Answer: TPMS light

[Cowboys Fan 87]

OK....round 2 for me as well...Picked up my daughter from school, stopped at the local Wally-World and everything was fine going in. No bumps in the road, no sudden change of outside air pressure, was back in the car in 45 minutes and there it was the Blinking TPMS again.

I had the same problem fixed already at the dealer about 1000 miles ago (only at 2190 miles now). This is really ticking me off.... stuff should just work. My wife has a 4Runner with TPMS and has had it for 4 years and that light only came on one time....when she ran over a screw and developed a slow leak....patching the tire and re-inflating and the light went off....no stupid trip to the dealer. ***end soapbox**** sorry.....

I'm going to try the inflate and then deflate trick as well.

Thanks guys for the good information.....

[Cowboys Fan 87]

Just finished the inflate / deflate suggestion....no luck. Light still flashes error code.

I guess I'll have to find another time to take it back to the dealer....2 hours away...and that's the nearest one....

"Why, no, I don't have anything better to do with my time Mr. Nissan."

[BenDupre]

What about disconnecting the battery? That might reset the system and clear your code.

Ben

[MinisterofDOOM]

With the TPMS, I'm not so sure that would work. The sensors themselves are in the wheels, so disconnecting the battery won't affect them. Even if it clears the code from the computer, as soon as you start the car again and it looks for TPMS data, it'll find the bad signal from the sensors.

That does bring up an interesting question, though:Is the error in the senders or the reciever?

[rwanttaja]

With the TPMS, I'm not so sure that would work. The sensors themselves are in the wheels, so disconnecting the battery won't affect them. Even if it clears the code from the computer, as soon as you start the car again and it looks for TPMS data, it'll find the bad signal from the sensors.

That does bring up an interesting question, though:Is the error in the senders or the reciever?

The word I got when I took mine in is that the TPMS had to be re-registered with the car's computer (e.g., a receiver problem).

Ron

[klacan]

Took my Versa in for the 3750 mile service. Had 3568 miles on it. Night before the TPMS light came on. Left it until I got to the dealer the following morning,with no obvious flat tire or low pressure.Anyway according to the dealer they got an error code from the sensor and had to order one.Should be here in a week.Yay warranty! boo for sensor quality.

[BenDupre]

Well finally,

I had TPMS light come on bout a month ago. That's when I accidentally overinflated my tires and got the light to go out. Haven't had any issue since unitl...

On the way to the dealer today withmy wife to get the first oil change in our Quest. She was behind me. Light started blinking on the off ramp. It's like having a heart attack while visiting a friend in the hospital!

Anyway, the service manager hadn't heard anything about the problem... (they always seem to either PLAY ignorant or they actually are) It's like their cars never break

They checked all the tires and told me to drive two miles to reset it. NOT when I got back I told him the light was flashing... that wasn't going to work. So then they worked on the car for like an hour and a half... technician must read slow. Reset the light and sent me on my way.

Had to drive to DesMoines after work (45 mi) and about 6 miles down I35 - BLINK.BLINK.BLINK

I'll have the car back in the shop tomorrow, but this time they better replace something. BTW.. I haven't had a chance to overinflate the tires again, but I think others have proved that doesn't work when you have a sensor error (blinking light).

Ben

[skoobahead]

As I posted earlier (9/13) I had success with overinflating Passenger front and then releasing air to correct pressure extinguished my TPMS light.

Well almost an exact month later the light is on steady again (not flashing)This time overinflating Passenger front tire trick was no help. But....overinflating and releasing air from Drivers front put out light. Go figure!

[skoobahead]

RATS!.....Light came back on steady after work!

[BenDupre]

skoob,

inflate all the tires and bleed them back. Also call your dealer.

Called my dealer today they said they would order a sensor. Tells me they're kinda shooting in the dark here.

Ben

[Ever Victorious]

skoob,

inflate all the tires and bleed them back. Also call your dealer.

Called my dealer today they said they would order a sensor. Tells me they're kinda shooting in the dark here.

Ben

Hmm... maybe, since I'm driving the Tucson right now, I'll take the V in to the dealership and force them to replace all of the sensors when I get it back.

Of course, someone will probably beat me to the punch as it was just today that the insurance adjuster got around to showing up at the body shop.. I don't think anyone's even bothered to call Nissan to get part numbers, much less order them.

[Cowboys Fan 87]

Just FYI,

I've filed a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over this. I really don't think it will help, but maybe if we all did, then Nissan would get on the stick. Safety equipment that doesn't work just doesn't promote safety.

If you would like to file a complaint with the NHTSA, then go here: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/

[XterraVersa]

I have wrote a few time to get rid of the tpms mandate until the technology has matured. There truly is no need to require this. But some morons in fords didn't check their tire pressures and we all are paying for it.

[Ever Victorious]

I have wrote a few time to get rid of the tpms mandate until the technology has matured. There truly is no need to require this. But some morons in fords didn't check their tire pressures and we all are paying for it.

Before or after the Firestone fiasco? :P

[proxim2020]

But some morons in fords didn't check their tire pressures and we all are paying for it.

That's rude and not very fair to families who lost loved ones during that phase. Some of those people who died had checked their tire pressures religiously before they stepped into their vehicle because of all the reports about the Explorers flipping. Some people picked up road debris which caused the tire to slowly deflate. A TPMS, no matter how buggy, could have saved some of those people's lives by letting them know "Hey, you're losing pressure." Think of how many people would have pulled over to check out what's going on with it. That's why the government adopted the new regulation.

What we easily forget is that Ford also had a very large hand in the Firestone incident. Remember that Ford was the company that designed a top heavy vehicle with a high center of gravity. I've seen one flip right in front of me, and the issue had nothing to do with the tire pressure or tread pealing away. A lady did a lane change and the vehicle flipped and rolled several times. I was surprised how little effort was needed to get the truck to roll.

TPMS has been out for years. It's been mostly an option for luxury vehicles and standard in a lot of vehicles in Europe. The technology existed well before the Ford/Firestone incident, but I haven't found any evidence that supports that it was in use. Lots of other manufacturers have implemented this technology without a problem. Yes, some of the TPMS in the Nissans are a little buggy now, but we shouldn't say it's a waste of technology. I'd rather have the technology than not.

[Ever Victorious]

ok... let's keep THIS thread from getting nasty, too.

Regardless of whether or not we want the technology (I could personally care less if it was thrown in the deepest ocean), it is here to stay, and we have to deal with it.

[siggie]

My TPMS light came on at the beginning of the week when we had what passes for a cold front in South Florida. The temperature went below 70 for the first time since May. I tried the inflate/deflate trick to clear the light and it worked. Thanks to this forum it saved me a trip to the dealer.

[kdbagby]

My TPMS light kept coming on too and after a couple visits to the dealer they said that Nissan engineers suggested replacing the sensor module. The dealer replaced it and when I picked the car up the air conditioner wouldn't work, the seatbelt chime doesn't chime anymore (some folks may like that, ha) and the security system no longer functions properly. I have an appointment to take it in again in the morning to figure out what happened. What's funny is the fact that I actually had a small leak in the front driver's side tire that was causing the system to come on. So use caution if your dealer wants to replace the computer module for a leaking tire.

[BenDupre]

Siggie. You're welcome. The system is touchy. It will trigger on slight changes in pressure.

Watch out for the flashing light though. This will get you eventually. That indicates a system malfunction, bad sending units or "sensors" is what we're hearing.

Dealer called Friday afternoon to let me know he got my replacement parts in, but Wife has the car in Wisconsin so I gotta wait to get it fixed "for real".

Ben

[Ever Victorious]

Ah, good to know that they've experienced enough that they're actually replacing parts.

I will make an appointment for replacement of my sensor as soon as I get my V back from the body shop... (had its second system malfunction at 5300 miles)

[catnap]

Well it finally happened to me after 3 months and 2500 miles - the TPMS light flashed for 1 min and then stayed on. Taking it to dealer tomorrow.

[BenDupre]

Boy, Topics can sink fast on this forum.

Got my front left TPMS sending unit (valve stem) replaces finally yesterday. At the risk of jinxing myself... all is working fine now.

Ben

[Ever Victorious]

Great, 1 down, 3 left to fail. hehe

[OKVersa]

In spite of printing out this thread, our service manager says that there isn't a fix for it.

[XterraVersa]

In spite of printing out this thread, our service manager says that there isn't a fix for it.

Your service manager needs an education.

Call 1-800-NISSAN-1 and let them know that you are dissatisfied with the level of knowledge that dealership has in fixing a common problem.

Why is it other dealers replace failed parts, while yours has no clue???

[OKVersa]

Thank you. I plan on doing that tomorrow. The Versa is going in the shop on Tuesday for the airbag/seatbelt sensor replacement. The service manager said the airbag/seatbelt sensor is going out not only on the Versas but the Maxima's too. The salesman said it was going out on the Titans! He said he lost a sale on that with a Titan and I'm sure his commission was greater on that, than our Versa.

[OKVersa]

Well, I spent 23 minutes on the phone today trying to figure out why others are getting their TPMS problem fixed, but my dealer says there is no fix. The representative I talked to says that she doesn't find any other complaints on the TPMS in the Versa.

Sigh.

Anyway, she is forwarding my "file" to her boss. I don't know if that is what they tell everyone, or only something that they can't resolve is sent on.

[rwanttaja]

Well, I spent 23 minutes on the phone today trying to figure out why others are getting their TPMS problem fixed, but my dealer says there is no fix. The representative I talked to says that she doesn't find any other complaints on the TPMS in the Versa.

I actually don't think there's a fix yet. Other folks have had sensors and whatnot replaced, but we don't really know if the problem is truly solved. When they've done a re-register on mine, the problem goes away for ~1200 miles. If they'd replaced a sensor or two at the same time, I *still* wouldn't know if the light is out because of the re-register (and will come back on again in a couple of months) or if the sensor replacement really and truly fixed the problem.

One poster got his dealer to actually disable the TPMS itself, which Nissan probably won't approve as an overall remedy.

I am not sanguine about Nissan fixing this based on calls to their 800 number. I like CowboysFan 87's solution: Drop a nickel to the NHTSB. This is a federally-mandated piece of safety equipment that is faulty. Damn right Nissan should fix it, and they'll be a LOT more interested in finding a solution if the Feds get on their case about it.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/

Next time mine triggers, I intend to do just that. I'll follow it up with a letter to Nissan USA...in my experience, physical mail tends to get a lot more attention.

I've noticed there are already three TPMS failure reports on the NHTSB.

Ron

[sngwrtr]

Here is my tpms story. The light comes on and blinks for maybe a minute. Then it comes on solid. In about 5 minutes it goes out. This has happened twice - both times at highway speeds, at night, in the rain. The tires are fine.

Go figure.

Will mention it to the dealer at my first oil change sometime in the next week or two.

[Ever Victorious]

I have filed my complaint...