[Crashmaster]

Every Crosstour built comes factory equipped with TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System). Should your TPMS detect a low tire pressure in any tire, the Low Tire light will illuminate on your dash. Should this happen, inflate the low tire and test drive to above 24 MPH or more for at least a minute and the Low Tire Pressure Indicator will go off.

Every CT has two dash lights for TPMS. The first one is an exclamation point and tire, which means you have a low tire. The other light is the word TPMS. When this illuminates it means there is a fault in the system, such as spare tire usage or low TPMS battery.

Unfortunately, there is not quite enough information on page 313 and 408 of your owner’s manual. Here is more TPMS information for you.

To test the TPMS system, turn the ignition system to ON and TPMS icons will light up for two seconds and then go off.

Keep in mind that temperature can cause the TPMS to come on. For every 18 degrees F. this changes the tire pressure 1.5 PSI.

TIRE SEALANTS – Do not use ‘Fix-A-Flat’, ‘Slime’, or other tire sealants. These sealants can prevent the system from detecting the correct tire pressure. Use only regular air or Nitrogen.

COLD WEATHER – When the weather is extremely cold, perhaps around -40 F. or colder, the output of the lithium battery in each tire sensor may drop enough that it sets a DTC (Diagnostic Trouble Code), even though the system is normal.

SPARE TIRE – Whenever a non-TPMS wheel is put into use on the vehicle that does not have a TPMS sensor (such as your spare tire), it will set a DTC because the system is no longer receiving the signal from the transmitter.

Many people are eager to change their wheels and tires and or want to switch to snow tires during inclement weather. These wheels and tires also need to have the correct TPMS installed in the wheel.

FAQ’s
Q) The repairs for my TPMS are too expensive. Can I ask the repair shop to disable this feature?
A) No. The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) issued the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (49 USC 30122(b)), which includes a “Make Inoperative” provision. This provision prohibits manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or motor vehicle repair businesses from knowingly making inoperative, in whole or in part, any part of a device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle in compliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard.

Q) The tire shop damaged my TPMS sensor on one of my wheels when I was getting new tires.
A) The shop is obviously liable for any damage they did to your sensor, whether accident or not. Technically and legally, the shop is NOT allowed to return the vehicle to you until they repair the TPMS sensor otherwise it could present liability problems for the shop.

Q) Do I need to change the battery in my TMPS sensor?
A) No. The battery is incased in the sensors molded plastic housing. Since the battery is entombed, a dead or dying one requires the replacement of its entire sensor assembly.

Q) How long should the battery last?
A) The industry representatives suggest a range of between 5 to 12 years and/or 60,000 to 135,000 miles. Surveys have found that temperature extremes will significantly shorten battery life. Also transmission rate – meaning, how often the computer requires an update from the TPMS sensor. Not all manufacturers are the same. Some transmit every minute, 5 minute or 20 minutes. The more transmissions, the quicker the battery dies. To save battery life, the system only asks for a transmission of data when the vehicle is in motion.

Q) Can I test the battery life of my TPMS sensor?
A) Yes, most TPMS scan tools can detect and monitor the sensor’s battery life.

Q) If one sensor battery has gone dead, should I replace all the sensors?
A) If the vehicle is over 5 years old and over 60,000 miles, then, YES, best to just replace all four of them at one time. Many states require that TPMS lights be off in order to pass a vehicle inspection.

Q) What was the first passenger car to have a Tire Pressure Monitoring System?
A) The Porsche 959 in 1986.

 

[Popurhedoff]

Great information Crash, when I ordered my new wheels, they installed new sensors in the wheels (315mhz I beleive), once I intall them i will have to take the CT to the dealer to have them initialized to the TPMS system.

Cheers
Pop

 

[pel326]

Great information. Thanks for the post.

 

[mtnras]

If I install a winter set of tires, on rims w/o TPMS, myself, will this cause the TPMS light to go on? If so, is there a way to shut it off or do i have to put up w/ it all winter?

 

[ogbatman]

If I install a winter set of tires, on rims w/o TPMS, myself, will this cause the TPMS light to go on? If so, is there a way to shut it off or do i have to put up w/ it all winter?

Yes it will stay on. You either buy and extra set of TPMS or just deal with the light being on at all times. Its a againest Fedral Law to disable the sensor.

 

[Crashmaster]

mtnras – welcome to the forum with your first post. Because of the great AWD handling of the CT, many people opt to use this vehicle in deep snow and yes, snow tires on two or four of the wheels are often necessary. But, to answer your question, Yes, the TPMS will come on and you will have to put up with it.

There are a few alternatives:

1) Purchase TPMS sensors for your winter rims and tires. This is what you really should do for safety and longevity of your tires.
2) Carry your summer time inflated wheel/tires that have the TPMS sensors in the back of your car.
3) On page 395 of your owner’s manual, fuse number 29, shows a 7.5 amp fuse listed as TPMS. I can’t suggest that you remove this fuse, but since Honda put this in their manual its obviously not a secret. In reading the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (49 USC 30122(b)), I could not find anything in it that prevents the owner of a vehicle from disabling this system. Disabling any safety device in your vehicle is not safe or wise.

The TPMS is there for a reason and having your tires inflated correctly WILL save you money in gas savings, WILL make your tires last longer, and WILL make your vehicle handle better. Again, choice #1 above is really the only sound choice.

 

[mtbrider24]

Sorry folks, not to beat a dead horse but I've searched and read through a few threads and I cannot really find a good solution yet. I purchased new tires and rims (with new tpms sensors) for my 2010 CT but when I took it to the dealer to have the sensors initialized, they couldn't do it for some reason. They tried a few things but nothing worked. Thankfully they didn't charge me for their effort but that still leaves me with the tpms light on and the inability to turn off the VSA when I want. Anyone have this experience and/ or know of a way to remedy? Are all sensors more or less the same as far as signal power? I assume all the sensors are working correctly as they should have been brand new when I purchased them with the wheel set.

Ideally I'd like to figure out why the TPMS is not working and get it fixed but barring that, is there a way to reprogram the system so I can disengage the VSA even if the tpms light is on...other than taking out the fuse as Crashmaster mentioned? The light itself doesn't bother me and I've not noticed any adverse affects since the light is on but I live in the mountains where snow is on the road most of the winter. I used to have an Audi A4 so I'm used to driving with AWD all the time and prefer it that way. I'm not a fan of the VSA when I try to accelerate on an icy road, it's a tad bit disruptive to how I want the car to perform I'd like to turn it off and I can keep track of the tire pressure myself!

Thanks in advance if anyone can help.

 

[Polegchwe]

Thank you for*good*communication.

 

[Polegchwe]

Thank you for*good*communication.

 

[renyart]

interesting info

 

[Aviationsiu]

does this system indicate the specific tire that may have gone low somewhere or is it just a generic "low tire pressure" and then i would have to check all 4 tires to find the low tire?

 

[Crashmaster]

When the light comes on, it does not distinguish which specific wheel is low, so you must go around the vehicle with a tire gauge to determine which tire is low.

 

[Aviationsiu]

I guess honda system isnt as advanced as some of the other cars i own, ok then.

I was worried that if i tried to rotate my tires on my own i would have to have the dealer rework the system to pickup the new tire locations. good to know

 

[wdbutrym]

It is disappointing that Honda decided not to use the display on the CT to display more info. I have plugged the HDS into my car and looked at the TPMS data and it is all there and more.

 

[edubfromktown]

Crashmaster,

Most excellent post that seems soooo long ago now

For others who might be wondering about TPMS lifespan:

I just clicked past 85k miles and getting ready for 2nd set of replacement tires on my 2010 CT (leaning toward Pirelli P7's). In the US mid Atlantic region, my car has camped out in temps ranging from 0 to ~105 F. The only times the light has come on has been a handful of times, at various temps below 32 F.

My plan is to replace "just" tires once again and hope the TPMS batteries make it to ~130k miles...

 

[sittinguy]

thanks great info. My CT is a sunday driver for me. I have the 15 with less than 8k on it. I have had the low tire light come on twice so far. And I dont mind it not telling me which tire is low, because at that point it is usually time to check them all anyway and give them a little shot of air.