The Mighty Minute - Ep 22: Indirect TPMS - The "Other" Tire Pressure Monitoring System

[@ozzstars_cars]

Good info Pete!

[@wyattoneable]

Love these direct and to the point videos Pete. Thanks.

[@MotorAgeMagazine]

Thank you!

[@cardo1111]

Well done and informative vids. While it won't provide me with the exact pressure in each tire and which tire is low on pressure if illuminated I am happy with my Honda's indirect system. I have the option to reset/recalibrate it either through the menu or just by pressing the reset button. When I bought a set of winter take off wheels and tires this was a pretty big cost saver not having to buy another set of TPMS sensors fir the snow tire wheels and then having to recalibrate them with a special tool or pay to have that done.

[@smms1276]

👍 👍 Thanks Pete

[@fidooaphro]

What if my 2019 honda civic doesn't even have a TPMS button in the setting, how can I have it added to my settings? I didn't buy the TPMS sensors yet, so I want to know first of all if it is possible to fix it in my car or not? And if yes, how easy to program the TPMS to my car computer? Thx

[@MotorAgeMagazine]

Sorry for the delay in replying to your question. Honda uses a few different methods for calibrating the indirect TPMS system - some use a reset switch and some do not. If your car is built to California or Federal standards, it does have the system already installed. No sensors are used in the wheels. The procedure for your car should be in the owner's manual.

[@mubirukadiri6686]

Thanks scanner daner, if i was alone my first suspect would be to disconnect the steering angle sensor.

[@mrbrotherl1633]

Thanks for the awesome video! I have a question about my 2015 CRV, which uses the indirect tpms system. Any advice is appreciated. After I purchased my CRV, I've experienced at least ten times that my tpms would give me false alarm on a highway (only on the highway though, never on the local road). But after I checked my tire pressure, the readings were all fine. The tech at my dealer couldn't figure out the problem and every time they would just reset the tpms light. The situation is very frustrating. Would you have any advice about this issue? Thanks!

[@MotorAgeMagazine]

Whenever calibration is started, the TPMS control unit learns the tire characteristics during the calibration drive. Should those characteristics change for any reason from what it has learned (for example, there is a sudden drop in tire pressure), the Low Tire Pressure/TPMS indicator comes on as a reminder to check the tire pressures. If the tire pressures are properly set and calibration is started, the indicator goes off, the control unit learns the proper tire characteristics during the calibration drive, and all is well. But what if nothing is done about the tire pressures, but calibration is started? The indicator will still go off, but now something called calibration comparison logic steps in. The control unit then compares the tire characteristics that caused the indicator to come on to the tire characteristics during the calibration drive. If the control unit sees that there has been no change in tire characteristics, the indicator comes on again within 20 minutes as a reminder to check the tire pressures. It is not uncommon for drivers to experience this situation and, when they do, they are often confused and think there is something wrong with the TPMS and end up back at their dealership. Here's how this can happen: The Low Tire Pressure/TPMS indicator comes on while driving. The customer, not wanting to stop and check tire pressures, starts calibration knowing it will turn off the indicator. The control unit's calibration comparison logic sees there is no change in tire characteristics since the last calibration and the indicator comes on again within 20 minutes. To clear all learned tire pressures and avoid calibration comparison logic activity, there is a special calibration , which has you start the normal calibration three times in a row, waiting5 seconds between each start. After the third start, the Low Tire Pressure/TPMS indicator blinks once, letting you know the special calibration has started. There is no need for a calibration drive after each start. Hope this helps!

[@mrbrotherl1633]

@@MotorAgeMagazine Thank you for your answer. The information is very helpful. However, I think the special calibration may not really be my problem. My situation is really that after I took my car into the dealer for tpms warning, the dealer would normally reset my tpms for me, and then all is good for like 20-30 days or so. Then after 20-30 days, the tpms light would come on again (this only happens when I drive on highway), and when I got off the highway to use my gauge to check on the tire pressure, all tire pressures are fine! Would you have any advice about this? I had a flat tire about three months ago, and the dealer told me to replace only the flat tire (with the three other tires being the original tires in 2015) and not to worry about the other three. Do you think this might cause a problem? I read online that tread wearing difference in the tires can potentially trigger false tpms warning. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you for the time! Again, very useful information in your video!

[@pcno2832]

I'd much rather live with whatever limitations these systems have than worry about a sensor, and battery, in each wheel. The "KISS" acronym applies here.

[@mikechiodetti6737]

So, indirect is coming back again. Even with a Hall Effect sensor, how is a WSS outside the tire going to know the tire is one or two pounds lower than the others? When a tire is rotated to another position, those two positions will have those sensors reprogrammed to the current air pressure in the tires. What happens when the tire pressure drops by 5 to 10 pounds. Will the ABS put out a code and shut down ABS operation? Vice versa, if the ABS has a sensor problem it send out a false T.P. code. I don't see indirect as an advantage.

[@MotorAgeMagazine]

This is all accomplished in the software and input from a variety of sensors (dependent on the OEM). It compares rotational characteristics and rolling circumference of all 4 tires and is accurate enough to pinpoint the "odd man out". If a fault occurs in one o the ABS sensors, and with the advances of sensor circuit monitoring, I don't think it would set a false TPMS warning. But if you move the tires around without the relearn, that may.

[@mikechiodetti6737]

@@MotorAgeMagazine So there will be multiple sensors per wheel......more than one?

[@michaelpiecewicz9748]

Motor Age 4

[@mikechiodetti6737]

@@michaelpiecewicz9748 Wow!

[@MotorAgeMagazine]

@@mikechiodetti6737 No, no additional sensors. It uses the same sensors as those used by the ABS and ESC systems.

[@manuelsalvatierra25]

I think GM has the easiest tpms system out there, for now