TPMS issues in cold weather

Faults and Technical chat for the Kia Niro
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djbobbins
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:57 pm

Post by djbobbins »

So... minus 4 centigrade this morning here. We drove a few miles into town to drop my wife’s car off for its MOT, then set off up the A46 at 70mph.

After a couple of miles at cruising speed, OSR tyre pressure warning despite it being 32psi and the others all being 33 (per dashboard readout). No ill effects to the actual driving experience so didn’t stop.

Another five miles or so and the OSF warning binged and screen was flashing yellow for that corner. Still no ill effects and by this time we were nearly at my work so got to the office, parked and checked - no visible issues with the tyres.

My wife then drove the car home and said a third sensor started to warn, but when I got home today I see no apparent physical problems with the tyres.

So... anyone else experienced issues with the sensor in cold weather??

deguy
Posts: 93
Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2017 8:54 pm
Location: Expat in Munich

Post by deguy »

Definitely maybe.

Discussion here:
TPMS
Niro Spirit 2017 HEV in Ocean Blue (German spec similar to First Edition without ADAP)
Previously: Mercedes B-Class 200CDI Autotronic
jerrytaff
Posts: 120
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2018 8:28 pm

Post by jerrytaff »

So what were the pressures previously? Mine are maintained at 37psi. Perhaps 32/33 is sufficiently low to trip the sensor. Section 7-15 of the manual has the following:

CAUTION
In winter or cold weather the low tyre pressure telltale may illuminate if the tyre pressure was adjusted to the recommended tyre inflation pressure in warm weather. It does not mean that your TPMS is malfunctioning because the decrteased temperature leads to a lowering of the tyre pressure.
When you drive your vehicle from a warm area to a cold area or from a cold area to a warm area .....you should check the tyre pressure and adjust the tyres to the recommended tyre inflation pressure.......
2018 PHEV 3 in Gravity Blue :D
Previous DS (formerly Citroen) DS5 Prestige BlueHDi S/S Auto 2.0, Jaguar X type 2.0 S Diesel
djbobbins
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:57 pm

Post by djbobbins »

I think that would be it (I.e. the pressures were a bit low, owing to low temperature).

I filled all the tyres to 36psi on Saturday and the warnings went off.

What I still find odd is that a warning shows on screen for one tyre and not another with exactly the same pressure in it (according to the on screen readout). I would understand if the warnings had started when an individual tyre hit 31psi (say) but this doesn’t appear to have been the case.

Nonetheless, I guess the sensors did their job!
tonybkent
Posts: 35
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2018 8:02 pm

Post by tonybkent »

I've had the same issue for a couple of weeks, and yes, it started in the cold weather. The passenger-side pressures are 33 and 34 and there's no warning. The driver-side pressures and 34 and 33, but they are both warning me they are low.

I'll give them another few PSI tomorrow and see if they go away at about 36 djbobbins - thanks.
davethetech
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:31 pm

Post by davethetech »

That physics for ya as temperatures drop so does pressure. thats charles law and boyle's law for you!,
You cant SH1T Physics!
jerrytaff
Posts: 120
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2018 8:28 pm

Post by jerrytaff »

but....the car has an external temperature sensor....so if Kia were really smart, they would write their software to drop the low pressure warning threshold by a few psi for the first few miles on a cold day as they could predict that he pressures are expected to increase by 2-3 psi as the tyres warm up. Standard tyres become less flexible in the cold, so, i would have expected that to compensate to an extent for slight under-inflation for those first miles.
2018 PHEV 3 in Gravity Blue :D
Previous DS (formerly Citroen) DS5 Prestige BlueHDi S/S Auto 2.0, Jaguar X type 2.0 S Diesel
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