[Geo-Aggie]

So this morning I got in my car to head to work and after getting on the highway I realized this scary yellow ! light was on. The light was right next to my check engine and check oil lights and I had no idea what it meant, so it worried me. I don't live far from work, so I drove there and parked in the garage then when I got inside I checked the forum for what it meant.

Apparently I have low pressure in one of my tires. Ah, NBD. I can fix that easily. Anyway, a little later I drove to a local service station and parked near the air hose. I got out my tire pressure gauge to see which one was giving me fits, since they all looked okay, but they were all inflated to 32psi.

Hmm, I looked in the manual and read that if it flashes at me it means there is a sensor error. So I started my car, but it just lights up and stays steadily lit implying I have low pressure in a tire, which I clearly don't.

I have stock wheels and the tires are the same size my door suggests they should be. I've not modified anything on my car at all, and as far as I can tell neither did the previous owner. I've owned the car for roughly 2000 miles and haven't even touched the tires and this light just barely came on today.

Any suggestions?

 

[EvoEatr]

Those sensors are extremely sensitive which means a drop of more than like 3-5 lbs of air can snap the light on, even if the sensor only sees it one time. you can try upping the pressure another 2 pounds or so in each tire. and than drive the car over 35mph. which if indeed the light is on for low tire pressure than it should reset and the light should instantly turn off. Alot of times when you have a low tire pressure the TPMS control module in these cars will also set a speed indifference code. which cannot be reset by driving the vehicle and will have to be reset by the Subaru selectmonitor.

 

[rage-wrx]

Sudden temp changes can sometimes lead to the light coming on.It should go away after a while if all you tires have the right pressure.

 

[Geo-Aggie]

Thanks for the replies.

Well the temperature has been about 95 (high)/70 (low) since I owned the car and last night it dropped to about 50, but it wasn't the first time it got this cold. It has been cooler all week. I don't know if I want to just throw 34 psi in there to see if it shuts off as overinflation is just as bad as underinflation. I guess, unless anyone else has some other input, I'll just see what happens over the next couple days and if nothing I'll harass my local Subaru dealership.

 

[Geo-Aggie]

Sorry for the double post, but I called my local dealership and the service guy suggested running 36 psi on my stock (17 inch) wheels. Does anyone else run their tire pressure this high?

 

[jd92677]

Sorry for the double post, but I called my local dealership and the service guy suggested running 36 psi on my stock (17 inch) wheels. Does anyone else run their tire pressure this high?

I run mine about 40psi

 

[Geo-Aggie]

Hmm, I'll test 36 out later today I guess. Thanks jd9.

 

[Geo-Aggie]

36 psi turned off the TPMS light. Car seems to be driving fine too. I guess my tires have a max PSI of 50. I wouldn't ever run them that high, but 36 seems safe for now. Thanks for everyones input.

 

[xxxxxxxAnub1s]

Fellow Salt Lake-er. I run 34 in all of my tires during regular driving.. 36 is absolutely fine. I pump mine up to 38/40 when I autocross, and that isn't even close to pushing it on most street tires.

 

[jcruiza120]

FYI tires can take a lot more variation than that. Unless you're racing the car or driving it extremely hard you really aren't going to notice 1-2 psi difference if all the tires are around the same pressure.

Was working in a Lexus service bay a couple years back when someone brought in a suv with a TPMS issue so we brought in the car, checked the tires and found that 3 tires had the correct 40 psi and the 4th tire had 120 psi. in a 70 Max psi tire. Dunno if the owner just let the pump run for 5 minutes or what, interesting situation.

When they are finicky about 1-2 psi, though, dealing with TPMS sensors sucks =p