[Longboard]

Today I took my Transit to the dealer I purchased it from to once again attempt to have my sliding door mechanism repaired.
I was due for an oil change so had that done, and decided to have the tires rotated since I hit 25,000 miles on the Hankooks.
I assume the oil and filter were done, but I was AGAIN told that my door is messed up and in need of repair, but that they could not do it and that I should search for a dealer that can.
I know that they DID rotate the tires and properly change the inflation to the correct front and rear PSI because on the drive home the TPMS light came on.
At home I checked and they were within 2 PSI of the door jam placard.
So for the first time ever I recalibrated.
What a joke!
At least the manual warns you to have a compressed air source available.
You have to bleed a lot of air out of each tire to recalibrate!
And the system is so insensitive to begin with that if you're down to 35 PSI from 49 it doesn't even warn you.
The TPMS system in my Sprinter was more sensitive and easy to recalibrate directly from the driver's seat.
I'm thinking about disabling mine.
Any tips?

 

[orton]

I rotate all 5 tires so always have a low tire pressure warning. I ignore it and check tire pressures the old fashioned way. One reading of the reset procedure was enough to decide that was beyond my intelligence level.

The horn and light flashing for some unknown reason required the disconnecting of the horn. Apparently they forgot to add a sensor for that.

Computers should never have been allowed to pollute an automobile.

I did ask the Ford dealer if I could add a 5th sensor in the spare but was told that would not work.

 

[Longboard]

The horn and light flashing for some unknown reason required the disconnecting of the horn.

Yeah you'd be bleeding air at each tire waiting for the horn honk at each and never hear it!
You'd have to just guess that you let enough go from each in the proper sequence, and then start all over from the beginning if the light was still on.
So in addition to the tire icon does your "i" stay on all the time as well?

 

[orton]

Yes.

It does get overridden by other messages like a door not being closed completely.

Never thought about the horn being require to reset the system. Oh well, do not have horn and do not reset the system so all is good.

 

[Longboard]

The crazy thing was my pressures were perfect because the tech corrected after rotating.
I took the time to double check especially because the "i" as well as TPMS icon were lit, and my van was originally delivered to me from the same dealership with 80 PSI all around.
But to get the annunciator lights off I had to bleed over 7 PSI off each tire and then re-inflate!
CRAZY!

 

[USMC Vet]

Ford TPMS is a scam

Longboard,

The TPMS isn't worth the aggravation.

Here is another Thread that discusses it.

Semper Fi

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/...ing/25185-tires-fine-tire-pressure-light.html

 

[Longboard]

Thanks USMCV, missed that thread.

 

[asdrew]

It seems like when the tires get rotated the TPMS needs to be re-trained as to which tire is at which corner. The 2 times the dealer rotated mine I had the issue so I took it back and made them reset it even though I could have myself.

Hopefully the dealers will eventually realize it's better practice to automatically include resetting the TPMS as part of the rotation process rather than have customers return to have it done.

 

[joefromga]

100 years you just checked the tires. Now, all cars 2007 and up tell you when one is low or the systems doesn't work properly and causes confusion and annoyance.

They also cost more to replace.

There has to be a better way.

 

[Longboard]

It's a good system to have, there have been plenty of fatalities due to under-inflated tires that the driver was not aware of.
And a slow leak can happen anytime, so even if you checked all tire PSI's before every highway drive it still would have it's place.
But bleeding air to recalibrate or "teach" is absurd.
A simple press of a button while in the correct mode should set current values as a base.
I guess even when done with a logical system there still will be failures as well as false alarms.
One of my sons is a captain on one of the most modern airliners built equipped with state of the art avionics.
He has yet to fly a leg without a sensor failure or false alert.
Sort of like a Sprinter......

 

[TomB985]

From what I understand the Motorcraft TPMS reset tool should work instead of deflating the tires.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...d-3035-4a40-b691-0eefb1a18396&pf_rd_i=desktop

I'll be getting one before I do my next oil change. My F150 and Transit both require resetting the TPMS after a rotation.

 

[USMC Vet]

From what I understand the Motorcraft TPMS reset tool should work instead of deflating the tires.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...d-3035-4a40-b691-0eefb1a18396&pf_rd_i=desktop

I'll be getting one before I do my next oil change. My F150 and Transit both require resetting the TPMS after a rotation.

TomB,

The big problem with the Motorcraft TPMS, is that it doesn't give you accurate information and when it gives you an alert it doesn't tell you which tire and why! Or that it is actually a problem.

Is the tire really under inflated or over inflated or is it merely because of driving heat or cold weather. Then you have to get out a check each tire, manually. Not to hard to do if you are able bodied.

When I purchased this option, I presumed it would be like other systems from other vehicle manufacturers. One that displayed the actual tire pressure in each tire, constantly. And if there was a problem, alerted you to which tire it was and what the problem was.

Instead Ford sold us a piece of crap system that is far inferior to just checking your air pressure. Sure you can have a flat anytime, and a warning is appreciated, but most experienced drivers can tell when that happens without any add on feature and we have been doing it for decades. The reliability factor expressed repeatedly by members and by tire dealers, makes the Ford TPMS , akin to crying "wolf".

Semper Fi

 

[TomB985]

TomB,

The big problem with the Motorcraft TPMS, is that it doesn't give you accurate information and when it gives you an alert it doesn't tell you which tire and why! Or that it is actually a problem.

Yup, I'd agree with that. My F150 has a display that tells individual tire pressures, and it's obnoxious that Ford didn't include this until the 2015 model year. Not sure why the Transit never got it. Downside is that this ability is why I need to reset the system every time I rotate. All four tires require the same pressure, but the screen is meaningless unless you perform the reset procedure.

Is the tire really under inflated or over inflated or is it merely because of driving heat or cold weather. Then you have to get out a check each tire, manually. Not to hard to do if you are able bodied.

When I purchased this option, I presumed it would be like other systems from other vehicle manufacturers. One that displayed the actual tire pressure in each tire, constantly. And if there was a problem, alerted you to which tire it was and what the problem was.

Instead Ford sold us a piece of crap system that is far inferior to just checking your air pressure. Sure you can have a flat anytime, and a warning is appreciated, but most experienced drivers can tell when that happens without any add on feature and we have been doing it for decades. The reliability factor expressed repeatedly by members and by tire dealers, makes the Ford TPMS , akin to crying "wolf"

I do not believe the system will alert for an over-inflated tire. The OP's issue has to do with the system not being reset. The rear tires require significantly more pressure than the fronts to be safe at GVWR. I've had about 8 different Fords with this style TPMS, and I've never seen a low pressure light without a tire actually being low. If the system is reset I don't think this is an issue.


It's still dumb that it can't display tire pressures!

 

[Longboard]

I believe it was not an option but came standard.
The dealer is crazy to charge for a service that is done incompletely resulting in driving away with two warning lights that were not illuminated prior to performing the dealer recommended preventive procedure.

 

[USMC Vet]

I do not believe the system will alert for an over-inflated tire. The OP's issue has to do with the system not being reset.

It's still dumb that it can't display tire pressures!

TomB,

As I posted in another Thread, pulled out of my garage, into snow. It alerted while I was idling waiting for my wife to put trash out. When we got out of the snow into the desert, it alerted again. Multiple stops at tire dealers along the way on this 400 mile trip. All readings on tires were accurate to what they had been set or 1-2 lbs lower because of the frozen roadways or a few lbs higher because of the high heat areas. Not one dealer had to add or delete air from any tire. After reaching destination and vehicle sitting overnight, took it to Ford, all readings were right on the mark. They reset all the tires, at my insistence, because of all the false warnings.

Does the phrase "Throwing good money after bad", have any meaning here?

It's like the previous air filter problem. Until enough customers kept complaining for Ford to fix it, it was up to the consumer to jerry rig the problem.

Now owners are buying after market electronics to fix a problem (resetting) that should be fixed by Ford. Why should Ford spend their money to fix a problem they caused, if customers will pay more to fix it themselves? :s

And we paid extra for the option that causes this aggravation.
We should be able to reset the system from the drivers seat, without having to open all the doors, bleed air till we hear a honk, and do this on all 4 tires, then hopefully it will be reset.

If a warning light comes on, we should be able to check all the tires for correct pressure, then hit a reset button on the dash. Sort of like the "change oil" warning.


Semper Fi

edit; sorry, we didn't have to pay extra for this, it was included.

 

[star gazer]

My local tire guy has a hand held device that he used to reset mine after a rotation. took all of 60 secs. Any dealer should have one to save lots of time.

I did do mine the first time myself, yep a pain but not difficult.

 

[USMC Vet]

TPMS sometimes can clear itself

I was just reminded of this by my better half.

After the first half dozen times of panicking and seeking the closest station or dealer for help, 100's of miles from home, and finding nothing wrong, we noticed something.

After stopping for a few minutes to get something to eat or just to take a break, the warning would be cleared when we started up again. Also on long stretches in the middle of no where, it would clear it self after 10 - 15 miles (can't remember exactly how many). It would pop up again in a 100 or so miles later, then clear again.

For what it's worth.

Semper Fi

 

[orton]

Why get upset about a malfunctioning TPMS fault. If you are concerned then stop and check air pressures with a hand held gage. I know you can not but your better half could or a stranger would help. We have driven vehicles for over 100 years without TPMS so it is not essential.

 

[USMC Vet]

Why get upset about a malfunctioning TPMS fault. If you are concerned then stop and check air pressures with a hand held gage. I know you can not but your better half could or a stranger would help. We have driven vehicles for over 100 years without TPMS so it is not essential.

orton,

After realizing what a piece of junk it is, I'm not worried about it anymore. I pretty much ignore it nowadays. But I do think Ford should fix it as it is one of their so called safety features. And owners shouldn't have to buy fixes to reset the dang thing.

It's the 4th vehicle I've had with a TPMS. But like you said, I too drove for decades without them, before. And I have come to like and trust them, until this one.

Semper Fi