[DrgnMastr]

I am wit's end here with this problem.

Bought the car Feb 2010 and never had a TPMS System Fault Light issue. I am talking the little yellow light that reads TPMS, and not the tire pressure symbol.

Bought 4 new Honda stock rims, 4 sensors, and 4 Michelin X-Ice Snow tires (from the Honda dealer) for the winter season here in Atlantic Canada. They were bought and installed at Honda dealer in November 2010. The car really doesn't go long runs in the winter.

About two weeks ago, it went on a 30 mile (50 km) journey, and the TPMS System Fault Light came on, and wouldn't go off. My Honda mechanic, said the computer reported that all four sensors had low batteries, but then the main battery died, because he had accidentally left the headlights on. They recharged and load tested the battery, and said everything was fine, and the fault light was out.

Today, I was out for a photo journey and at about the 30 mile continuous trip, the TPMS System Fault Light has come on again. Tire pressures are fine, but I will check them again when they really are cold in the morning. However, the fault light will not go out.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, as VSA cannot be disabled for while that light on. Many thanks for any help.

Cheers,
DM

 

[Army Dad]

Strange, sorry, no input but we have some folks on the forum that are in the know about most things. I look forward to seeing the solution.

 

[DrgnMastr]

I went out to clear off the car after being dug out from most recent snowstorm. OK, I thought, a perfect time to check the tire pressure. All four tires were down about three to five PSI, so I inflated them up and went for about a 10 mile drive. No change, the TPMS fault sensor light is still on. Hopefully, the dealer can fit me in tomorrow, and they have a solution besides resetting the computer.

With the tire pressure the way it was, I would have thought that I should have seen the low tire pressure indicator, and not system fault light.

I'll write again after my service visit.

- DM

 

[RyansQuick6]

Do you have the original wheels and tires stored near where the car is parked? I guess I could see where the other sensors may still be lingering in the software and possibly causing an issue. I'd just run back by the dealer and have them reflash it

 

[DrgnMastr]

Do you have the original wheels and tires stored near where the car is parked? I guess I could see where the other sensors may still be lingering in the software and possibly causing an issue. I'd just run back by the dealer and have them reflash it

Thank you for the comment and thought. It is most appreciated.

My original wheels and tires are in storage (about 2 miles away). I haven't been near them since I put them in my off-site storage unit in November. This problem started about two weeks ago, when the car was brought back from having body work done on the front grill and bumper cover, from someone hitting it in a parking lot.

I spoke with the bodyworks mechanic, and he wasn't welding near the car either, which was the dealer's original thought. The first time the light came on was blocks away from the dealer, when the car was brought back in from the country where the work was done. It had been driven solid for the first time since the new wheels for about 30 miles. Most of my driving in the winter is city driving, until this past weekend (the second time the fault light showed).

Twice in two weeks is just a little too coincidental, I would think.

Cheers,
DM

 

[DrgnMastr]

Update 2011-02-07:

I spent nearly 3.5 hours at the dealers today, no charge. My car was taken in immediately and handed to my usual mechanic. Unless this guy is not there, the car is only touched by him, and he is the best in the shop. Another long story. and not for here.

I met him when he came to get the car, and described all of what I have written here. Needless to say, he had a few choice words too, and off the cuff figured it had to be a bad sensor. He was going back to check the programming. About an hour later, he came back to me telling me it would take longer, as they found out from Honda engineering that their software was out of date for programming the CT's TPMS system, and they were updating as he spoke. It took them an hour and half to get the update, all the while with Honda engineering.

Once the update was received, it took about another half hour. The original wheels had been programmed at the factory, but the 'winter' set were done here. The 'old' software said everything was fine, but the 'new' software said all four sensors were 'incomplete' and needed to be reprogrammed. The mechanic did that with the new software, and it now said the sensors were fine.

My comment to the mechanic was that he programmed them in November! He just shook his head, saying "Yeah, and the software said it had taken, and the new software showed it as a programming fault". He claims it should be fine from now on.

I'll believe that when I see it, actually.

Interesting items of note:

My mechanic informed me that traveling at the speed I was for 30 mins is about the normal time it takes for the TPMS system to register a fault.

Also, according to the service book, the Crosstour (2010 & 2011) and one special edition other model are the only models to have the new autolearning TPMS system. My mechanic says that when I swap to my summer wheels, the TPMS light will come on, but after a short highway burst the system will relearn the new sensors. No shop visit is required.

I'll believe that when I see it, too.


I'll keep you all posted on any new developments.

Cheers,
DM

 

[RyansQuick6]

Good to know, glad you got it sorted out.

 

[jmj]

Was my post deleted?

 

[DrgnMastr]

Was my post deleted?

I've been monitoring this thread, since I started it, jmj, and the quoted text was the only reply that I have seen from you. Sorry, I can't be of any help in what may have happened.

 

[RyansQuick6]

I have no clue why the post was removed, I didn't even notice.

Edit- it must be a software glitch, I can't pull up any deleted post in this thread. Admins can still see all post in threads, even after they have been removed, and on my end, it's as though the post was never there.

 

[DrgnMastr]

I have no clue why the post was removed, I didn't even notice.

Edit- it must be a software glitch, I can't pull up any deleted post in this thread. Admins can still see all post in threads, even after they have been removed, and on my end, it's as though the post was never there.

If the admin's software indicates the post was never there, then likely it was never posted. There is a lot of space between a user's computer and the forums, and a lot of things can happen. Most of the time all goes well, but a missed click to post, switching pages and back, mistaking preview for posting, or even a lost packet in transmission can cause those effects. I usually confirm my posts by refreshing the page after posting to make sure it it is there, but I've been in the computer business for a long time, too.

 

[lardo]

Update 2011-02-07:


Also, according to the service book, the Crosstour (2010 & 2011) and one special edition other model are the only models to have the new autolearning TPMS system. My mechanic says that when I swap to my summer wheels, the TPMS light will come on, but after a short highway burst the system will relearn the new sensors. No shop visit is required.

DM

I'm very interested to see if this is the way it's work. Leaving up North where snow tires are a must, I'm planning to mount these on spare rims to protect my OEM rims from salt and all these crap on the road. Does someone can confirm this is true or not this learning stuff. Hate to spend 100 box to get it re-programmed every time I changed wheels. (twice a year).

 

[DrgnMastr]

I'm very interested to see if this is the way it's work. Leaving up North where snow tires are a must, I'm planning to mount these on spare rims to protect my OEM rims from salt and all these crap on the road. Does someone can confirm this is true or not this learning stuff. Hate to spend 100 box to get it re-programmed every time I changed wheels. (twice a year).

I can only tell you what was told to me by my mechanic at the Honda dealership. I live up North and as such have two full set of wheels, summer and winter. The problem that I was having was attributed to faulty programming initially, requiring a free upgrade from Honda Central. So far, the system fault light hasn't come on again.

 

[rusty]

tpms

i work at a honda dealer any time wheels are switched the tpms sensors need to be (re-learned) they will not do it on there own the only honda's that do that are ody touring and pilot, it can take up too 2 weeks before the light comes on,
i am new to the site if you got any questions about anything just ask

 

[DrgnMastr]

i work at a honda dealer any time wheels are switched the tpms sensors need to be (re-learned) they will not do it on there own the only honda's that do that are ody touring and pilot, it can take up too 2 weeks before the light comes on

The Ody touring and the pilot were also mentioned to me at the time. However, my dealer swears that the CrossTour will also do it, having the same technology. I guess I will find out when my wheels are switched in the Late Spring, as we still have nearly 5 feet of snow down.

It would be nice if anyone could verify this for a fact from a service manual or something.

 

[rusty]

tpms

i will verify on monday will the manual

 

[rusty]

System Communication​

●

​

When the vehicle is traveling more than 28 mph (45 km/h), an RF (radio frequency) band wave signal is transmitted​

from each tire pressure sensor to the TPMS control unit.

​

​

● ​

​

When the wheels rotate, the tire pressure sensors momentum is detected, switching them from sleep mode to normal​

function (awake) mode. After the vehicle is stationary for 5 minutes, the sensors switch from normal function mode

back to sleep mode to extend their battery life.
​

​

● ​

​

Each tire pressure sensor has its own tire pressure sensor ID to prevent jamming by similar systems on other vehicles.​

After memorizing all the sensor IDs, the TPMS control unit recognizes only those speci​

​

​

​

​

[FONT=AdvOT0de51fd2+fb][FONT=AdvOT0de51fd2+fb]fi[/FONT][/FONT]c signals.

● ​

​

An tire pressure sensor ID cannot be memorized automatically. The TPMS control unit knows which sensor ID​

belongs to each tire pressure sensor. This recurring sensor ID con​

​

​

​

​

[FONT=AdvOT0de51fd2+fb][FONT=AdvOT0de51fd2+fb]fi[/FONT][/FONT]rmation prevents any confusion in the system as a​

result of normal tire rotation.

NOTE: Be careful not to bend the brackets on the TPMS control unit. Misalignment of the TPMS control unit could​

​

​

interfere with sending and receiving signals.​

here it talks about how it only knows the signals it has been memorized, and how it cannot be done automatically.​

this is from a genuine honda crosstour service manual

 

[DrgnMastr]

Thank you, Rusty. That is an interesting system communication. From my read of it, I would agree with you that the TPMS system will not auto learn.

I wonder if the TPMS control unit has the ability of memorizing more than one set of sensors. If it can be programmed to memorize two sets, then I can see how I could have been told what I was, by the service manager, since both set of wheels would be known by the car by now. The service manager is no fool, as he knows if he has told me it will learn by itself, then he can't charge me for programming it with the seasonal wheel change without getting the customer really upset.

I guess I will find out in a couple of months when I swap wheels.

 

[rusty]

Sorry dont want to make anyone look bad but it only stores 1 set of sensor id's i will see if i can find it anywere in the manual

 

[greenxtour4wd]

TPMS sensors

Thanks DrgnMstr and Rusty. This is exactly the info I am also interested in.

Too bad the xtour cannot autolearn sensor id's.

Drgn---I am most interested to find out how you make out when you change over to summer wheels and whether there is indeed a the possibility of storing a second set of sensor ID's in the cars computer.

Please keep us posted.

Many thanks.