Air pressure light won't reset

[Jzemaitis]

I have a 2008 vibe with 300,000 miles(previously a company car). The tire pressure light is always on and will not reset. I checked the tires and tire pressure and they're all matching and at 32 lbs. I walked through all the reset procedures via the manual but the light wouldn't go away. When I turn the key to acc, the light flashes for several minutes then remains solid. I removed the battery cable for a couple hours with no luck. I havent taken it to get the codes pulled yet so I thought I'd see what this could be. One strut might be bad but the car drives great and the only way you can tell that there's a bad strut is if the car hits a big bump you can hear a bit of a grinding sound when it compresses but appears to be fine.

Let me know. Thanks!

[bluneon]

it's flashing because there is an epic failure with the tpms, either the tpms computer or any in wheel tire pressure sensor.

chances are you might have a few dead sensors especially at the current mileage you're at. there is a battery inside every sensor; that means after time the battery will be dead.

these aren't cheap to fix, nor are they easy to program.

[star_deceiver]

With 300'000 miles on the car, it's more then possible that one or more of the rims have been replaced. It's also possible that with all the tire changes the car would have had over the years, one or more of the sensors has been damaged.

I doubt that a battery in the sensor is dead, those things last forever!

[Jzemaitis]

What's the best way to determine what the real problem is? Does autozone still do free scans? Are they at all accurate? Can I look at the sensor and see anything that might be telling?

Thanks!

[bluneon]

process of elimination:

are the factory original wheels still on the car?
are there rubber valve stems installed in any wheel?

[Jzemaitis]

Ahh... I found three metal valve stems and one old fashion rubber one. The wheel looks like the rest. Can I just get a sensor from the part store and bring it to a tire shop to get it installed and rebalanced? Anything special to know? Are they on a unique frequency with the rest or anything like that?

[bluneon]

you can, but the tire store might only be willing to sell you one of the ones they carry and reprogram, many places don't look highly on installing parts they didn't sell. personally i am not a fan of the aftermarket; fitment & programming issues plus parts just don't look right.

now you know at least 1 sensor needs to be installed.

what you still need to do is to make sure that the rest of the 3 sensors are still active and working properly. you'll need to take it to a shop that has tpms tools to see if the remaining sensors are emitting tpms signals. make sure you are getting 3 different tpms ID's, then go ahead and replace the missing sensor.

if you can only read 1 or 2 different id's then you'll need to replace additional sensors. over time the internal battery will die and the sensor will no longer be emitting it's id code.

new sensors need to be registered to the tpms ecu whenever they are installed otherwise the ecu won't recognize the id codes.

[Salsa Guy]

I thought, correctly me if I'm wrong, isn't the TPMS part of the ABS system on the 1st gen vibe/Matrix (03-08). I'm not so sure the TPMS is build into the wheels but the ABS counts the rotations and figures if one is spinning more than the others the tire is low. My 05 is that way.

[BlueCrush]

I thought, correctly me if I'm wrong, isn't the TPMS part of the ABS system on the 1st gen vibe/Matrix (03-08). I'm not so sure the TPMS is build into the wheels but the ABS counts the rotations and figures if one is spinning more than the others the tire is low. My 05 is that way.

^^ This! They are built into the wheel hubs. Get an ABS code reader and it will tell you which one need replacing.


noobs...lol..j/k

[Jzemaitis]

I think there are sensors in each wheel. Here's a replacement part. Three of my valve stems look like what's pictured.

http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts/DC/ ... p=pp&gbm=a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks

[BlueCrush]

I think there are sensors in each wheel. Here's a replacement part. Three of my valve stems look like what's pictured.

http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts/DC/ ... p=pp&gbm=a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks

I think that is only for '09 and up. I ASSumed that all 1st gen Vibes were the same.

[Jzemaitis]

I've seen the same part for a 2008 on multiple sites. Don't think it's a typo. A new one can't be programmed or made to work with the rest without going to a shop?

[bluneon]

the first generation tpms is based off the wheel speed sensors.

if/when a tire loses pressure or goes flat the rotational speed of that wheel changes w respect to the other wheels as the vehicle is going down the road. the system measures wheel speed off the abs tone rings. when 3 of the 4 wheels are spinning at the same speed but the 4th is spinning significantly faster then the system assumes that there is a tire w low pressure. tire pressures will need to be reset, the tire repaired or replaced and the tire light reset button located in the dash will need to be reset. this is a passive system, it piggy backs along w the abs system. i personally prefer this system as there are far less parts to deal with.

the funny thing about this system is if a car is equipped w runflat tires. the tire light will never come on because the tires will never change diameter enough to change wheel rotational speed. so the car will be driven, and driven and driven on a 'flat' without even knowing it. only until the tread starts to shred after being driven too far, too long with no pressure.

the second generation tpms is a more active system that uses individual in-wheel tire pressure sensors.

this system is WAAAY more complicated and IMO a nuisance to deal with. batteries will die, idiots mounting/unmounting the tires improperly break the sensors, programming is a pain the (removed). also the nut holding the sensor in the wheel corrode against the stem making them impossible to remove without having to break the sensor. that means mo money, mo money, mo money.....and more headaches.

BUT they will work perfectly with runflats! they measure pressure, not wheel speed.

you'll need to program all 4 to the vehicle tpms ecu at the same time. the vehicle will not know which sensors to accept and which to ignore.

just like the key fobs, the car needs to know which signal to accept and will need to be programmed to accept.