Car maintenance in pandemic times.
July 23, 2020 12:55 PM Subscribe
I have a 2013 Honda Fit. The TPMS light came on in early March and has been on ever since. (Note that this is *not* the tire pressure light, but the TPMS light itself.) This happened right after I isolated/quarantined/distanced myself, and bc I’m at high risk for Covid, I would greatly prefer to avoid taking the car in unless this could indicate a serious problem.
Some (possibly relevant?) details:
-This light has come on two or three times before, but it’s always gone off on its own after a short time.
-Since March, I have been driving probably 3-4 days a week, anywhere from 5 minutes to 3 hours each trip, and the car and tires seem totally normal.
-I had the oil changed in February, and they usually rotate and check the tires and put air in. This was a few weeks before the light came on, so presumably unrelated.
-I never had the spare tire on at any time.
My state is currently one of the best in the US as far as Covid cases, so I’m in a sort of eye of the hurricane situation. I’d rather not take the car in at all, but if I have to, I’d rather go now than when our second wave hits.
I’m old enough to remember the days when you knew your tire was flat because you looked at it and it was flat, so if this just means my car has returned to that mode, that’s fine with me.
Tl;dr: The TPMS light in my car has been on for 5 months. Could this indicate a serious safety issue, or does it simply mean my tires can’t sense whether their pressure is low?
Some (possibly relevant?) details:
-This light has come on two or three times before, but it’s always gone off on its own after a short time.
-Since March, I have been driving probably 3-4 days a week, anywhere from 5 minutes to 3 hours each trip, and the car and tires seem totally normal.
-I had the oil changed in February, and they usually rotate and check the tires and put air in. This was a few weeks before the light came on, so presumably unrelated.
-I never had the spare tire on at any time.
My state is currently one of the best in the US as far as Covid cases, so I’m in a sort of eye of the hurricane situation. I’d rather not take the car in at all, but if I have to, I’d rather go now than when our second wave hits.
I’m old enough to remember the days when you knew your tire was flat because you looked at it and it was flat, so if this just means my car has returned to that mode, that’s fine with me.
Tl;dr: The TPMS light in my car has been on for 5 months. Could this indicate a serious safety issue, or does it simply mean my tires can’t sense whether their pressure is low?
Use a tire pressure gauge to measure all 4 tires.
Most likely you’ll find one is low. Put more air in it.
If they all have the right pressure (google says 33 psi, though it would be better to check the manual and/or tags on the vehicle), then you can ignore the TPMS light for now, but recheck regularly.
It is dangerous to drive with a severely underinflated tire, so it’s best to address the TPMS light proactively. Note that a tire can look normal but be severely underinflated.
posted by doomsey at 1:05 PM on July 23, 2020
Most likely you’ll find one is low. Put more air in it.
If they all have the right pressure (google says 33 psi, though it would be better to check the manual and/or tags on the vehicle), then you can ignore the TPMS light for now, but recheck regularly.
It is dangerous to drive with a severely underinflated tire, so it’s best to address the TPMS light proactively. Note that a tire can look normal but be severely underinflated.
posted by doomsey at 1:05 PM on July 23, 2020
Oh, hmm. On all my cars the TPMS light is the (!) one, and there’s no separate fault indicator. A fault in the system itself is harmless. Most likely a sensor’s gone bad. Be sure to check regularly with a gauge as mahorn suggests, but that’s all you need to do - no hurry to fix it.
posted by doomsey at 1:09 PM on July 23, 2020
posted by doomsey at 1:09 PM on July 23, 2020
If airing up your tires doesn't solve it, one or more of your TPMS sensors may have gone bad or have a run-down battery.
posted by davcoo at 1:12 PM on July 23, 2020
posted by davcoo at 1:12 PM on July 23, 2020
Best answer: Could this indicate a serious safety issue
Not at all. Not even a little bit.
or does it simply mean my tires can’t sense whether their pressure is low?
Yep. Order a tyre pressure gauge and go back to checking them weekly as you used to do back in the day. The little cheap tyre inflators are so cheap these days it makes sense to have one at home.
There is no issue beyond that. Most likely failure mode is the battery in the sensor has gone bad or the wiring to the car side sensor has got damaged. My car had one that the car side sensor plug fell out.
posted by Brockles at 1:13 PM on July 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
Not at all. Not even a little bit.
or does it simply mean my tires can’t sense whether their pressure is low?
Yep. Order a tyre pressure gauge and go back to checking them weekly as you used to do back in the day. The little cheap tyre inflators are so cheap these days it makes sense to have one at home.
There is no issue beyond that. Most likely failure mode is the battery in the sensor has gone bad or the wiring to the car side sensor has got damaged. My car had one that the car side sensor plug fell out.
posted by Brockles at 1:13 PM on July 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
It is dangerous to drive with a severely underinflated tire
It is dangerous to drive on under or over inflated tyres *period*. It isn't just when it is severe, just for clarity.
posted by Brockles at 1:17 PM on July 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
It is dangerous to drive on under or over inflated tyres *period*. It isn't just when it is severe, just for clarity.
posted by Brockles at 1:17 PM on July 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I also have a 2013 Fit and mine had a sensor go bad a couple of years ago. So that can just happen sometimes.
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:17 PM on July 23, 2020
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:17 PM on July 23, 2020
Best answer: Fwiw, my 2010 Honda Civic has had its TPMS light on as well for the last month or so, and I'm doing the same thing folks are recommending in this thread - checking my tires periodically but otherwise taking no action. I am 100% comfortable with this course of action.
posted by DingoMutt at 1:17 PM on July 23, 2020
posted by DingoMutt at 1:17 PM on July 23, 2020
While you are at it, check the pressure in your spare tire. The Honda Fit has a compact spare that is inflated to 60 psi. Not all gas stations will have an air pump that goes to 60 psi. In that case make a stop at one of the discount chain tire stores and they will pop out and fill it for you for free. Takes just a minute.
posted by JackFlash at 1:33 PM on July 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by JackFlash at 1:33 PM on July 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: My last car (2009 Hyundai Elantra) had that light on for, oh, about 7 years I think. When it first came on I took it in to be fixed, and they replaced one sensor and another promptly died and the light came back on and then they said they'd have to ORDER that sensor and I'd have to bring in the car AGAIN and I said This Is Bullshit and just ignored it from then on.
(And, car guys agreed with me about the bullshit. Every year when I took it in to be inspected they'd ask if I wanted it fixed and I said no and they said fine.)
posted by JanetLand at 1:35 PM on July 23, 2020
(And, car guys agreed with me about the bullshit. Every year when I took it in to be inspected they'd ask if I wanted it fixed and I said no and they said fine.)
posted by JanetLand at 1:35 PM on July 23, 2020
Response by poster: Thank you all so much. One less thing to be anxious about right now, yay!
posted by DestinationUnknown at 1:45 PM on July 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by DestinationUnknown at 1:45 PM on July 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
For what it's worth, the TPMS light in my Fit has been on for ... years. And I also had it looked out and they finally told us it couldn't be fixed.
posted by bluedaisy at 3:43 PM on July 23, 2020
posted by bluedaisy at 3:43 PM on July 23, 2020
Yeah, I drove around with mine on for like a year and a half, I just periodically checked the pressure the old-fashioned way whenever I was at a gas station with air, just in case I needed some.
I did actually just get my car serviced including a way overdue tire replacement, and they had to replace my sensors, not a huge deal. They did contactless pickup and drop off, I literally only had to put my keys on the porch when they texted and bring them in when they texted again. They sent us photos of everything they wanted to fix, we approved the work we wanted done. So yours might be doing the same, and want the work bad enough to be offering coupons, if you're willing to do that.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:47 PM on July 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
I did actually just get my car serviced including a way overdue tire replacement, and they had to replace my sensors, not a huge deal. They did contactless pickup and drop off, I literally only had to put my keys on the porch when they texted and bring them in when they texted again. They sent us photos of everything they wanted to fix, we approved the work we wanted done. So yours might be doing the same, and want the work bad enough to be offering coupons, if you're willing to do that.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:47 PM on July 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
Once you confirm all the tires are correctly inflated, you can reset the TPMS warning (which can be annoying if there's not actually a problem). You may have to search for your year/model, but it generally is a few easy steps like this.
If the light goes back on but your tires are still reading right, it's a bad sensor.
posted by quarterframer at 4:34 PM on July 23, 2020
If the light goes back on but your tires are still reading right, it's a bad sensor.
posted by quarterframer at 4:34 PM on July 23, 2020
My toyota had tire pressure warning light on all of last winter. Tire pressure was good so it was a failed sensor or drained sensor battery. I delayed fixing it and checked the pressure manually every so often.
Come spring the light went away. My mechanic (level 20 car wizard lawful good A+++ human) told me the batteries start to wear down but warm weather makes the chemicals come back to life, sometimes enough for the sensor radios to start sending signal again.
Resetting the system would not help as the pressure was fine but the remote gauges inside each tire were not sending signal.
Next time I needed new tires and the rim were exposed I paid to have new sensor put in.
posted by sol at 4:56 PM on July 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
Come spring the light went away. My mechanic (level 20 car wizard lawful good A+++ human) told me the batteries start to wear down but warm weather makes the chemicals come back to life, sometimes enough for the sensor radios to start sending signal again.
Resetting the system would not help as the pressure was fine but the remote gauges inside each tire were not sending signal.
Next time I needed new tires and the rim were exposed I paid to have new sensor put in.
posted by sol at 4:56 PM on July 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by mahorn at 1:04 PM on July 23, 2020 [4 favorites]