TPMS

2349 Views 8 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Marek K, Oct 28, 2021

Osca1

Discussion Starter · Oct 25, 2021 (Edited)

Hi all I have a 2008 Jeep Renegade. My TPMS light is flashing. When flashing there are no readings on dash for tyre pressures. I had it reset at garage and all the tyres were displayed with pressures. It lasted 1 day and all gone again with warning light flashing. Had it reset once more and its done it again. If one tyre pressure transmitter went down would it make the whole system go down or would it still show three tyre pressures. can anyone give me advice what to do next. Thanks. The car battery is getting old would that cause it.
many thanks

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Marek K

· #2 · Oct 25, 2021

Welcome!

You mean a 2018 Renegade...?

Old (>3-year-old) batteries can cause a whole variety of weird issues in these vehicles. Changing the battery is something you should strongly consider no matter what -- and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the cause of your TPMS issue. The sensors just communicate with one of the computers in the car, which then displays the pressure -- and that computer depends on good operating voltage...

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jeff1

· #3 · Oct 26, 2021

Osca1 said:
Hi all I have a 2008 Jeep Renegade. My TPMS light is flashing. When flashing there are no readings on dash for tyre pressures. I had it reset at garage and all the tyres were displayed with pressures. It lasted 1 day and all gone again with warning light flashing. Had it reset once more and its done it again. If one tyre pressure transmitter went down would it make the whole system go down or would it still show three tyre pressures. can anyone give me advice what to do next. Thanks. The car battery is getting old would that cause it.
many thanks

one tpms went out on my 2017 trailhawk and after a while of the no pressure reading on that tire the whole tpms showed no readings. needed dealer to correct

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Osca1

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 26, 2021

Marek K said:
Welcome!

You mean a 2018 Renegade...?

Old (>3-year-old) batteries can cause a whole variety of weird issues in these vehicles. Changing the battery is something you should strongly consider no matter what -- and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the cause of your TPMS issue. The sensors just communicate with one of the computers in the car, which then displays the pressure -- and that computer depends on good operating voltage...

will get a new battery I guess and hope that sorts it thank you

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Marek K

· #5 · Oct 26, 2021 (Edited)

Hmmm... Osca1, I assume it was the amber TPMS Warning Light...

Eye Rectangle Font Circle Electronic device

...that was flashing...?

My 2021 Trailhawk's Owner's Manual refers to that as the "low tire pressure telltale" when it illuminates to alert you when one (or more) of tires has low pressure.

But that light apparently has another function, as a "TPMS malfunction indicator":

Your vehicle has also been equipped with a
TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate when
the system is not operating properly. The TPMS
malfunction indicator is combined with the low
tire pressure telltale. When the system detects
a malfunction, the telltale will flash for
approximately one minute and then remain
continuously illuminated. This sequence will
continue upon subsequent vehicle start-ups as
long as the malfunction exists. When the
malfunction indicator is illuminated, the system
may not be able to detect or signal low tire
pressure as intended. TPMS malfunctions may
occur for a variety of reasons, including the
installation of replacement or alternate tires or
wheels on the vehicle that prevent the TPMS
from functioning properly. Always check the
TPMS malfunction telltale after replacing one or
more tires or wheels on your vehicle to ensure
that the replacement or alternate tires and
wheels allow the TPMS to continue to function
properly.

Is that what your TPMS light was doing?

I would expect, if one of the TPMS sensors died, that the rest of the system would still function -- that is, still show the pressure of the other three tires. But maybe not, from what jeff1 wrote -- maybe the entire TPMS system just shuts down...

If one of the TPMS sensors is dead, a good tire shop should be able to determine that with a hand-held diagnostic tool that "pings" each tire to detect whether it's transmitting and at what strength. It's a finicky process, because the TPMS sensors transmit such weak signals. The tool would look something like this:

Automotive design Motor vehicle Gadget Audio equipment Steering wheel

I'd be surprised if a TPMS sensor's battery went dead after only three years or so; my experience is that those batteries (they're button- or coin-type batteries sealed inside the sensors) have a life span much longer than that.

But in any case, you should still replace that old vehicle battery...

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Osca1

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 26, 2021

Marek K said:
Hmmm... Osca1, I assume it was the amber TPMS Warning Light...

View attachment 2396352626

...that was flashing...?

My 2021 Trailhawk's Owner's Manual refers to that as the "low tire pressure telltale" when it illuminates to alert you when one (or more) of tires has low pressure.

But that light apparently has another function, as a "TPMS malfunction indicator":

Your vehicle has also been equipped with a
TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate when
the system is not operating properly. The TPMS
malfunction indicator is combined with the low
tire pressure telltale. When the system detects
a malfunction, the telltale will flash for
approximately one minute and then remain
continuously illuminated. This sequence will
continue upon subsequent vehicle start-ups as
long as the malfunction exists. When the
malfunction indicator is illuminated, the system
may not be able to detect or signal low tire
pressure as intended. TPMS malfunctions may
occur for a variety of reasons, including the
installation of replacement or alternate tires or
wheels on the vehicle that prevent the TPMS
from functioning properly. Always check the
TPMS malfunction telltale after replacing one or
more tires or wheels on your vehicle to ensure
that the replacement or alternate tires and
wheels allow the TPMS to continue to function
properly.

Is that what your TPMS light was doing?

I would expect, if one of the TPMS sensors died, that the rest of the system would still function -- that is, still show the pressure of the other three tires. But maybe not, from what jeff1 wrote -- maybe the entire TPMS system just shuts down...

If one of the TPMS sensors is dead, a good tire shop should be able to determine that with a hand-held diagnostic tool that "pings" each tire to detect whether it's transmitting and at what strength. It's a finicky process, because the TPMS sensors transmit such weak signals. The tool would look something like this:

View attachment 2396352627

I'd be surprised if a TPMS sensor's battery went dead after only three years or so; my experience is that those batteries (they're button- or coin-type batteries sealed inside the sensors) have a life span much longer than that.

But in any case, you should still replace that old vehicle battery...

the tires with a hand-held sensor that directly reads how

Thankyou I will definitely change the battery. I took it to a tyre place and they had broken there tester so only reset. But as I said it came back. I think I will find a tyre specialist that actually has the tester. Thank you for your advice .I did have the tyres x 3 replaced about 4 months ago but it was working for at least two months.

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Marek K

· #7 · Oct 26, 2021

Osca1 said:
I did have the tyres x 3 replaced about 4 months ago

Do you know whether they also replaced the three corresponding TPMS sensors? Probably not...

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Bee1971

· #8 · Oct 27, 2021

Twice for me now on two new sets of tires on my 2017 Renegade

Literally both times after getting the new tires installed , the TPMS was flashing within days - You know the drill

And like Marek mentioned , Fleet Farm was able to find the corresponding failed sensor using that code or sensor reader next to all four tires - Would not register on bad sensor

Each time it was determined that one , just one individual sensor was damaged during installation or removal

So yes one failed or damaged TPMS is all it takes

Just annoying

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Marek K

· #9 · Oct 28, 2021

I assume these TPMS sensor on the Renegade are basically the same as on our two (three, counting our daughter's) Mk5 VWs from 2008-2009 -- that they run on 3v button batteries sealed inside the sensors, inside the rims. In VW's case, it's literally one of these, except with terminal tabs soldered to each side, molded and sealed inside each sensor:

The shelf life of those batteries is 5 to 10 years, with the average being about 6 or 7 years. So we've been seeing that a lot of the "new-old stock" VW sensors dating from about a decade ago (the manufacturing date is stamped on the sensors) are now very weak or dead.

I really suspect the fault with these Renegade TPMS sensors is with the batteries, not some kind of damage while installing them -- there's really not that much that can be damaged, unless they're physically crushed.

So it's kind of surprising that we're seeing so many bad sensors at this point...unless the sensors had been sitting in a Mopar warehouse for a really long time before they were installed in the new Renegades...

And no, the TPMS batteries can't be replaced without cutting into the bodies of the sensors.

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