TPMS blinking, sensors good

Installed new TPMS sensors with new tires last year (spring 2023). Sensors from TPMS direct in all 5 tires. Everything worked great, no lights on, until 1/14/24.

1/14/24 I was driving after a snowstorm on heavily covered roads for 45 minutes. About 10 minutes before I arrived at my destination (ski resort) the TPMS light started blinking. Went skiing, came back to truck, when I started my drive back home the TPMS light went off almost immediately.

The following weekend 1/19/24 drove the same route and again the light started blinking. However this time the light didn’t go off when I drove back home. I used my reader before driving home and saw two sensors offline.

Today 1/20/24 I filled up all tires and checked using my reader and all tires sensors are online and reading correct pressure…but the light is still blinking.

The only thing that has changed in the past week is the temperatures have been really cold high 20s low single digits.

What is going on and what do I need to do to stop the blinking? I’d take a solid light at this point.

 

.Did you do a reset sfter all 4 were testing good?
To reset the tire pressure light on a 2006 toyota tacoma you will need to press and hold the tpms reset button and allow the light to blink 3 times and then drive around for around 20 minutes to allow it to fully reset.
I bet the cold weather impacted it with a change in pressure.

 

Did you reset it after all 4 were reading good?
To reset the tire pressure light on a 2006 toyota tacoma you will need to press and hold the tpms reset button and allow the light to blink 3 times and then drive around for around 20 minutes to allow it to fully reset..


Im sure the cold tempts can play a role in pressure changing too.

 

all 5 sensors are measured.

in ambient temperature parked, cold door spec is 29. After driving +4 is 33 hot.

TPMS tools can check for dead sensors.

cold weather drops temp that lowers PSI.


I honestly don’t know if TPMS has a purpose beyond being finicky.
1. Modern TPMS has changed to ABS measuring wheel speed, probably for this reason
2. Last time I had a flat it was felt and obvious. Warning didn’t make a difference.
Previous cars were older and didn’t have TPMS, never had an issue

harder to work with during tire changes and fragile expensive parts that can break or go bad vs a simple cheap rubber stem that gets replaced any time you change a tire.

I wonder if there’s a way to delete it = no light to worry about
That isn’t making a big PVC canister wasting space in the cabin

Says you replaced them last year so I’d assume they’re good and not a dead internal battery like what normally happens after 10yr

learn procedure dash button is finicky too.

 

I did try this, but it didn’t have any affect. I’ll try again today, maybe I did it wrong.

 

Temps are warming up above freezing this week. Maybe a car wash and above freezing temperatures will help.

 

How old were the "new" sensors themselves when you received them? These sensors have a shelf life regardless if they are used or not. Maybe one of them sat on the shelf far too long and is now dying as a low battery will trigger the blinking light.

 

The TPMS reset button is not the correct way to take care of this..

Assuming you verified all tires are correctly inflated with a mechanical pressure gauge? If so, unfortunately the culprit is probably one or more batteries. Aftermarket sensors don't have a great track record for battery life.

If you have a shop you trust you can have them read the TPMS sensors directly. That should give battery life. Or maybe you have a buddy with a TPMS service tool you can use. I ended up buying a Schrader / ATEQ S41 tool last year to check mine when I was doing wheels and tires.

 

A flashing light is not a pressure issue. It's trying to tell you it's not seeing one or more of the sensors

Sounds like 2 of them are losing communication sometimes. You saw them drop out didn't you?

What brand sensors are these?

 

If you were local to me, I could use my TPMS scanner to read the status/voltage of your sensors and tell you.

Maybe you can find a shop that is willing to do it for free or a small charge.

 

So update regarding checking sensors using my Bluetooth scanner

1/14/24 two sensors offline
1/19/24 all five sensors online
1/22/24 two sensors offline


What’s interesting is that the two times I had sensors offline it was different tires.

I’m not going to do anything until the temperature gets back above freezing as part of me feels it’s too coincidental that this happened at the same time as our coldest snowiest week so far.

 

Update again…now all tire sensors are showing up in my scanner.

This makes no sense

 

These new sensors programmed?

 

Not a dead sensor. They are less than 1 year old AND they all are reading on my scanner. If they were dead they wouldn’t read.

 

Yes. Not sure if you got a chance to read the whole post but they were new and programmed and set the truck last year. Worked flawlessly for about 9 months then the light started blinking when it got real cold.

 

Just some proof for everyone asking if the sensors are working:

 

Air them all up to 35 psi and I bet the light stays off...

 

I think it makes sense: The extreme cold spells are killing the little batteries in them making them die temporarily. Temps warm up again or driving a ways for a little warms up the tire(s) enough to wake them up and bring them back to life. My FIL called me about his light being on (2014 Camry) and asked me to check the tires for him. (He's in his '90s) Checked the tires with gauge and all were a little low of spec. (2 psi) Not surprised: wicked cold here lately. I drive the car about 4 miles: light goes out. One or more of the sensors are intermittently quitting. I have heard that this is common with after-market replacements. (They don't last) OEM sensors are more expensive but they are also more sophisticated and shut themselves off when the wheels aren't spinning. That's why they last for 10 years. (Thank you AMD/Car Care Nut)

On his car (2014 Camry) I believe a blinking light that goes out on its own after a few minutes is an alert to "Check Sensors". Same as on my 2014 Tacoma AFAIK.

 

I should have added that while all four sensors are reading on my scanner the light is still flashing

 

Worth a try