Yo lemme tell you, i LOVE my tc and every single feature in it, and i thought the flat tire warning thing was awesome, UNTIL i was drivin' around yesterday and some guy was honkin' at me tellin' me my wheel was flat......and sure enough it was! not a single warning i musta been drivin like that for at least 30 minutes!

and another thing, how freakin' stupid does the spare tire look!!!! wtf is up w/ the beige paint! so damn embarassing haha

 

You may want to have the dealer check out the sensor. It's not the greatest tire pressure system, but it's just something simple. I haven't had a flat, so who know's for sure if mine even works.

As for the spare. Yes... it's disgusting. Though most people figure they did that one purpose so you wouldn't leave that on too long. Then again, you could just get some black spray paint and problem solved.

 

My tire pressure warning works great. The first time it came on (I say first time b/c I have a problem with running over stuff and have had multiple flats) I checked the tire and it wasnt flat so I was like, damn this thing sucks. then sure enough, after work i came out and my tire was flat. I have never had it come on when there wasnt a flat...and likewise, it has never failed to come on when there was a flat. maybe you should get the sensor checked out.

I love the spare! i want to have all four wheels look like that.

 

anyone gotta picture of the spare?

 

* Tire pressure sensor isn't really a sensor persay, it rather uses the anti lock brake readings to determine if a wheel is rotating faster than it should be (meaning the tire pressure is low). As far as a flat goes.. the sensor didn't work as it should, it's possible it was reset to a baseline point of it already being out of whack. Either way, take it to the dealer.

How did you drive 30 minutes on a flat tire? Your tire probably would have shredded off by that time.

 

well it took me like 5 minutes to get to the nearest place to pull over and check it out, it didn't look so bad, it wasn't totally flat, just looked really low, then i drove another like 5 minutes to the nearest gas station to fill it back up, and that's when i realized it was really flat b/c i could actually hear it hissing out as i was filling it. Unfortunately this gas station didn't have a garage and the closest place to fix a flat was 10 minutes away.

Finally when i got to that place it was closed, and that's when i changed to the spare. It was just my laziness cuz i really didn't feel like gettin 'my nice shirt and jeans dirty haha

 

Did you actually check the tire pressure to see if it was flat? Or were you just going by looks? There have a been a couple times where I've gone out to my tC in the morning and thought my tires looked flat also. But sure enough I went to put check my air pressure and all of them were at their recommended levels.

And like Rivulent said, maybe it just wasn't reset properly to begin with???

 

i didn't even need to check the pressure, i could litterallyl hear it hissing out of the leak, and when i took off the tire eventually i found two metal shards stickin out

 

Did you initialize the tpms? I dont think it works if you dont initailize the system, meaning reseting the button, and driving for a long time. This could have been the dealers fault for not reseting it after maintenece where they disconnected the battery.

 

How do you know "it's not the greatest tire pressure system"? What makes one system better than another??

Kevin

 

That was my first thought...

 

What makes a system better is accuracy. The Scion tC TPMS uses the ABS system, this is only good to detect a loss of pressure of 25% or more. This is the most common system, Why? because it adds between $7 to $20 to the price of the car. More high tech systems have actual sensors embedded in the inside of the tire. This sensors measure tire temp and pressure. They use a wireless signal to comunicate with the cars ECU. Ususally you can see the tire pressure and temp in the MFD. High end TPMS will even include a temp and pressure sensor for the spare tire. This systems will meause accuracy to within 1 psi.

 

the pressure indicator dont work that well... I had a flat and it didnt even go off... its comes on now because I have new tires in the front... but it doesnt go off when its supposed to i.e. flat tire...

 

im way too lazy to read if anyone mentioned this, but to fix that sensor you open your glove department; press+hold that one button for 5 sec and it'll reset

 

wow really, thanks for that whole contribution there

 

my tps light came on when the pressure dropped to 12-13 psi on my passenger rear tire. looked around the tire and sure enough, had a screw in it. aired it up and had it fixed. reset the system and haven't had a problem. guess i'm lucky or something. nobody else seems to have a functional tps. oh well, good luck getting it fixed.

 

Haven't had the TC's tire pressure light come on, but my old car was a fine GM product with the ABS based tire pressure system and it would not come on unless one tire was 10 - 12 psi below the others. One tire would have to get down to 18 - 19 psi before it set the light off. It seems that in general the ABS tire pressure sensors are far less sensitive then 4 - 5 psi claimed.

 

does anyone happen to know if the tires are covered under warranty if we do get flats???

 

i thought they lied to us... tee hee
ive never seen mine and i filled up once after a road trip..
maybe it wasnt bad enough

 

The spare tire is really bad. Bright yellow. Very embarrassing. (found that out the hard way too) Toyota/Scion doesn't have a warranty on the tires, thats though the tire company. For us its Bridgestone. And flats aren't exactly covered...well depending on the situation, your not covered if you run over a nail, but if there's some sort of defect, then your sometimes covered.