Tire pressure warning light is going off but the tires look fine

dandg

Today I noticed the warning light for tire pressure was on. I drove back home and immediately checked the pressure in all 4 tires, and they all read the same (edit** about 30). The tires are filled with nitrogen. I'm from Florida and it's about 50 degrees here. Could the temperature have anything to do with it? Has anyone had anything similiar happen? Or maybe its a malfunction. I tried to check for any punctures (nails, etc) but couldn't find anything.

EDIT**: The cars been acting kinda funny today:

1. Today while driving it, it seemed to drive slightly different. Nothing bad, but I've had it for a year and could tell that something was different. I'm assuming the cold weather, possibly. At times it would be sluggish when I accelerated quickly, the power was still there and it actually seemed a bit more powerful.

2. I put it in the manual mode, and while changing gears the indicator on the dash that displays the gears would be very slow in changing numbers, and it would flicker. The actual gear change wasn't slow.

3. I am getting the slip indicator light a lot whenever I stepped on the gas. VDC is on. The car is just acting weird today overall.

spearfish25

Typo? The tire pressures should be 35 all around. This would obviously explain the TPMS light coming on.

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JB1

It's due to the lower outside temperature, every 10 degree drop in temp results in about 1 PSI drop in tire pressure.

Cold outside =Colder tires = less grip

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puckshaw

Tires will lose pressure over time. I check mine about every month and add air when needed. How often do you add air/nitrogen to yours?

Oh and stiff sidewalls can make it hard/impossible to tell if a tire is low on pressure just by looking at it. Invest in a good tire gauge.

dad

Gas station gauges can't be trusted! I got one of these for Christmas, excellent, I love it!
Amazon.com: Accutire MS-5510B Racing Tire Gauge: Automotive

dandg

Will it go back up as the temperature goes up?

JB1

It should, but I wouldn't wait for it, just adjust it now and re-adjust when the temperature goes up again (if needed)

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dandg

Is it okay to put regular air in tires filled with nitrogen?

I know the regular air is composed of 78% nitrogen. But I'm not sure the effect it will had. I really wish my tires didn't have nitrogen, but it came with the car..

VCuomo

Yes, although it's better to keep using pure nitrogen if you can (it's less susceptible to pressure changes caused by temperature changes, and your tires will remain at the recommended tire pressure longer than they would with "normal" air).

spearfish25

Just start filling with air and scratch the nitrogen. Such a gimmick. I'm sure someone will argue that though. I have yet to find someone who can convince me that 78 vs 100% nitrogen in my fill makes any difference. I'd be more annoyed at worrying about adjusting tire pressures if I have a nitrogen fill since I'd have to find a place to fill them. Not to mention that nitrogen is super cheap but car places charge you $80 for the fills.

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dandg

I made a mistake ...the instrument was reading 30 for all tire pressure on the 4 tires. Should the warning light even be on?

I agree with the nitrogen gimmick, I'd rather not have it, it's really a pain. But that's good to know about mixing regular air with it, I didn't want to cause an explosion that stops time and create a black hole or something

Josh@STILLEN

30 after you were driving, or dead cold?

I think they trigger at 27lbs or so.. and won't go off until it gets to some higher number (so it's not going on and off). So if it's cold out, and after you warmed them it was 30, I'm sure you were below the threashold..

Try adding 5 lbs to each with a real gauge of some type and get them even, see if the light goes off.

PapoZalsa

However you should go to the dealer and get it service. You already paid for it!

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vipor

nice, especially with the locking valve option. is yours like that or do you have to hold in on? i never get a good seal like that.

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SBZ

I had the same problem last week. Normaly the car lives in the garage, but we were on a road trip to Monterey Ca. It was a cold night. The warning light went out after about 20 minutes of driving.