Tire light on, but tires are fine

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   My tire light on my 2009 Mini Cooper went on (I don't have the run-flat feature), but the tire pressure seems fine. I tried to follow the manual's instructions for turning off the warning light, but no luck. How do I know if there is indeed a problem with the tires? Without going to a repair shop, that is!

Thank you!

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Raye Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MINI Motorer Joined: August/15/12 Location: Seattle Status: Offline Points: 2	Post Options Post Reply Quote Raye Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Tire light on, but tires are fine Posted: October/19/12 at 8:31pm
	My tire light on my 2009 Mini Cooper went on (I don't have the run-flat feature), but the tire pressure seems fine. I tried to follow the manual's instructions for turning off the warning light, but no luck. How do I know if there is indeed a problem with the tires? Without going to a repair shop, that is! Thank you!

CINIMIN Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MINI Motorer Joined: August/27/05 Location: Everett WA Status: Offline Points: 4676	Post Options Post Reply Quote CINIMIN Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October/19/12 at 8:48pm
	Did you carry a much heavier load than is usual for your MINI? That can trigger the pressure warning light.
	Jack - <font color=RED>CINIMIN [/COLOR] 2006 CR/W MCS - 6spd - LSD -15% Pulley - Dinan CAI ASA JH6's Koni FSD's 22mm Bar Have you hugged a curve today?

Marc Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MINI Motorer Joined: October/10/12 Location: Everett Status: Offline Points: 51	Post Options Post Reply Quote Marc Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October/19/12 at 9:01pm
	The tire light comes on when one or more tires spin at a different rate than before. So, the question is, "why is a tire spinning faster than the others?" Is it possible that the tread on one of the tires is more worn than the others? If not, then there is probably something wrong with the sensor.... that's the way it always works with these kind of things.
	Beastie - Jan 2012 JCW Clubman (auto), Eclipse Grey, Black Trim & stripes, tinted windows, technology & Cold Weather pkg.

CINIMIN Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MINI Motorer Joined: August/27/05 Location: Everett WA Status: Offline Points: 4676	Post Options Post Reply Quote CINIMIN Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October/19/12 at 9:49pm
	Do the 2009 MINIs use the in-tire pressure sensor rather than the external ABS rotation speed sensors the earlier models used?
	Jack - <font color=RED>CINIMIN [/COLOR] 2006 CR/W MCS - 6spd - LSD -15% Pulley - Dinan CAI ASA JH6's Koni FSD's 22mm Bar Have you hugged a curve today?

KnottyMan Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MINI Motorer Joined: March/29/06 Location: Freeland Status: Offline Points: 182	Post Options Post Reply Quote KnottyMan Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October/19/12 at 10:06pm
	2007+ use TPMS not the ABS method. The sensors have a battery lifetime of 5yr/50k. Might have a bad sensor? Put a tire pressure gauge on the tires. Do they read proper pressure? Test a day or week later. Holding? Then no 'actual' problem, it's a sensor/digital problem. Did you do this? http://www.minicarparts.net/TechTips/MC-MCS_TPMS-Reset.cfm Edited by KnottyMan - October/19/12 at 10:10pm

SMOG Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List PSMINI Member PSMINI Member Joined: April/07/09 Location: Port Orchard Status: Offline Points: 4296	Post Options Post Reply Quote SMOG Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October/20/12 at 4:38am
	The good question is WHICH sensor is faulty? Or do you just change the set at the time you have it in the tire shop? Jack made a good point "one tire worn more than the others"... If they were never rotated then the right front would wear more. If you have a way to measure tire tread depth it will let you know which is the offending tire. Using a coin should should be a sufficient tool.
	I wish there was a local MINI Dealership, like our Honda, Subaru, Mazada and VW.

ipeverywhere Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List PSMINI Admin PSMINI Treasurer Joined: June/16/10 Location: Sammamish Status: Offline Points: 1273	Post Options Post Reply Quote ipeverywhere Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October/21/12 at 1:01pm
	(smart people please correct this post if my info is wrong; which it could be) Do you have plastic or metal valve stem caps? If you have metal valve stem caps then your TPMS system is based on the rotational speed of the wheel and that metal valve seem cap is part of the system. Verify you are not missing any caps and that no one has replaced any of your caps with plastic. NOTE: MINI has stopped, and for some time, producing fancy metal replacement caps. All of the nice Union Jack and "S" caps sitting on the carousel at the parts department will not work with the older system because they are plastic. If you have plastic caps then your wheels have sensors embedded onto the valve stems. The pressure is communicated to the car by radio waves which, as others have mentioned, requires these sensors to have a battery which is good for about 5 years. I'm not sure if a tire shop can test if one of these sensors is faulty but they can certainly replace them for you. These sensors are not exactly tiny so depending on your wheel you may be able to see them. They look something like this: TPMS Installed At least on the new system, that actually trips based on pressure, it takes about a 5 PSI change for the light to trip. That will give you yellow icon in your display. Beyond 5 PSI it will go red. What color is your light? I also thinks it trips if one of your tires is 5 PSI different than the others. This will prevent it from resetting without actually correcting a low tire. Recent story of how sensitive the newer system is. My light tripped. One of my tires was down 5 PSI. I filled it, reset the system, and drove happily. Next day that tire was down 1 PSI. Day after that it was down another 1 PSI. I kept filling it, as long as I was driving, and the system never tripped. One week of not driving (1 PSI x 5 = 5PSI) and the system would trip again. So, it even catches very slow leaks of 1 PSI a day. Time to start checking your tires every day before you drive off to determine if you've got a leak somewhere.

Rob N Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List PSMINI Expert Advisor PSMINI Member Joined: August/13/04 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2020	Post Options Post Reply Quote Rob N Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October/22/12 at 6:29am
	Also, don't forget, colder weather lowers tire pressures.
	Rob, Vickie and Alice COOPR-S The question is, "When you turn on your car does it return the favor?"

SAMSON Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List PSMINI Skilled Member PSMINI Past Secretary Joined: August/15/12 Location: Snoqualmie, WA Status: Offline Points: 263	Post Options Post Reply Quote SAMSON Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October/25/12 at 8:17pm
	When I lived in New England, for the 1st few nights that the temps dropped below 40 degrees or so, my TPMs would say all 4 tires were low. Just check 'em and reset 'em.
	NEBULA - 2016 Countryman S ALL4 Cosmic Blue/Black SAMSON - 2011 Cooper S - Eclipse Grey/Black (retired) LOLA CHOLULA - 2010 Cooper - Chili Red/White (retired)