[Boozeralex]

My Tire pressure warning keeps coming on. I've had it on three times in less than a week of ownership.

The first time was last Sunday, I had bought the car on Saturday, one tire was about 2 PSI lower than the others, so I figured that was it, I added air to equalize them and set it to calibrate. Note: They were set to ~38 PSI by the dealer, I realize now that was too high.

The next time it happened when I was yesterday while driving out of town, I measured the pressure and they were all over 40 PSI because the tires were warm but they were all within .5 PSI of each other, I equalized them and did another calibration.

The last time was on the return trip, I checked them and again, they all matched, pulling my hair I did another calibration and continued on. I figured I would check them again in the cold.

I had an idea to finally check the proper pressures needed and was surprised that the car wants two different pressures front and back, not all equal. I set the tires to exactly where they are supposed to be and set it to calibrate again, we will see how well that works out.

So My question is, has anybody else had false alarms with the TPMS or does having all the tires set equal cause that? I'm not sure if the car is expecting the rears to be lower and throwing a warning if it detects that they are all the same or not.

Also I live in southern Illinois so we have been having some temperature fluctuations right now which is pretty common here, I really hope it's not just that, because this will make the TPMS system basically useless and just an annoyance.

 

[hasarad]

My Tire pressure warning keeps coming on. I've had it on three times in less than a week of ownership.

The first time was last Sunday, I had bought the car on Saturday, one tire was about 2 PSI lower than the others, so I figured that was it, I added air to equalize them and set it to calibrate. Note: They were set to ~38 PSI by the dealer, I realize now that was too high.

The next time it happened when I was yesterday while driving out of town, I measured the pressure and they were all over 40 PSI because the tires were warm but they were all within .5 PSI of each other, I equalized them and did another calibration.

The last time was on the return trip, I checked them and again, they all matched, pulling my hair I did another calibration and continued on. I figured I would check them again in the cold.

I had an idea to finally check the proper pressures needed and was surprised that the car wants two different pressures front and back, not all equal. I set the tires to exactly where they are supposed to be and set it to calibrate again, we will see how well that works out.

So My question is, has anybody else had false alarms with the TPMS or does having all the tires set equal cause that? I'm not sure if the car is expecting the rears to be lower and throwing a warning if it detects that they are all the same or not.

Also I live in southern Illinois so we have been having some temperature fluctuations right now which is pretty common here, I really hope it's not just that, because this will make the TPMS system basically useless and just an annoyance.

I run mine at 40psi cold all around and have never had a TPMS warning. I have also never needed to do a calibration.

 

[andrew28]

My Tire pressure warning keeps coming on. I've had it on three times in less than a week of ownership.

The first time was last Sunday, I had bought the car on Saturday, one tire was about 2 PSI lower than the others, so I figured that was it, I added air to equalize them and set it to calibrate. Note: They were set to ~38 PSI by the dealer, I realize now that was too high.

The next time it happened when I was yesterday while driving out of town, I measured the pressure and they were all over 40 PSI because the tires were warm but they were all within .5 PSI of each other, I equalized them and did another calibration.

The last time was on the return trip, I checked them and again, they all matched, pulling my hair I did another calibration and continued on. I figured I would check them again in the cold.

I had an idea to finally check the proper pressures needed and was surprised that the car wants two different pressures front and back, not all equal. I set the tires to exactly where they are supposed to be and set it to calibrate again, we will see how well that works out.

So My question is, has anybody else had false alarms with the TPMS or does having all the tires set equal cause that? I'm not sure if the car is expecting the rears to be lower and throwing a warning if it detects that they are all the same or not.

Also I live in southern Illinois so we have been having some temperature fluctuations right now which is pretty common here, I really hope it's not just that, because this will make the TPMS system basically useless and just an annoyance.

The tire contact patch with the road is dependent on the particular wheel’s weight and the air pressure inside the tire. For example, if we have a balloon on a flat desk with 1 psi air and push down with 2 pounds of weight, the contact area with the desk will be 2 square inches. If we push with 4 pounds, we have to increase balloon pressure to 2 psi to have the same desk contact area.


Tires have cords and stiff rubber so they are not linear in response like a soft balloon, but the effect is still there. We still need more air pressure in wheels holding heavier weight to maintain a given optimum contact patch area with the road.


The vehicle manufacturer knows all this much better than the general public. You may have more air or less air between tires in any order based on tire size, tire construction, weight on that wheel, vehicle use, and suspension. Listen to the manufacturer tells you, not the general public. Pressure will be on a decal or in the owner’s manual. Unless you significantly change tire size or construction, do what the manufacturer recommends. https://www.quora.com/Why-is-there-less-air-in-the-front-tire-and-more-air-in-the-rear-tire-and-what-happens-if-we-fill-both-tires-with-the-same-amount-of-air

The Insight probably has a 2 psi difference between front & rear due to the front being more heavy. So I have been keeping my Insight 1-2 psi above the recommended cold psi on the door jam but still maintain that 2 psi difference between front & rear.

Make sure you're checking and adjusting tires when it is cold with the car sitting for about 3 hours. I don't think it matters what psi it ends up at when it is warm as long as you fill them properly when they're cold.

This has happened to me a couple of times now. Right around 8:30 AM the dash and tablet display brightness dims. Not sure what this is about.

Is that your toll transponder on the ambient light sensor? That might be why?

 

[rcarlton]

I recently had my front passenger side tire replaced by Discount Tire (Monday). I now have same brand and size but a newer model tire since the factory tires are now discontinued (1,100 miles on car, Continental Procontact TX factory, new tire Procontact). I didn't expect them to calibrate the TPMS so I did it in the parking lot. Turned the error message off for a few miles...but, it came back on. Checked tire pressure at home and found the new tire had 40 psi. Corrected it and checked the other tires which all had correct pressure. Started calibration again in the morning before heading to work, one mile of city driving and a mile or so of tollway driving at 70 the light came back on. Looked closely at the manual which said calibration takes 30 minutes of cumulative driving at speeds between 30-60 mph. Figured that was the problem since I drive only about 2 miles of city streets, the rest at 70 mph and my commute is 28 minutes. Drove quite a bit at lower speeds today (Saturday) and I still get the error light. Tire pressures are all correct. I plan on taking it to the dealer soon but was hoping someone may have an easy solution.

 

[Mr. Natural]

Are you getting the low pressure message or is it the system problem message?

 

[andrew28]

I recently had my front passenger side tire replaced by Discount Tire (Monday). I now have same brand and size but a newer model tire since the factory tires are now discontinued (1,100 miles on car, Continental Procontact TX factory, new tire Procontact). I didn't expect them to calibrate the TPMS so I did it in the parking lot. Turned the error message off for a few miles...but, it came back on. Checked tire pressure at home and found the new tire had 40 psi. Corrected it and checked the other tires which all had correct pressure. Started calibration again in the morning before heading to work, one mile of city driving and a mile or so of tollway driving at 70 the light came back on. Looked closely at the manual which said calibration takes 30 minutes of cumulative driving at speeds between 30-60 mph. Figured that was the problem since I drive only about 2 miles of city streets, the rest at 70 mph and my commute is 28 minutes. Drove quite a bit at lower speeds today (Saturday) and I still get the error light. Tire pressures are all correct. I plan on taking it to the dealer soon but was hoping someone may have an easy solution.

An indirect TPMS typically relies on wheel speed sensors that the anti-lock brake system uses. These sensors measure the rate of revolution each wheel is making and can be used by on-board computer systems to compare with each other and to other vehicle operation data such as speed.

Based on the rate of revolution of each wheel, the computer can interpret the relative size of the tires on your vehicle. When a wheel starts spinning faster than expected, the computer calculates that the tire is underinflated and alert the driver accordingly.

So, an indirect tire pressure monitoring system doesn’t actually measure tire pressure. It’s not electronically processing the same kind of measurement you might see with a tire gauge. Instead, an indirect tire pressure monitor simply measures how fast your tires are rotating and sends signals to the computer that will actuate the indicator light when something in the rotation seems amiss.

Advantages of Indirect TPMS
- Relatively inexpensive compared to a direct TPMS
-- Requires less programming/maintenance over the years than a direct TPMS
-- Less overall installation maintenance than its direct counterpart
Disadvantages of Indirect TPMS
-- May become inaccurate if you purchase a bigger or smaller tire
-- May be unreliable when tires are unevenly worn
-- Must be reset after properly inflating every tire
-- Must be reset after routine tire rotation
https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/drivers-ed/tire-pressure-monitoring-system-how-tpms-works

The tpms light might be on cause one of your tire is brand new and all 4 of them are now sort of unevenly worn. I think the dealership has a way to "reinitialize" the tpms since you have tires with different tread depth right now.

 

[rcarlton]

Do you think 1,100 miles would make that much difference in tread height? It takes about 3,500 miles to wear a tire 1/32". I would guess I may have worn 1/128" at most. How would it sense that?

 

[hasarad]

1,100 miles shouldn't be enough to throw the TPMS off. There should be no need to re-calibrate after the tire is replaced. It may take a few miles, but the system should reset back to normal. I've bumped my pressure up from factory-spec to 40 all around with no warning lights. Your dealer should be able to run diagnostics on the system to determine why the warning is coming up. Since you're replaced a tire via an outside company, they may try to charge you for the diagnostics. I hope not. If it were me, I'd find some free time and try to re-calibrate again and follow the manual instructions to a "T."

 

[insightfully]

While it may not be 'needed' at a 1k mile difference, the manual does recommend that the TPMS is recalibrated after inflating, rotating or changing a tire, which is what rcarlton correctly attempted. For troubleshooting, it would be helpful to know answer to Mr. Natural's question regarding which TPMS message is coming up.

 

[andrew28]

While it may not be 'needed' at a 1k mile difference, the manual does recommend that the TPMS is recalibrated after inflating, rotating or changing a tire, which is what rcarlton correctly attempted. For troubleshooting, it would be helpful to know answer to Mr. Natural's question regarding which TPMS message is coming up.

Good point, didn't realize the car has 2 different TPMS warning lights.

 

[rcarlton]

Here is the error message: 20190311_163856 by rcarlton1, on Flickr

 

[andrew28]

Here is the error message: 20190311_163856 by rcarlton1, on Flickr

That's the TPMS "problem message" not the TPMS "low pressure" message according to the image @Mr. Natural attached. You need to bring it to the dealer.

You mentioned Continental so I assume you own a touring insight? Are you sure the replacement tire size is 215/50R17 91H? Even if it is the same size, I wonder if different speed rating matters for the indirect TPMS...

 

[andrew28]

That's the TPMS "problem message" not the TPMS "low pressure" message according to the image @Mr. Natural attached. You need to bring it to the dealer.

You mentioned Continental so I assume you own a touring insight? Are you sure the replacement tire size is 215/50R17 91H? Even if it is the same size, I wonder if different speed rating matters for the indirect TPMS...

I just realized your signature mentions touring insight and I thought your replacement tire was the Purecontact(should be ContiProContact as you mentioned in OP) with different load index/speed rating but same size. The ContiProContact does match exactly to the ProContactTX from size/load index/speed rating plus even better traction. So I'm not sure why the TPMS is giving the "problem message". Now to get some sleep...

 

[rcarlton]

Dealer told me to try the triple calibration. Run calibration 3 times in a row within seconds. Supposed to be in the manual somewhere. Couldn't find it. It did not work.

 

[andrew28]

TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) continues to report a problem when there is none. We replaced a tire due to sidewall puncture a couple of months after purchase of car. Replacement was same brand, size, etc except it was not the type of low mileage tread that manufacturers put on new cars in other words it was a typical after market consumer tire. Honda dealer says to their knowledge only fix is to buy new tires 2 at a time or even 4 at a time to avoid TPMS warning. This is not a new problem with this type of TPMS system. In a form email Honda offered no solution to this problem when we filed complaint on their website. We knew nothing about this problem when purchasing this new vehicle. We are otherwise very satisfied with the car. Very frustrating. - Marshallberg, NC, USA

NHTSA ID Number: 11181522
Incident Date September 28, 2018

I found a nhtsa.gov complaint filed by another 2019 Honda Insight owner with the same issue. Try contacting Honda corporate at https://owners.honda.com/help/customer-relations. It has been 6 months since the above customer reported it. Maybe Honda has a solution for this now?

 

[insightfully]

I found a nhtsa.gov complaint filed by another 2019 Honda Insight owner with the same issue. Try contacting Honda corporate at https://owners.honda.com/help/customer-relations. It has been 6 months since the above customer reported it. Maybe Honda has a solution for this now?

Traction quality difference in the new tire sounds like a common factor mentioned between rcarlton and the quoted nhtsa complaint.

 

[insightfully]

Dealer told me to try the triple calibration. Run calibration 3 times in a row within seconds. Supposed to be in the manual somewhere. Couldn't find it. It did not work.

I haven't seen a "triple calibration" recommendation in the Insight manual. I've only seen mention to repeat steps if a "Calibration Failed to Start" message appears. This CivicX forum thread mentions what you described as being a "full reset" of the TPMS.

 

[rcarlton]

Got back from the dealer. Had to go back 3 times this morning. Tried the triple calibration again, headed home. Failed to work, turned around, back to the dealer. Waited over two hours, they said they reset the computer. Headed home, TPMS came on again. Turned around and headed back. Because the replacement tire is a Procontact and the other three are Procontact TX there is a difference in the tread. This creates a different frequency from the tread which the sensor picks up, resulting in the warning message. At least that is their explanation. Discount Tire will order me the exact tire and replace it free of charge. Problem not resolved yet, new tire will be in later in the week.

 

[insightfully]

Got back from the dealer. Had to go back 3 times this morning. Tried the triple calibration again, headed home. Failed to work, turned around, back to the dealer. Waited over two hours, they said they reset the computer. Headed home, TPMS came on again. Turned around and headed back. Because the replacement tire is a Procontact and the other three are Procontact TX there is a difference in the tread. This creates a different frequency from the tread which the sensor picks up, resulting in the warning message. At least that is their explanation. Discount Tire will order me the exact tire and replace it free of charge. Problem not resolved yet, new tire will be in later on in the week.

Sorry you continue to have difficulty, but thanks for keeping us updated.

The traction (tread, rolling resistance) difference does sound like the common theme in your issue and the one reported to NHTSA where they said "Replacement was same brand, size, etc except it was not the type of low mileage tread that manufacturers put on new cars; in other words it was a typical after market consumer tire."

Conditions aren't "exactly" the same if the tires don't have the same properties as the other tires, and it sounds like the dealer suspects this difference to be the cause as well.

 

[maynyrd150]

This system seems to be very sensitive. I bolted on a brand new set of snow tires, all the same, and had to recalibrate. I suspect it also uses the GPS signal to check speed. How else would it have known the tires changed? The new ones were all the same and brand new.