Service Tire Monitor
08-26-2012, 05:15 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Service Tire Monitor
What exactly is "Service Tire Monitor" telling me? Is the monitor itself messed up or the signal from the valve stem units messed up? The message shows up periodically and the tires pressures are always where they should be. The last thing I need is a tire pressure monitor. If I can't check my tire pressures, I shouldn't be driving. You could get rid of half of the so called high tech stuff in these cars and do us all a favour in the process.
08-26-2012, 05:32 PM
#2
Team Owner
Could be caused by either the computer or one or more wheel sensors but it's usually something with the sensors.
When you get that message do the individual tire pressures show up correctly when you scroll? Or do you see one or more "XX" readings? Have you swapped wheels and sensors? Aftermarket wheels with unusual sensor mountings?
When you get that message do the individual tire pressures show up correctly when you scroll? Or do you see one or more "XX" readings? Have you swapped wheels and sensors? Aftermarket wheels with unusual sensor mountings?
08-26-2012, 05:43 PM
#3
Race Director
Hi Keith
Sorry, but all 4-wheeled vehicles less than 10,000 pounds must have tire pressure sensors and a TPMS since Sept 2007 (start of the 2008 model year).
The gubmint knows best - big brother is watching out for the 99% of drivers that never check their tire pressure!!
Actually, with run flats you'd never know if you lost pressure while driving down the highway due to the stiff sidewalls unless you have sensors. If you did lose pressure, when you took the off ramp in a spirited manner you might well end up in the guard rail when a side load built up.
So.....we have a great system, and it's a very important system with the tires we run.
Anyway.....the "Service Tire Monitor" message most likely means that either you don't have sensors installed, or they're not programmed into the TPMS computer in the car (the TPMS computer is actually part of the RCDLR - Remote Control Door Lock Receiver - module), or the batteries in the sensors have died.
I looked in your profile and see that you have a 2005. The sensors have a "design life" of 10 years, so yours are getting old and could be getting weak.
However, i suspect that the TPMS computer in the car probably for some reason lost the sensor ID #'s of your sensors.
In that case, you'll need to program the sensors back into the TPMS.
Did you swap on a new set of wheels??
If so, you need to program the new set of sensors into the TPMS.
In the case of a 2005-2006, after you drive for about 60 minutes with no sensors (or without the sensors programmed into the TPMS - same as no sensors) you'll get the "Service Tire Monitor" message. The system hasn't received any signals from sensors in that period of time, so it figures the problem must be with the TPMS (Tire Monitor) itself - nobody would be so foolish as to run without sensors - right!?!?
2007-2008 models take about 30 minutes of driving with no sensors before you get that message, and 2009+ C6's take about 20 minutes.
So......I suspect that either your sensor batteries have died, or perhaps you just simply need to reprogram the sensors into the TPMS computer.
If you aren't having problems with any other part of the RCDLR (i.e., no fob problems, no problems opening doors or hatch/trunk, etc.) then it's very unlikely that something is the matter with the TPMS (Tire Monitor).
Good luck getting the sensors reprogrammed!!
Bob
Sorry, but all 4-wheeled vehicles less than 10,000 pounds must have tire pressure sensors and a TPMS since Sept 2007 (start of the 2008 model year).
The gubmint knows best - big brother is watching out for the 99% of drivers that never check their tire pressure!!
Actually, with run flats you'd never know if you lost pressure while driving down the highway due to the stiff sidewalls unless you have sensors. If you did lose pressure, when you took the off ramp in a spirited manner you might well end up in the guard rail when a side load built up.
So.....we have a great system, and it's a very important system with the tires we run.
Anyway.....the "Service Tire Monitor" message most likely means that either you don't have sensors installed, or they're not programmed into the TPMS computer in the car (the TPMS computer is actually part of the RCDLR - Remote Control Door Lock Receiver - module), or the batteries in the sensors have died.
I looked in your profile and see that you have a 2005. The sensors have a "design life" of 10 years, so yours are getting old and could be getting weak.
However, i suspect that the TPMS computer in the car probably for some reason lost the sensor ID #'s of your sensors.
In that case, you'll need to program the sensors back into the TPMS.
Did you swap on a new set of wheels??
If so, you need to program the new set of sensors into the TPMS.
In the case of a 2005-2006, after you drive for about 60 minutes with no sensors (or without the sensors programmed into the TPMS - same as no sensors) you'll get the "Service Tire Monitor" message. The system hasn't received any signals from sensors in that period of time, so it figures the problem must be with the TPMS (Tire Monitor) itself - nobody would be so foolish as to run without sensors - right!?!?
2007-2008 models take about 30 minutes of driving with no sensors before you get that message, and 2009+ C6's take about 20 minutes.
So......I suspect that either your sensor batteries have died, or perhaps you just simply need to reprogram the sensors into the TPMS computer.
If you aren't having problems with any other part of the RCDLR (i.e., no fob problems, no problems opening doors or hatch/trunk, etc.) then it's very unlikely that something is the matter with the TPMS (Tire Monitor).
Good luck getting the sensors reprogrammed!!
Bob
Last edited by BEZ06; 08-26-2012 at 05:46 PM.
08-26-2012, 06:00 PM
#4
Tech Contributor
Member Since: Oct 1999
Location: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
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If all you are getting is the Service Tire Monitor message you are lucky. Past the 05 model year if that message shows up the car slows to 55 mph whenever you start to turn the steering wheel. It will let you go faster in a straight line but turn that steering wheel and the front brakes are applied. A real PIA that caused me to miss a lot of track time last week since it happened the first thing in the morning.
Replace the affected sensors and reprogram the car with the new sensor IDs and the message will go away. Whatever you do don't buy Dorman Sensors. The one that failed last week was a 6 week old Dorman and the one before it was a 6 week old Dorman. The only thing good about them is the one year warranty but they won't pay you for the hassle of taking your tire to a shop and getting the sensor replaced.
Bill
Replace the affected sensors and reprogram the car with the new sensor IDs and the message will go away. Whatever you do don't buy Dorman Sensors. The one that failed last week was a 6 week old Dorman and the one before it was a 6 week old Dorman. The only thing good about them is the one year warranty but they won't pay you for the hassle of taking your tire to a shop and getting the sensor replaced.
Bill
08-26-2012, 07:03 PM
#5
Racer
Thread Starter
Tire Pressure
Like I said, i check tire pressures regularly and all is well there. The left front reads a couple of pounds lower than the rest but did so with the old set of wheels and tires. I did install a set of wheels and tires from a 2006 and everything was fine for a month or so. Then this message shows up once in a while. Shut the car of, restart and it is back to normal. I think what I really need is a nice '69 Chevelle with one of these LS engines and six speed. That's all the complication I need. If I start having all these sensor problems, I can see one Corvette going down the road. As much as we enjoy the car, I don't need the aggravation. I've already installed the steering wheel lock bypass module as a preemptive strike and that was simple enough. Some of the other stuff gets EXPENSIVE.
Last edited by Keith Tedford; 08-26-2012 at 07:34 PM.
08-26-2012, 08:19 PM
#6
Race Director
It's about a 60 second procedure, so just take it to your local tire shop and have them do the relearn procedure and you'll be back in business in about a minute!!!
The video below shows the procedure.
Bob
08-26-2012, 08:54 PM
#8
Race Director
When you put the different wheels/tires/sensors on the car, the TPMS was listening for transmissions from the old sensors. It only recognizes signals sent by the 4 sensors programmed into it.
Like I said in a previous post, a 2005-2006 will listen for about one hour before it decides there must be a problem with the TPMS. That one hour is steady engine running time without shutting down - so if you just do a 30 minute drive and shut the ignition off you won't get that message. Next time you go cruising and drive for more than an hour without shutting down, you'll get that message.
Are your old tires in your garage?
If so, they are the sensors programmed into your TPMS and if they're within 100 feet or so of the car, they will update the TPMS with their pressures overnight and those pressures are what will be displayed in your DIC.
Even if you don't have your old wheels/tires/sensors within 100 feet or so of the car, the TPMS "remembers" the last known pressures so that when you start the car you won't immediately get low/no tire pressures because the sensors haven't transmitted a current pressure recently.
When the car sits still for about 15 minutes the sensors go into a sleep mode and only transmit once every hour in orer to conserve their batteries.
When you start driving faster than about 20 mph the sensors wake up and transmit once per minute (sooner if they detect a rapid loss of pressure), and that's why the TPMS remembers the last known pressures - so there won't be alerts of no or low pressure until the sensors wake up and transmit their current up-to-date pressures.
So.....your TPMS is remembering the last known pressures, and that's what is displayed in the DIC - NOT the current pressures in your newer 2006 wheels!!
And if you disconnect the battery those last known pressures will drop out of memory and all you'll get for tire pressures in the DIC are "xx psi".
The TPMS computer doesn't recognize transmissions from any other C6 that you park next to - it only recognizes the 4 sensor ID#'s that are stored in its memory.
Any time you swap wheels with a different set of sensors you must use a TPMS programming tool do that 60 second procedure to program the new set of sensors into the TPMS.
Go have the sensors programmed into the TPMS and both the car and you will be happy!!!
Many of us a have a couple sets of wheels/tires/sensors for street and track. Every time we switch we just quickly use our TPMS tool to program the new set of sensors.
You really do need sensors with these run flats - or any low profile stiff sidewall tire. YOU WILL NOT GET HANDLING FEEDBACK WHEN YOU LOSE PRESSURE GOING STRAIGHT DOWN THE HIGHWAY!!!! You wont know you've lost pressure and you'll wonder why you ended up on the guard rail, or why you lost control in a simple turn, jumped the curb, and ended up around a tree!!
Please get your sensors programmed - it only takes a minute!!!
BTW, I'm probably a helluva lot older than you. My '70 442 that I bought new is in my garage. However, I love our new high tech cars!!! If I can embrace the technology, I know you can too!!!
Bob
Like I said in a previous post, a 2005-2006 will listen for about one hour before it decides there must be a problem with the TPMS. That one hour is steady engine running time without shutting down - so if you just do a 30 minute drive and shut the ignition off you won't get that message. Next time you go cruising and drive for more than an hour without shutting down, you'll get that message.
Are your old tires in your garage?
If so, they are the sensors programmed into your TPMS and if they're within 100 feet or so of the car, they will update the TPMS with their pressures overnight and those pressures are what will be displayed in your DIC.
Even if you don't have your old wheels/tires/sensors within 100 feet or so of the car, the TPMS "remembers" the last known pressures so that when you start the car you won't immediately get low/no tire pressures because the sensors haven't transmitted a current pressure recently.
When the car sits still for about 15 minutes the sensors go into a sleep mode and only transmit once every hour in orer to conserve their batteries.
When you start driving faster than about 20 mph the sensors wake up and transmit once per minute (sooner if they detect a rapid loss of pressure), and that's why the TPMS remembers the last known pressures - so there won't be alerts of no or low pressure until the sensors wake up and transmit their current up-to-date pressures.
So.....your TPMS is remembering the last known pressures, and that's what is displayed in the DIC - NOT the current pressures in your newer 2006 wheels!!
And if you disconnect the battery those last known pressures will drop out of memory and all you'll get for tire pressures in the DIC are "xx psi".
The TPMS computer doesn't recognize transmissions from any other C6 that you park next to - it only recognizes the 4 sensor ID#'s that are stored in its memory.
Any time you swap wheels with a different set of sensors you must use a TPMS programming tool do that 60 second procedure to program the new set of sensors into the TPMS.
Go have the sensors programmed into the TPMS and both the car and you will be happy!!!
Many of us a have a couple sets of wheels/tires/sensors for street and track. Every time we switch we just quickly use our TPMS tool to program the new set of sensors.
You really do need sensors with these run flats - or any low profile stiff sidewall tire. YOU WILL NOT GET HANDLING FEEDBACK WHEN YOU LOSE PRESSURE GOING STRAIGHT DOWN THE HIGHWAY!!!! You wont know you've lost pressure and you'll wonder why you ended up on the guard rail, or why you lost control in a simple turn, jumped the curb, and ended up around a tree!!
Please get your sensors programmed - it only takes a minute!!!
BTW, I'm probably a helluva lot older than you. My '70 442 that I bought new is in my garage. However, I love our new high tech cars!!! If I can embrace the technology, I know you can too!!!
Bob
Last edited by BEZ06; 08-26-2012 at 09:01 PM. Reason: Added BTW
08-26-2012, 09:21 PM
#9
Racer
Thread Starter
You are right. The old tires and rims are right beside the car in the garage. I think I`m going to get a headache before I get all this computer stuff figured out. What you said makes perfect sense. Sneaky computers. It would explain why, with the new wheels and tires, the left front still read 2 psi low. We were out for an all day drive today. Keep the good information coming. I`m all ears. Thanks a lot.
Last edited by Keith Tedford; 08-26-2012 at 09:28 PM.
08-26-2012, 09:45 PM
#10
Race Director
If you still have your old wheels and expect to swap back-n-forth occasionally, you might want to get your own TPMS tool.
You can get a cheap and very basic one for about $68, or you can spend A LOT more for real high-end tools.
I found a couple like in that video in my earlier post (the green TIPS Tool, and the exact same thing in red and distributed by KTI), and they are a step above the simple basic tools. They will do some diagnostic checks of sensors so you can check they're working properly:
If anybody needs a TIPS Tool or KTI pst, the used red one is $130 shipped, and the brand new green one is $140 shipped. These are my cost plus shipping, so I can't come down any on them.
Bob
You can get a cheap and very basic one for about $68, or you can spend A LOT more for real high-end tools.
I found a couple like in that video in my earlier post (the green TIPS Tool, and the exact same thing in red and distributed by KTI), and they are a step above the simple basic tools. They will do some diagnostic checks of sensors so you can check they're working properly:
If anybody needs a TIPS Tool or KTI pst, the used red one is $130 shipped, and the brand new green one is $140 shipped. These are my cost plus shipping, so I can't come down any on them.
Bob
08-26-2012, 09:54 PM
#11
Racer
Thread Starter
Old
I've been told that I am older than dirt. We still have the COPO Chevelle here that I bought new. It is heading west this next month though. I've been retired nearly six years and thoroughly enjoying it.
08-26-2012, 10:26 PM
#12
Race Director
Ahhhhh - retirement!! The best job I ever had!!!
One other thing, Keith - or anybody else following the thread that's trying to learn about the sensors and TPMS.
The 2005-2009 C6 uses one part# sensor, and in 2010 they changed to a different part#.
So....were the wheels actually off of a 2006? I guess they were OE on that car, so they actually have the sensors in there that will work with a 2005-2009. If the sensors in those wheels aren't the correct part# then they just won't work in your 2005.
Bob
One other thing, Keith - or anybody else following the thread that's trying to learn about the sensors and TPMS.
The 2005-2009 C6 uses one part# sensor, and in 2010 they changed to a different part#.
So....were the wheels actually off of a 2006? I guess they were OE on that car, so they actually have the sensors in there that will work with a 2005-2009. If the sensors in those wheels aren't the correct part# then they just won't work in your 2005.
Bob
08-27-2012, 04:28 AM
#13
Racer
Thread Starter
According to the owner, the wheels and tires were 11K mile originals along with the sensors from the guy's 2006. He'd gone to aftermarket wheels and tires. Probably was sick of the noise from the Goodyear run flats. For the price I paid, I can put up with a lot of noise. Thanks again for the help. It's always welcome and appreciated.