Can TPMS be turned off?

Seriously. The TPMS sensors that are just dumy lights cause more problems than are helpful IMO. The wifes car tripped it the other morning because it was 7* outside and it was just below the 27psi threshold.  Can this crap just be turned off?

I was fighting eternal TPMS light in my truck for a couple of months.  Jockeyed with the pressures and relearn procedures, etc.  Finally occurred to me to drop the spare and check it -- it was low.

I suspect the capability of coding it out is different for every car.  

In reply to bobzilla :

I bet if you tune the cars there might be a way... but not at any surface pedestrian level since it's federally mandated to be on the cars.

Annoying, yes.  Plus TPMS is an added expense to building a vehicle.  Like every other nanny state directive.  

But no where near as annoying as the original nanny state solution to people who would not wear seatbelts - the seatbelt reminder buzzer.

And the annoying solution to removing the buzzer/bells/ chimes was to add thousands of dollars of airbags so people not smart enough to strap in could live to reproduce after drunken accidents.  

Search 'TPMS delete'. You can intercept the signal from the sensors and modify it such that the computer always sees a constant pressure reading. 

That being said, I have no idea what side effects come with that, since TPMS is usually integral to the stability control systems.

In reply to Tyler H (Forum Supporter) :

Hers didn't have a spare from Kia (it does now, stupic fix-a-flat and pump) so we know that's not the case. The garage is about 35*, outside was about 9* and I aired them up when the garage was about 45* so they are probably right at that threshold again. She drove it for a few miles and it went off, I'm guessing the minimal heat was enough to build that 1psi to get it over the hump. Now she's freaked out everytime she sees it thinkingthe car is on fire.

Fix a Flat might not be as bad, but be careful, I ruined a GM TPMS valve stem with Slime.  Plugged it up, couldn't get air in or out. 

Wonder if there is something like ForScan for Hyundai/Kia. It worked to turn the TPMS off in my Fiesta ST and was free(besides buying the dongle).

Maybe try this? Seems to cover ALOT of Hyundai models and the only thing you need is the dongle to connect to the car. Finding the TPMS line in the coding would enable you to set the pressure that the light will activate.
https://ecutools.eu/odometrs/mdflasher/

 

bigdaddylee82 said:

Fix a Flat might not be as bad, but be careful, I ruined a GM TPMS valve stem with Slime.  Plugged it up, couldn't get air in or out. 

We put an actual spare, jack and wrench in there. The FAF and air pump are fine for a nail. Not worth a damn on the side of the interstate with a sidewall blowout. 

Not that it helps, but I was very pleased to see that my GF's Mazda 3 (MY 2017) has a button to turn it off. Very useful for when the snow tires are mounted.

Just pump them all up to the maximum pressure stated on the sidewall.  The light will only come on once a year or so, unless you actually have a problem that needs attention.  Repeat.

I have prematurely worn out quite a few tires because of low pressure.  In spite of generally overinflating them, I've never had one wear funny in the center.  My cornering habits tend to chew off the outsides first.

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

If I was driving it I'd probably be in the same boat. She's a bit less aggressive.

bobzilla said:

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

If I was driving it I'd probably be in the same boat. She's a bit less aggressive.

She probably wouldn't notice if you pumped them up to Hunter S. Thompson levels.

I try to fill up my cars during a colder period to avoid this. I also tend to run pressures slightly above the door number because I prefer the additional stiffness. I havent had a problem yet with this method. Ive heard roughly 1psi for every 10*F. Add a few pounds to compensate for the temperature drop.

The other night my wifes car turned the light on. I thought it was because of the temperature but pulled over just to check. Sure enough one of the rear tires picked up a nail and was almost flat. I couldnt feel it in the car at all. The system saved me a tire and possibly a dangerous situation. 

If you really dont want to see the light, theres always electrical tape.

bobzilla said:

Seriously. The TPMS sensors that are just dumy lights cause more problems than are helpful IMO. The wifes car tripped it the other morning because it was 7* outside and it was just below the 27psi threshold.  Can this crap just be turned off?

The system tripped the light because the tires were low.  I don't see how this is not a benefit.

In reply to spandak :

I tend to over inflate a little as well, but this car has rubber bands for tires already.

jharry3 said:

Annoying, yes.  Plus TPMS is an added expense to building a vehicle.  Like every other nanny state directive.  

But no where near as annoying as the original nanny state solution to people who would not wear seatbelts - the seatbelt reminder buzzer.

And the annoying solution to removing the buzzer/bells/ chimes was to add thousands of dollars of airbags so people not smart enough to strap in could live to reproduce after drunken accidents.  

The ORIGINAL solution was an ignition interlock.  That lasted about half a year in 1974.

02Pilot said:

Not that it helps, but I was very pleased to see that my GF's Mazda 3 (MY 2017) has a button to turn it off. Very useful for when the snow tires are mounted.

That doesn't turn the system off, it just resets the indirect system so that it can learn the new tire dimensions.

In reply to jharry3 :

Actually the airbags aren't intended to replace seatbelts. They're just to supplement them. 

I know on Toyotas, you can put a resistor in-line and it eliminates the light.

In reply to bobzilla :

In theory the pressure would not have dropped that much,   1 psi for every 10 F.and pressure would rise when driven.

Maybe your starting point is not correct.

In reply to spandak :

I was headed to a customer in my Accord and when I started it the light was on.  

Stupid fricking light - what the heck is this crap?  Oh, is that a screw on my tire?  Oh, with 60,000 miles on the tires I guess I'm buying a set today?   

I just learned on my wife's 2020 Honda Accord that the TPMS works off of some sort of speed sensor according to the service manager. If you service the tires you have to recalibrate the system through the on-board diagnosis on the screen on the dash. Cold lowered tire pressure I aired them back up and couldn't get the TPMS light to go off even after driving it for a while. Tire pressures right at specified pressure. Under warranty so took it to the dealer and the service manager showed me how to recalibrate the system. Darn fancy electronics in these new fangled automobiles.

In reply to wlkelley3 :

Those indirect speed-sensing systems are in some ways much nicer than the direct pressure measuring ones though.  No sensors to have dead batteries or need replacement or get damaged during a tire swap.  And no need to suffer the light or buy extra sensors when swapping wheels too. 

Really depends on the car - some cars you can code it out (GM of a certain era), other cars you can do a hardware bypass for the module so it reports everything is good to the other systems.  Gotta poke around.  There isnt one magic bullet for all vehicles.