Wierd problem.... TPMS

[Johniboi]

Today while i was driving, i realized the TPMS light started to blink and i figured ok i need some air in the tires. So i go to a gas station and put air in the tires and i figured ok problem solved. I drove around a little but the light kept blinking so i went to the gas station again and put some more air in it, but no change. Its wierd because in the past, whenever i needed air, it wouldnt blink, the light would just stay on, but now it blinks for a couple of times then stays on. I was tlking to my friend about it and he says maybe theres extra air in it, which i think isnt true. I even looked at the tires and non of them looked flat or anything. Im thinkin of taking it to a shop to get it checked or something...Anybody wanna to help me out lol

[CodeRed]

The flashing (correct me if I'm wrong) means one (or more) of the TPMS sensor's has gone bad. When you change your wheels and don't have the TPMS in them the light flashes then stays solid, indicating that you have no sensors.

Get it checked out by the dealer I remember a few users a while back who had problems with they're TPMS sensors and were replaced under warranty.

[Johniboi]

Anybody wanna confer this? Just to make sure...

Im not really trying to go to the dealrship..i hate that place,any way for me to get rid of that light or fix it at all?

[rwanttaja]

Anybody wanna confer this? Just to make sure...

Im not really trying to go to the dealrship..i hate that place,any way for me to get rid of that light or fix it at all?

The flashing light denotes a TPMS system problem; it may not necessarily be with the sensors themselves. Early Versas are subject to Nissan Service Bulletin NTB06-78a, where if certain codes are generated along with the flashing TPMS light, the Body Control Module (BCM) must be replaced.

As a federally-mandated piece of safety equipment, they don't make it easy to disable the light. A piece of electrical tape works. There are companies that sell boxes that'll reset the systems.

I had my TPMS fail for the *fourth* time last Thursday. I'm going into the dealer on Monday with a copy of the service bulletin (I've got an early Versa).

Ron Wanttaja

[Johniboi]

The thing is my car is not under warranty nomore, so i guess ill just have to deal with it.

[CodeRed]

I think it was actually a recall. You still might not have to pay for it. Stop at the dealer tell them whats up.

[RetiredTexans]

If the dealer won't honor thea replacement or fix of the TPS problem, explain that you plan to contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency (I think this is the agency) about the TPS failure. This accomplishes at least one thing; it puts the agency on notice that a problem exists with the mandated safety feature on the Versa. In addition you may discover an undisclosed warrenty extension for the TPS.

Years ago I was informed about a hidden GM agreement with the existing government agency to settle safety issue with faulty design engineering on an Olds transmission that would leave the car disabled on the highway! The agreement was in-place for 10 years after signing. When confronted with this information, GM paid for my out-of-pocket expenses.

Good luck!

[winnipegnissanlover]

Although Nissan's Tire-Pressure-Monitoring-System has been rigorously tested, and Nissan's quality & craftsmanship is industry-leading, I have heard of this problem once before. I do recommend bringing it into the shop - preferably at a Nissan dealership you trust - because this symptom (the TPMS sensor malfunctioning) could be caused by a number of different things (debris on sensor, excessive tire wear, wiring issues, etc.). Rare as these instances are, this should be covered under warranty unless it is due to an accident, in which case your insurance should cover the damage. My point is that you should have a Nissan expert check it out since there is no other way you can be sure what's causing the malfunction.

Hope this helps.

[Johniboi]

I appreciate the help guys!

If i could take the car to the dealership, then i would've already. But the thing with my car is there are some things that viod the warranty, such as after market springs,intake,new grill,strut bar,thats why im worried about taking it to the dealership...but i guess ill just give it a try.

[alonsorules8]

those item will not void your warranty unless it can be proven the by installing those aftermarket parts caused the problem. In your case the tpms system malfunction should be cover by your warranty.

[Johniboi]

Yeah i found that out. I tlked to the dealership, im going to be taking it on Friday. Thanks for all the help guys!!!!!

[Johniboi]

Well i just came from the dealership and it was pretty fun and funny lol but i feel dumb though, shouldve figured this out myself.

WHat happened was recently i bought stock wheels for the versa from this guy and ever since installed them the light was on. So the new wheels arent "connected" to my car so the sensor cant read anything which is this problem happened. So its not really a big problem i guess. They offered to program it for me, which wouldve took an hour to do and they charged me 100 but i passes, the light doesnt really bother me.Now for the funny part, there was this guy who worked there and once he heardabout my modified versa, he wanted to check it out immdediatly because he has the sedan and was thinking of modifying it.About 6-7 guys were all over the car complimenting it lol. The guy with the sedan versa kept asking me questions about the strut bar, the springs, the intake and i went ahead and gave him the info. So it was a fun experience!!
Modified by Johniboi at 4:01 PM 10/13/2008

[fjwagner]

what is really wierd (sic) is the spelling of weird

[faction]

I guess that leads me to my question...do you have to take your car into the dealer to reset the TPMS? My dad is putting two new tires on for me tomorrow and it would be a lot easier to have him do it if he can.

It's a huge hassle to get to a dealership from where I live and $100 to reset it??? are you effing kidding me? the dang tires only cost me 75 a piece.would the extended warranty cover that?

[darkwind25]

Unfortunatley your extended warranty won't cover resetting the tire pressure sensor's .Unless it was somethign to do with the factory wheels.With putting different tires on,the sensors will have to be reset .Maybe see if one of your smaller shop has a system to connect and reset them.If not then its gonna have to be a dealership.100.00 is a little much for doing that.we charge 30.00 + taxes to adjust pressures and reset all the the TPMS's.I'd question why they charge so much for something that can be done in under 1/2 an hour.unless we're doing a tire rotate then it's a little more to do all 3.

Hopefully this helps some
Modified by darkwind25 at 3:19 PM 10/18/2008

[faction]

well, new tires are on and TPMS isn't blinking or anything.

so either you don't have to reset them all the time, or it's broken.

not going to worry about it either way.

[scar]

You don't have to reset them when you change tires or wheels as long as you use the same sensors that came with your car.

Funny how some shops charge for things that you don't need.

[OchnofConcrete]

what i want to know is how the hell the sensor is connected to the dash. wheels on every car known to man aren't trully connected to anything. they are nutted onto the axle studs. so how does the sensor relay info? is it through RF device or what?

[darkwind25]

They are RF,,,,there is no physical link between the tires and the bcm.The sensors send the signal to the BCM.

[darkwind25]

You don't have to reset them when you change tires or wheels as long as you use the same sensors that came with your car.Funny how some shops charge for things that you don't need.

If you put the rims back in the same hub,you won't have to reset any thing,but if you rotate them ,you will have to reset.As far as the car is concerened.If you have one on the right frt and move it to the right rear and not reset the sensor,,,,something happens to the right rear.It will tell you it's the right frt that has the problem.Cause the sensor still thinks its on the right fr.

[Johniboi]

The guys at the dealership said that the TPMS on the wheels i have now is not programmed with the car, so the car cant read the TPMS which causes the light to turn on. I still have the sensors that came with the car but its connected to the wheel, iuno how to take it off and putit on and bla.

I guess they charge 100 an hour? cause the guy found out it takes about an hour to re-program itand they said 100$. but i tld em il just deal with the light, no problem with me, just gotta make sure the tires got air in 'em.

[darkwind25]

They are hosing you,,It dosen't take an hour to reprogram the TPMS,,,,it takes about 20 mins to do it,,,,and I'd let them know that too.

[rwanttaja]

They are hosing you,,It dosen't take an hour to reprogram the TPMS,,,,it takes about 20 mins to do it,,,,and I'd let them know that too.

Most shops charge using a flat rate manual (e.g., says that doing Task A takes 90 minutes). The flat rate manual is usually pretty conservative, and most mechanics beat the time by a considerable extent. I'm guessing the flat rate manual shows an hour for resetting the TPMS, and that's what they'll charge you for.

Ron W

[scar]

If you put the rims back in the same hub,you won't have to reset anything,but if you rotate them ,you will have to reset.As far as the car is concerened.If you have one on the right frt and move it to the right rear and not reset the sensor,,,,something happens to the right rear.It will tell you it's the right frt that has the problem.Cause the sensor still thinks its on the right fr.

My Versa is not that smart. It just tells you one is low. You have to find out which one yourself.

[darkwind25]

My Versa is not that smart. It just tells you one is low. You have to find out which one yourself.

BUt whern they connect the consult up to the car it will tell them which tire sensor is giving you the light,and repair the tire as necessary.As for flat rate. most the times its way out of whack.Theres noway it would say an hour to reset all TPMS's ,hell even under warranty its only .3 to do it.

[Johniboi]

I asked if i could get it under warranty, and they said since its not a "manufactor defect", or somethin like that, it isnt covered under warranty

[darkwind25]

I understand that,,,,It's not a manufacturer's defect....But still liek isaid in another post.I'd love to work for these over charging scamerships .I'd probaly b making better money then i do now.

[faction]

If you could get the equipment to do it and charge 1/2 of what they do, you'd still make a killing.since it probably is just a matter of hooking it up to a computer and pushing a button.