05TiGr8Lady

Yeah, that's what I read too - the malfunction - so that's what made me take it to the dealer back in October. They tried to blow me off, but I said no - check it out, there's something wrong. First the service tech came back and said he had someone drive it and no flashing light. I said "did he drive it for at least 10 minutes?". He didn't, so he sent the guy out again. Who knows if they really drove it again... So after a while, he comes back out and says they tested all 4 units and one tire was low, so they replaced the sensor on that one. I don't know how "low" it was, but I don't really think it was.

Every time I check my tires, they are in the 32-35psi range, which is hardly any difference, right? I can't imagine that my tires would get so hot after 10 minutes that the pressure could have gotten up over 45spi. Do you?

Most of the time on a normal day I don't drive over 60mph for more than 20 minutes. Now that I think about it some more, the light starts flashing at 10 minutes into my trip, but it is after I get on a highway... Our situations are starting to sound the same...

dmc27

When I had the snow tires put on, it took about 36 hours before the sensor started flashing. In researching the possible issues - well, it turns out there's all sorts of sh8t that causes malfunction. At that point my original opinion of the TPMS system was confirmed - It's a nice idea, but more hassle than it's worth. Not only can radio freq. screw it up, but the metal sidewall reinforcements (found in most, if not all, snow tires) can also screw it up.

Kudos to you, tho - I couldn't even get the reset thing to work. I still need to just cover the light and be done with it. It's not compatible with snow tires, and the sensors prlly won't fit whichever set of wheels I decide on at the end of the month . . .

GL - if you find a solution be sure to pass it on.

EDIT - Mine's even less consistent than yours. Sometimes I can get through a day w/o it blinking, other days it blinks every time I'm driving. And I've run the 8 at several diff pressures to see if it made a differnce. It didn't.

NotAPreppie

On my winter rims, I get blinking TPMS light when it rains. Only and always when it rains (never snow, just rain) and only with that set of rims. I just chalk it up to one or more sensors being a little goofy (bought from a member). They work fine otherwise.

05TiGr8Lady:
Maybe they were talking about the battery in sensor?

05TiGr8Lady

No, I could tell on the invoice/work order that they put a new sensor on one wheel.

dmc27: Will do... Not sure yet if I will pursue it or not. I'm kinda wondering what will happen in warmer weather. I bought my 8 in late February '06 and the sensor light issue didn't show up until October '06. Build date was September '05. How long do the batteries last in them?

NotAPreppie

Right, since the sensors are sealed units, they replaced it... Am I missing something here?

05TiGr8Lady

Maybe I'm missing something... what did you mean by "battery in sensor"? Now that I think about it, doesn't the manual say something about batteries in them? Maybe I'm hallucinating or I heard it someplace else...

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

i never read anything about replacing batteries inside the sensors in the manual.

but weakened battery(s) do sound like a highly plausible cause of all the 'malfunctions' some of us are getting, maybe this is a good question to ask Mazda North America customer hotline... note to self...

dmc27

Not sure how long the battery lasts.

I haven't bother to pursue it either. While TPMS is a nice "extra", it's completely wasted on me (& most here prlly) b/c I check the pressure every 2 weeks or so.

kristopher_d

That's because they're snow tires, not rain tires.

It would be interesting to know what tires everyone having this issue are running. I wonder if there's something about the tire construction that's causing the problem.

dmc27

^ I mentioned in a previous post that researching possible causes showed many issues - the main one being the sidewall reinforcements in snow tires can interfere w/TPMS.

Dunlop Winter Sport M3s for me.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

I driving on Falken RT615's right now, but the sympton didn't show up until the last 4-5000 miles or so, so I doubt it's my tires that's causing this...

dmc27

Prlly not. The TPMS is still in it's mass production/standard option phase. And we all know how that goes.

NotAPreppie

My winter tires are Falken Ziex ZE-512 (read: all-season tires). We don't get enough snow here to justify snow tires but we do typically get a lot of very cold rain.

So, yah, you're wrong.

05TiGr8Lady

The flashing light started about a month before I switched from my stock Potenzas to my Kumho Ecsta ASX all seasons, and flashed after that too (October and now).

NomadEpitro

I just bought a 2004 w/ 23k miles on it and the tires it came with (pre-owned) were Dunlop SP SPORT 8090M's 225 45R18 91w's.
The dealer had them inflated to just over twenty-five psi.
The spec on these tires, however, is fifty-one psi. So I went ahead and inflated them to spec. No sooner I did this, the light is on and will not go off. I have done the 15-min wait then drive slowly thing but the result is unsatisfactory. Has anyone else had this 'problem'? Or is there something further I need to do in addition?
Advise, thanks!

paulmasoner

iTrader: (1)

ppl quit inflating your tires to ridiculus PSI like 51!!!!!

whats on the sidewall of most tires is MAX inflation. you should have somewhere around 32 psi or so in your tires.

sounds like something a mazda mechanic would do

Mazurfer

Go and take air out of those tires! Drop that down to 32-33 PSI, then turn the key to on(don't start it), turn key back off.....wait fifteen minutes and then go fo a drive. After about 10 minutes or so into the drive it should clear up.

mjcampb

I believe one needs to reset the pressure system after the tire(s) is(are) removed as well. I did this after painting my calipers a couple years ago. Now, all I ever get is the light on if it is cold out. The light clears up after the tires heat up--I can't imagine the air pressure changes that dramatically within the tire due to temperature, but apparently it does. Stupid of me not to have checked the pressure when the light is on, guess I figured it was just the cold air and the light would go out soon enough.

Someone out there want to do some thermodynamics and figure it out...temperature, volume, pressure...how hard could it be?

NomadEpitro

Good thing I'm not paid by Mazda... but thanks for the advice.

NomadEpitro

Done! I actually have it around 34 psi at each wheel. Light has disappeared. Thanks again!

Spin9k

Heads up bro....open the drivers door and look at the inflation pressure sticker for your car's tires. It's the same on every car. Observe this pressure recommendation and all your problems will go away.

Mazurfer

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

went to rosenthal arlington to have new tires installed, so had a chance to ask them to check on the tire sensors up close. turns out one of them is bad, time to call up my mazduh contact to get one for me for a good price, rosenthal wanted $138 for one!!!

stangree

two years we have been fighting this problem drive about 15 miles the low pressure tire light comes on. been to dealer can't find anything wrong .WTF.