This is the warning for low tyre pressure. Often shows up after you’ve had a tyre change, such as when you go to winter tyres around this time of year.
Colder air also takes up less volume relative to warmer air, therefore exerting less outward pressure. So, if you haven’t aired up since July, it’s entirely possible that the lower temperatures alone can cause this light to come on.
We get it when we switch over to winter tires and never installed the tpms in the other wheels.
It’s there all winter, and ignored. If cold air is enough to set off the low pressure warning, your tires were already really low in July. Or you have a leak.
On some cars the traction control is disabled if the tpms light is on so it might not be a great idea to ignore it all winter. TPMS sensors aren’t that expensive.
Actually I turn of TC lots in the snow to have a little fun without the Nannies, but it works fine with my snow tires which still don’t have tpms in them like the summer ones.
Interesting fact, the tyre pressure warning isn’t always measuring your tyre pressure! At least, not directly.
Some cars have actual pressure sensors inside the wheels which do measure it, while others (like mine) use the ABS sensor - which measures wheel rotations - to determine pressure as a byproduct.
The theory goes that an under-inflated tyre is smaller in diameter than properly inflated one, and so will have to make more revolutions than a properly inflated one to cover a given distance. By comparing the current status against a programmed normal, a mismatch that indicates possible low pressure can be detected.
Because what is ‘normal’ can change after you inflate your tyres or change them, cars with this type of indirect sensor will also have a button somewhere to reset it (mine is inside the glove box) so you can redefine what ‘normal’ is and cancel any spurious warning.
The part I find funny is I’ve never had seasonal low tire pressure except when the polar vortex rips through and drops temps down to -40ish (which fun fact is the same in both Fahrenheit and Celsius) maybe this is a thing for folks with heated garages?
Happens to me every year in the north parked outside. I have had it happen on low profile tires, van tires, and bike tires. I wonder if humidity plays a role? Or maybe the drasticness of the change, I’m pretty close to Canada.
Witch’s cauldron on top of a rack. How appropriate for Spooktober!
I was genuinely wondering, if that’s the joke, having never seen this light before…
This is the warning for low tyre pressure. Often shows up after you’ve had a tyre change, such as when you go to winter tyres around this time of year.
Colder air also takes up less volume relative to warmer air, therefore exerting less outward pressure. So, if you haven’t aired up since July, it’s entirely possible that the lower temperatures alone can cause this light to come on.
Yeah, this is the actual joke here haha.
We get it when we switch over to winter tires and never installed the tpms in the other wheels.
It’s there all winter, and ignored. If cold air is enough to set off the low pressure warning, your tires were already really low in July. Or you have a leak.
On some cars the traction control is disabled if the tpms light is on so it might not be a great idea to ignore it all winter. TPMS sensors aren’t that expensive.
Not 10 year old Subarus!
Actually I turn of TC lots in the snow to have a little fun without the Nannies, but it works fine with my snow tires which still don’t have tpms in them like the summer ones.
Fair enough. But I just meant in general for anyone else reading this.
Interesting fact, the tyre pressure warning isn’t always measuring your tyre pressure! At least, not directly.
Some cars have actual pressure sensors inside the wheels which do measure it, while others (like mine) use the ABS sensor - which measures wheel rotations - to determine pressure as a byproduct.
The theory goes that an under-inflated tyre is smaller in diameter than properly inflated one, and so will have to make more revolutions than a properly inflated one to cover a given distance. By comparing the current status against a programmed normal, a mismatch that indicates possible low pressure can be detected.
Because what is ‘normal’ can change after you inflate your tyres or change them, cars with this type of indirect sensor will also have a button somewhere to reset it (mine is inside the glove box) so you can redefine what ‘normal’ is and cancel any spurious warning.
Or in my experience, when one of the 4/5 transmitters fails.
You must live in warm climate 😀
Cold air in tires makes pressure go down. Low tore warning light.
Nah, I haven’t had a car for a few years and my car before that didn’t have this feature, because it was an old car… 🙂
The part I find funny is I’ve never had seasonal low tire pressure except when the polar vortex rips through and drops temps down to -40ish (which fun fact is the same in both Fahrenheit and Celsius) maybe this is a thing for folks with heated garages?
Happens to me every year in the north parked outside. I have had it happen on low profile tires, van tires, and bike tires. I wonder if humidity plays a role? Or maybe the drasticness of the change, I’m pretty close to Canada.