TPMS failures

rbpru wrote:


Technology does not replace common sense.

Modern day blasphemy! Technology has to replace common sense as nobody has any common sense these days. If it wasn't for technology who would we blame and sue when something goes wrong? ;)

(My tongue is firmly in my cheek folks. Don't get anything in a wad.)

I have had my TPM indicator go off four times, two false readings and two flat or almost flat tires. They are handy but if they were not there; it would be no different than the other cars and trucks I have driven over the last 50+ years.

Technology does not replace common sense.

Yep - battery saving mode kicks in when it's off the valve-stem. Mine are rarely off the vehicles except for verifying air pressure and the yearly changing of the batteries and o-rings, so I don't really know how long it takes for BSM to kick in.

Yeah, it's a good idea to contact the companies. I've been doing that. Talked to TST and TireMinder and e-mailed back and forth with PressurePro. No one e-mailed me back from EEZRV.

Interesting what each had to say, but prefer to verify that information whenever possible with people who actually own and use the systems.

GMandJM wrote:

Heavy Metal Doctor wrote:
I know a couple of things relating to it: The sensors are triggered on the motion of rolling along down the road and turns itself off when sitting still. Usually by the time I hit 25MPH or so the monitor is reading pressure of all sensors. So no battery life lost while parked.

Where are you getting this information?

When my car is sitting in the garage, I can turn on the TST monitor and within a few minutes I will get PSI and temp readings even if the car does not move.

It requires a bit of time for all the sensors to register with the monitor. Motion does not trigger them.

As far as I know, TST sensors do not "go to sleep".

I have read a manual for another brand that does have a sleep mode. TireTrakker, IIRC.

After reading my manual, it states that the sensors drop into "battery saving mode" when there is zero pressure. In other words, when you remove them from the valve stem.

It also says "automatic activation when vehicle is in motion". I'm not sure if that means they are "asleep" until motion is detected, or if it means there is nothing to do to check tire pressure, or what.

I'm sure TST would be happy to elaborate. They have, quite honestly, one of the best customer service departments I have dealt with in years.

I think if you have any questions about specific systems, then the customer service should be contacted for the respective company. There seems to be quite a bit of misinformation regarding TPMS systems and their functionality.

I don't quite understand the reluctance to use/rely on a TPMS. Yes, you should visually inspect tires at each stop. But you can't do that while physically driving. Even if the TPMS doesn't perform exactly like everyone thinks it should, why not have that extra bit of insurance while on the road?

And trust me, if it loses pressure like a blowout, it WILL alarm you pretty darn quick. Within seconds. I have tested it myself by removing the sensor from the stem while the monitor is in my hand. Or, as an alternative, just don't use a TPMS and run it down to the rim/blowout on the road as so many people have reported doing, while tearing off the side of their camper. There has been TWO cases where the TPMS has saved me. Once, I had a tire starting to delam, and temp went up. Other time, picked up a nail and had a slow leak.

Is it a perfect system? Nope. But I'm going to run one as insurance and a backup to normal vigilance.

Again, I encourage everyone to contact whichever TPMS system manufacturer they wish and ASK QUESTIONS. Don't rely on information you see on the web. Call and ask.

Heavy Metal Doctor wrote:
Why the heck does the monitor scan though the sensors every few seconds AND it appears to give an instant alarm if it looses the signal...

That is the way our TST system is designed/manufactured...and that is what some of us are not happy about:

If our monitor loses a sensor's signal, the reading displayed for that sensor is from the monitor's stored memory.

The monitor will continue to give a phantom/memory reading for up to an hour while it tries to "find" the lost sensor signal. Everything will look normal on the monitor and you won't get any warning of a dropped sensor signal.

After that hour or so, the monitor is programmed to give up waiting for the lost sensor signal to come back.

After that hour the memory readings stop, you hear a beep and the reading for that sensor goes blank on the monitor.

Like you said, a TPMS is an aid, not a fix.

It isn't perfectly 100 percent reliable.

Heavy Metal Doctor wrote:
I know a couple of things relating to it: The sensors are triggered on the motion of rolling along down the road and turns itself off when sitting still. Usually by the time I hit 25MPH or so the monitor is reading pressure of all sensors. So no battery life lost while parked.

Where are you getting this information?

When my car is sitting in the garage, I can turn on the TST monitor and within a few minutes I will get PSI and temp readings even if the car does not move.

It requires a bit of time for all the sensors to register with the monitor. Motion does not trigger them.

As far as I know, TST sensors do not "go to sleep".

I have read a manual for another brand that does have a sleep mode. TireTrakker, IIRC.

Ok..so now I am a little confused, as well.....Trying to keep an open mind and I am a bit of a tool / gadget nut so I'm interested here.....
Why the heck does the monitor scan though the sensors every few seconds AND it appears to give an instant alarm if it looses the signal, but yet the info being brought out here says the sensor only sends out a PSI reading every 2 minutes??? That makes no sense at all in my mind that the monitor connects and "sees" the sensor every few seconds but doesn't take an actual reading.

Then we get into how often CAN it connect / send a reading and not use up the battery in the sensor? Well that to me is a tough one too.....I know a couple of things relating to it: The sensors are triggered on the motion of rolling along down the road and turns itself off when sitting still. Usually by the time I hit 25MPH or so the monitor is reading pressure of all sensors. So no battery life lost while parked.
My cars wheels sensor also run on batteries, though I am not sure how often they "talk" to the monitoring system built in to give me a warning on the dash. Those batteries are 6 years and 190K miles old and no failures yet. I do know that it takes about 2 minutes of driving after I fill a low tire for the light to go back off, so maybe teh 2 minutes to read thing is right.
All this in consideration, I would expect TST to use similar components and technology.
Again, TPMS is just and extra aid, not a total fix for a problem, IMO....I still do visual / manual inspection often before and during trips.

I've heard the Doran system referred to as a PP before and thought it was the same co, but an older version.

Thanks for setting us straight on that.

The Doran pressure monitoring system is not the same as the Pressure Pro TPMS system.

Two totally different systems.

The Pressure Pro system does alarm on temperature but does not display the temperature

Did your Doran PP even measure temp back in the day?