Maybe the TPMS is simply a random maintenance minder to get us out of our cars to examine the tires.

 

Good to know the limitation for the future. Thanks!

 

The earlier version that uses individual sensors inside the tires ALSO may not monitor at low speeds, because the sensors require centrifugal force before they can turn on and begin transmitting a signal.

 

I can vouch for that. My '09 Fit had a soft tire one day and I backed out of the garage and headed off without noticing. The TPMS light didn't come on until I hit 30 MPH.

 

Hmm..
My Dad said he was having trouble getting a TPMS light with his Toyota RAV 4. Similarly he would check his tires and they would all be inflated to the correct PSI.
It turned out to be his "Spare Tire" that was low.
Which would suggest to me that the inflation based system is NOT dependent on speed or centrifugal force to work properly.

His was one of the RAV 4's with a full sized spare. The now defunct model with the tire attached to the rear hatch.

 

My 2004 4Runner works that way too. The full size spare under the trunk can throw the TPMS light if the psi is low.

 

That PARTICULAR system design has 'initiators' placed around the car to electronically activate and read the TPMS sensors, instead of relying on movement to activate them.

Fit did not employ the same type of TPMS system, nor do the other small car choices from Honda.
Honda did use a similar system on larger more expensive rides, SOME Pilot, SOME Odyssey, SOME Ridgelines, but not all.
Honda does not monitor spare tire pressure at all.

HTH

 

My 2015 has been exhibiting problems with TPMS more and more lately. After reseting the system several times, I finally discovered that one tire had a slow leak. A nail was removed from it, the tire patched, and the system was fine for a bit (a few weeks). The TPMS light went off and a check of pressure showed no significant differences. I reset the TPMS and the light returned soon after. I brought it to Godyear, they repaired the tire previously, and they adjusted the pressure and recalibrate the system. I don't know exactly what they did, and I haven't driven much since then. This system is driving me nuts. My 2010 Fit Sport has not had any issues with TPMS false readings.

 

I have had my 2016 for 2 weeks. The first day it didn't go off. Then we had cold weather. I am used to them going on in cold weather. But I have tried resetting the stupid thing 6 or 7 times. Driven the requisite 30-60 mph for 30 minutes. And it will not go off. Before I go to the dealer, anyone else have this issue?

 

Did you check the tire pressure to make sure none of them needed air?

Why would air temperature affect the TPMS?

 

I have checked the tire pressure multiple times.

The air temp might not effect the newer TPMS. My 2008 Fit had the gauge go off all the time when the weather was really cold. Honda dealer said it was normal.

 

I think cold affects the valve stem systems because you lose approx 1 PSI for every 10*F drop in ambient temp, iirc ....if you fill your tires on a "warmer day" and it gets quite a bit cooler, your tire pressures will be lower. The Fit system relies on sensors that detect the rotating speed of each wheel, as I understand it, and won't alert if all 4 tires are low by the same amount. Point being, check your tire pressures regularly....when then tire is cold

 

Getting the right pressure in the tires is not rocket science and it shouldn't be treated like something is going to explode if you don't follow exact conditions. If you know you have the right tire pressure, +/- a few pounds is not going to hurt anything. If the TPMS continues to give a false indication, take some electrical tape and cover it up. That will relieve your anxiety.

 

The warning light turns off when you push the TPMS button, yes? If it doesn't ever turn off maybe you aren't holding the button in long enough.
FTM:
Press and hold the TPMS button until the low
tire pressure/TPMS indicator blinks twice,
indicating the calibration process has begun.

No need to drive the car immediately after pushing the button. The system will calibrate itself as you accumulate miles driving in your normal routines.





The manuals don't tell you this, but if the system doesn't detect any change (from whatever it didn't like about the tires in the first place) it will turn the warning light on again in a very short time, maybe less then 10 miles.

There might be two ways to get around this....

1) This doesn't work for all of the cars cars, but worth a try:

With tire pressures correctly set ,
Push the reset button and hold it until the light flashes twice, let go of the button.
Wait 5 seconds
Push the button again until the light flashes twice, let go.
Wait 5 seconds
Push the button again until the light flashes, let go.
(total 3 times)
then about 10 seconds later the warning light should flash yet another time and go off.
System has now erased previously learned tire profiles and is ready.
Drive normally.


If that didn't work....then
2) Force the system to recognize a real change to the tires.
Rotating the tires is one easy way to make a change, but not always feasible.

You could let some air out of one tire, or you could overinflate one tire....say, add 10-15 PSI to a tire, then drive it around until the warning light comes on.....
After the warning light has come on, Then stop and adjust the tire pressures and push the reset button for the system (light blinks twice, etc.). NOW it should work properly.

Yes, sometimes I've had to do this....
With 3 tires at 35 PSI and one tire at 20 PSI, driving in a straight line at 55 MPH, the cars I've done this to usually trip the low tire warning in about 4 miles.

I kinda figure overinflating one tire is gonna be easier for a car owner, in that once the goal is accomplished all you have to do it let the tire down to correct pressure (instead of go to the gas station and use their tire pump again).

Because temperature affects tire pressures (approx 1PSI for each 10*C change in temp), temperature is read from the ambient temp sensor and taken into account by the control unit.

 

This is why I love this forum - you get info/ideas like ezone presents to resolve issues in our Fits. They may work or may not but the effort and good intentions are there. I learn something new every day here...

 

The light goes on with the ignition on but the car not running. Then it goes off. If there is low pressure in a tire, it cannot tell unless the car is rolling. If there is low pressure (or somehow it magically gets higher) then the light goes on, it does not go "off" as you say yours did.

By the way, older iTPMS was able to tell if pressure in one tire got lower, but if all 4 tires gradually lost pressure, yet were the same as each other, the tpms light would not go on. With newer itpms the light will go on in this situation. Or at least it it supposed to.

 

I was going to say..
If you "recalibrate" the system...the light SHOULD go off.
If it NEVER goes off?
Then driving 30-60 mph for 30 minutes will NOT matter.

The light should be off...while it recalibrates.

If it's on, and correctly initiating the process does not turn the light off, then a trip to the dealership is needed.

 

My story and frustration is similar to others told here in the thread. The TPMS light went on very early after taking delivery on the car and has been a persistent annoying source of frustration in the car. It is true that tweaking the tire pressures and resetting the indicator will solve the problem for a while, but ultimately the light will return and will have to repeat the chore of topping off each tire. I've not conducted any experimental approach to determining whether the fault lies with one tire, valve or something else.

In general, I think that the monitoring systems now installed in cars is a good thing, but my only comparison ( and acknowledge that I'm comparing apples to oranges) is the TPMS on my 2007 Volvo XC70. The TPMS has come one exactly three times, once when I had a flat tire, once when I hit a pot hole aa higher speed that I would have liked, and one in extremely gcold weather. The first two times are explainable the third not so much, but it self corrected in a few miles. I know that these are different systems, but at 150K on the Volvo, I've never experienced the same false positive rate that the Fit throws at me. False positive reads only ensure a sense of skepticism about what you are seeing and/or as well as an annoying increase in maintenance addresses.

My dealer, I'm sure can't do a lot with a sporadic issue where it appears nothing is wrong, except the core design or something that is spuriously causing the code to display.

No really question here, just using the forum to vent my frustration...

 

I just ordered an aftermarket TPMS for my car. You screw a small device onto each valve stem, and a receiver plugged into the 12V outlet displays the pressure for each tire. This is the kind of system I like, and have had it as OEM in several past vehicles. I can comfortable ignore the OEM TPMS fault light in my Fit, once I get the new unit(s).