AM

First off, I never really wanted the TPMS, but it came standard on the 2008s, so there you go.

I've had 2 instances when the I got the alert. The first happened around March, in my third month of having the car. I went around and looked at each tire. Couldn't see any difference in any of them. Took the tire pressure gauge around each tire. Everything came out to 44 psi, so what's the big deal? I reset the TPMS and continued through my day.

Second instance was a few days ago. Thingy went off...I immediately pulled over to check the tires. They all look the same, they all felt the same, pressure wise. So, I just reset my TPMS and carried on.

If I had a leak, the TPMS would go off again. Or at least, I would assume it would. I just don't know if I can trust that thing.

Conclusion:
Until it's sophisticated enough to tell you which tire you are losing air from, I think it's just a gimmick. I mean, if you get a flat or a slow leak, you're going to notice it the normal way. Abnormal driving conditions. I'm not sure I'm happy with the TPMS being standard on my car. I wouldn't want to pay for something that didn't do what it advertised. I guess I'll just wait and see.

Anybody have experience with the TPMS doing what it's advertised to do? I mean, if I buy new wheels, I have to pennie up another $300-$400 for TPMS stems and sensors for the new wheels.

"Why don't you just use the stems and sensors that came with the car?" The stockers will be my winter wheels.
"Winter in So Cal?" I go to Mammoth, it snows up there.

**SoCalS4Avant** · 10-02-2008 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by channad

First off, I never really wanted the TPMS, but it came standard on the 2008s, so there you go.

I've had 2 instances when the I got the alert. The first happened around March, in my third month of having the car. I went around and looked at each tire. Couldn't see any difference in any of them. Took the tire pressure gauge around each tire. Everything came out to 44 psi, so what's the big deal? I reset the TPMS and continued through my day.

Second instance was a few days ago. Thingy went off...I immediately pulled over to check the tires. They all look the same, they all felt the same, pressure wise. So, I just reset my TPMS and carried on.

If I had a leak, the TPMS would go off again. Or at least, I would assume it would. I just don't know if I can trust that thing.

Conclusion:
Until it's sophisticated enough to tell you which tire you are losing air from, I think it's just a gimmick. I mean, if you get a flat or a slow leak, you're going to notice it the normal way. Abnormal driving conditions. I'm not sure I'm happy with the TPMS being standard on my car. I wouldn't want to pay for something that didn't do what it advertised. I guess I'll just wait and see.

Anybody have experience with the TPMS doing what it's advertised to do? I mean, if I buy new wheels, I have to pennie up another $300-$400 for TPMS stems and sensors for the new wheels.

"Why don't you just use the stems and sensors that came with the car?" The stockers will be my winter wheels.
"Winter in So Cal?" I go to Mammoth, it snows up there.

Didn't someone ask you about winter wheels last night at the GTG?!

I don't have TPMS on the Avant - fortunately. Both my other cars (non-Audi) have it though, and it does tell you specifically which tire has a problem. The couple times I've had it go off I had a nail/screw/whatever in the tire, and it leaked down pretty far causing the warning light to come on, and a specific light come on showing which tire. Unfortunately, it seems like this is one place Audi loses if it can't even pinpoint the tire that's having issues...TPMS - FTL.

-Dan

**channad** · 10-02-2008 11:57 AM

^^^^ exactly! What if I'm losing pressure in my spare tire? How would I know? It's a lame system in the Audi for sure.

**VR2V8** · 10-02-2008 02:00 PM

Yep. Completely worthless.

You figure this system is geared toward people who aren't so mechanically inclined. They get a warning light and can check which tire needs air. But it doesn't work that way.

And what if one of these people needed to add air but didn't know how much to put in? They should at least be able to look at the stored values the dealer used and check all 4 four tires against that info. But it doesn't work that way either.

Heck, I could fill all tires up to only 5 psi (or 80 psi for that matter) and store the values. I'd have no warning light until one of them dropped by 25% (or burst). That could be pretty dangerous for someone who really doesn't know what they're doing....

**caitovS4** · 10-02-2008 05:55 PM

Can it be disabled through vag-com?

Seems that might be the best solution.

**JOS4AUDI** · 10-02-2008 06:19 PM

channa i have an 08 a4 cab and i feel you this tpms is horrible! When i first bought the car i think i had 600 miles on it the light came on i pulled over checked it out nothing i didnt know what to do since i never owned an audi with this crap, all my other audis no tpms. So i went to the dealer they fixed it said tire needed air ok then again at 4000 miles so i went back to the dealer and finally they explained it to me and showed me how to fix it on my own. I seriously hate it and hope they do away with it sorry so long but i feel better i told my story.

**ant7701** · 10-02-2008 11:23 PM

completely useless?????? Maintaining an accurate tire pressure is the most important thing you can do to your car other than an oil change. Yeah you and most peole can notice when you have a flat. But when your at 20 psi and your tire is rated for 32psi on your car.....you wont notice a thing. But when someone stops short in front of you and your car doesnt stop the way it should due to low tire pressure...then what?

or when your riding down the freeway and hit a small dip and blow your tire out because your at 20 psi.....then what?

or when you never check your tires and your dumping a buck a week on gas because of your tire pressure then what?

The system isnt to tell you your tire has gone flat.....its to help you maintain a correct tire pressure for your safety, save you money, prolong the life of your car, etc....

why do you think its mandatory by law now for ALL vehicles to have a TPMS system.....

anyways....channad....you might have a bad sensor or tpms initiator. OR you might have a bad tire pressure gauge

Take into account that your tire pressure will increase 3-6psi once warmed up....and if your a bit low it will be hard to tell sometimes. I recommend running nitrogen in your tires.......Nitrogen is not affected by temperature so cold or hot the pressure will remain the same.

on the newer Acuras the TPMS will actually display the tire pressure on the info screen in the middle of the speedometer. We HAVE to run nitrogen so we dont get overloaded with customers complaining of fluctuating tire pressures. But nonetheless.....take it to the dealer to check and make sure your system is ok...

**mioStile** · 10-03-2008 01:19 AM

Channa - I've been having the same problem. Could our cars be any more alike?

**RAudi Driver** · 10-03-2008 01:58 AM

Originally Posted by ant7701

completely useless?????? Maintaining an accurate tire pressure is the most important thing you can do to your car other than an oil change. Yeah you and most peole can notice when you have a flat. But when your at 20 psi and your tire is rated for 32psi on your car.....you wont notice a thing. But when someone stops short in front of you and your car doesnt stop the way it should due to low tire pressure...then what?

or when your riding down the freeway and hit a small dip and blow your tire out because your at 20 psi.....then what?

or when you never check your tires and your dumping a buck a week on gas because of your tire pressure then what?

The system isnt to tell you your tire has gone flat.....its to help you maintain a correct tire pressure for your safety, save you money, prolong the life of your car, etc....

why do you think its mandatory by law now for ALL vehicles to have a TPMS system.....

anyways....channad....you might have a bad sensor or tpms initiator. OR you might have a bad tire pressure gauge

Take into account that your tire pressure will increase 3-6psi once warmed up....and if your a bit low it will be hard to tell sometimes. I recommend running nitrogen in your tires.......Nitrogen is not affected by temperature so cold or hot the pressure will remain the same.

on the newer Acuras the TPMS will actually display the tire pressure on the info screen in the middle of the speedometer. We HAVE to run nitrogen so we dont get overloaded with customers complaining of fluctuating tire pressures. But nonetheless.....take it to the dealer to check and make sure your system is ok...

Channa , I run nitrogen in the MKV and it still goes off. I thought that by removing the air and filling the tire with nitrogen, it would solve the problem. It didn't. If you can get it for free, then I would do it, if not then burn it off.

Get yourself a accurate guage and fill your tires up 1lb at a time till the light goes off, unless it goes to like 50psi. If it does this, you have a problem.

Who was playing at the Greek?

**VR2V8** · 10-03-2008 02:42 AM

Originally Posted by RAudi Driver

Get yourself a accurate guage and fill your tires up 1lb at a time till the light goes off, unless it goes to like 50psi.

I tried that. It doesn't work that way. The light will not go out on its own. You have to overwrite the unviewable previous stored values and store the new values by "reseting" in the DIS menu.

That's the whole issue here.....you can't reset the light. You basically tell the TPMS system everything is ok......even though you may have filled the tires to the wrong pressures if you weren't careful.

**channad** · 10-03-2008 02:56 PM

Well, ant7701, you've brought up a great idea. I should take it to the dealer and have them check it out...although, caitov has a good idea as well. Vag-com that thingy out!

Iggy, you're a funny guy!

I was checking out some tire gauges...what do you guys recommend? Looks like the are all digital these days...or at least the ones on autogeek.net

http://www.autogeek.net/tire-gauge.html

http://www.autogeek.net/racing-tire-gauge.html

**ant7701** · 10-03-2008 03:08 PM

forget the digital piece of garbage at pep boys :)

get urself a snap-on. its not digital but dead accurate and has a straight end so you wont have to worry about nicking your rim with it. I've had mine for nearly 10 years and I use it 15x per day....no issues ever!

Maybe audi just happens to have a shitty TPMS system....But I would look into checking the preset values and maybe changing them if possible. that way the light wont come on if you drop below 30psi....maybe you can set it so the light comes on under 25psi or so.

**eweu** · 10-03-2008 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by channad

I was checking out some tire gauges...what do you guys recommend?

Longacre Racing is the only gauge I would use. Good stuff and highly accurate. They hold the reading until you reset it. I have the "deluxe" 0-60 gauge that I use regularly including track days.

You can order online or find them at many racing pro shops.

Longacre Racing