What You Should Do When a Tire-Pressure Light Flashes
TPMS Light Flashing On and Off Then Stays Solid
My TPMS Light Is On: What Does It Mean?
“TPMS” stands for Tire Pressure Monitoring System. A car’s TPMS measures the tire pressure of each individual tire and alerts the driver when the tire air pressure is too low. The TPMS warning light comes on when one or more tires drop at least 25% below the vehicle’s recommended inflation level.
In 2000, Congress passed the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act. The TREAD Act mandated that every passenger vehicle have an electronic system to notify the driver of under-inflated tires. As a result, all vehicles manufactured since 2007 are equipped with some kind of TPMS system.
You probably see the TPMS light illuminate for a few seconds every time you start your car. The TPMS symbol looks like a cross-section of a flat tire with an exclamation point in the middle. Some vehicles also illuminate the letters “TPMS.”
It’s important to keep your tires properly inflated. Under-inflated tires cause:
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- accelerated tire wear
- poor traction and handling
- flat tires/blowouts
- poor gas mileage
- higher risk of hydroplaning
It’s also not safe to have overinflated tires. Over-inflated tires don’t absorb road impacts well and cause decreased traction and accelerated tire wear.
Direct vs. Indirect TPMS
Direct TPMS is the most common type of TPMS since it is the most accurate system. A direct TPMS takes tire pressure readings from sensors mounted on each tire. The sensors measure air pressure inside the tire and feed data directly to your car’s computer system.
An indirect TPMS, on the other hand, doesn’t measure each tire’s air pressure. Instead, it uses the Anti-Lock Braking (ABS) system to measure tires’ rotational speed and approximate tire pressure levels.
To put it simply: the lower the tire pressure, the smaller the tire circumference, and the smaller the tire, the faster it spins. So by comparing tire rotation speeds, the TPMS figures out if tires are low on air.
Some vehicles’ systems show you the exact, real-time tire pressure of each tire, while others simply alert you when a tire gets low. No matter which system your vehicle has, we still recommend that you manually check your tire pressure with a tire gauge as part of your monthly tire check-up.
What Should I Do if My TPMS Light Comes On?
TPMS Light Comes On Solid
A solid TPMS light indicates that one or more tires are at least 25% below the recommended tire pressure and need to be inflated.
What to do when your TPMS light comes on:
1. If you’re driving, find a safe place to pull out of traffic and stop to check your tires.
2. Use a tire gauge to check the pressure of each tire. The manufacturer’s recommended pressure level is typically on a sticker located inside the driver’s side door. (Don’t use the number on the tire sidewall! That’s the tire’s maximum pressure.)
3. If the tire is completely flat or blown out, you’ll need to change the tire out with a spare or call a tow truck. If the tire is just low on air, stop by the nearest Virginia Tire & Auto for a free tire pressure check or find a gas station with an air pump.
4. The TPMS light should turn off several minutes after re-inflating the tire(s) to the correct pressure.
5. If necessary, have the tire experts at Virginia Tire & Auto inspect the tire for leaks or punctures and safely repair the tire.
If the TPMS light illuminates when you start your car and then turns off later in the day, it was likely triggered by a change in the weather. Tires lose about a pound of air pressure for every 10-degree drop in temperature, so the TPMS light often turns on and off in the fall and spring as temperatures rise and fall.
TPMS Light Flashing On and Off Then Stays Solid
Is your tire pressure light blinking? On most vehicles, a TPMS light that flashes for 60-90 seconds and then stays solid for the rest of the drive indicates that something is wrong with the TPMS system.
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- Dead TPMS sensor battery
- Damaged or missing TPMS sensor
- Damaged tire valve
- Malfunctioning internal electronics
- TPMS reset procedure not performed correctly
While a malfunctioning sensor will not affect your tires’ performance, it will keep the system from alerting you when your tires are low.
To get the flashing TPMS light to go off, bring your vehicle to Virginia Tire & Auto and let our tire technicians diagnose and replace your TPMS sensors.
How Long Does a TPMS Sensor Last?
A TPMS sensor is tucked between the wheel and the tire and is powered by a small, non-rechargeable battery that cannot be serviced or replaced.
The sensor’s battery life differs by manufacturer, but they generally start to fail after 5–7 years or 70,000 miles, causing a flashing TPMS light.
Each sensor unit costs anywhere from $50 to $150. And if one fails, you might as well go ahead and have the other three replaced, as they will likely be following suit soon. (Some vehicles also require a TPMS sensor on the spare tire.)
We recommend replacing the TPMS sensors every time you replace your tires. When this service is done during tire replacement, installing the new sensors is inexpensive (averaging $10 per wheel) since the technicians are already dismounting, mounting and balancing the tires.
Never Ignore the TPMS Light
Whether you need a tire pressure check or TPMS sensor replacement, we’re fully equipped to serve your vehicle. All Virginia Tire & Auto locations have state-of-the-art tire equipment and employees with Tire Industry Association and TMPS training. Drop by anytime or schedule a service visit online.
What You Should Do When a Tire-Pressure Light Flashes
Here’s what it means and the right way to deal with it.
By Steve Siler Published: Feb 25, 2019
Getty ImagesTire-pressure warning lights are typically located in the gauge cluster of an automobile’s dashboard. Warning lights are usually yellow or amber and resemble a cross section of a tire with an exclamation point and/or the letters “TPMS.” (You can see one in the photo above, just to the left of the speedometer.) This small telltale illuminates to inform you of low air pressure in one or more tires when that issue is detected by the vehicle’s tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
In general, the light will come on when the air pressure in one or more tires is outside the recommended range. Since the tires’ optimal performance and safety benefits are realized within a specific range of air pressure, measured in pounds per square inch (psi), the warning light may illuminate when pressure has dropped as little as 10 percent below the recommendation—long before low pressure is visible to the eye.
Some of the more sophisticated tire-pressure monitoring systems will tell drivers which tire is out of range or display real-time air pressure in each tire—including spare tires, in some cases.
If your tire-pressure warning light comes on, don’t ignore it; you could be getting a flat.
Low pressure could result from a leak or simply from the tendency of a tire to lose about a pound of air pressure every month, as well as a pound for every 10-degree drop in temperature. So if your tires are inflated properly in the summer, they could be low enough by the winter months to prompt the tire-pressure warning. Similarly, if a tire-pressure light illuminates on a cool morning, it could shut off if the ambient temperature climbs high enough to bring the tires back to an acceptable pressure. Tires warm up as you drive, raising their internal pressure by about 3 psi, which is another reason the TPMS warning might be on first thing in the morning and off later in the day.
Getty Images
Either way, whenever a tire-pressure warning light turns on, it’s time to check your tires with a tire-pressure gauge, which costs as little as $5. A monthly pressure check of all your tires can help you keep them at the optimal level of inflation and will enable you to identify slow leaks early—possibly even before the pressure drops low enough for the warning light to come on.
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If your TPMS warning light does come on, find the closest gas or service station and check the pressure of all four tires (plus the spare, if applicable), adding air to any that fall below the range listed on a sticker inside the driver’s door. Once the tires are properly inflated, the light may go off after you’ve driven a few miles. If the light doesn’t automatically turn off after about 10 miles, the TPMS may need to be reset, as directed in the vehicle’s owner’s manual. If the light comes on and all your tires are within the acceptable range, there’s a chance that you have a malfunctioning tire-pressure monitoring sensor that needs to be replaced. No matter what the issue turns out to be, pay attention if the tire-pressure light turns on; you’ll be safer for it, and you might also avoid damaging your tires.
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