you can buy a setup with internal sensors. it works great. not too expensive.

 

well i dont care about the functionality - i just care about the little yellow light on the dash that wont go out. so im not going to be purchasing an "internal" system.

 

OK, well i got fed up with the tire pressure warning light and I'm not ready to remount my new rims. So I've got something of a "fix". Ha. Mind you - this is Version 1.0. I made a sticker to cover it. Its just really distracting seeing that glowing light that randomly blinks, when i have my turn signal and no seat belt on (which is not often - buckle up!) it looks like a christmas tree on the dash. So Version 1.0, I printed the below faux carbon fiber sticker on photo paper and put a tiny big of spraymount adhesive on the back (allow to dry for a few minutes and the bond will be weak enough to remove or reposition but strong enough to stay in place, I would never put a real sticker on the dash glass/plastic). In Version 2.0, (lol) I will print the same or slightly modified logo on a sheet of clear window-cling decal paper that I have. I just need to readjust the image so that there is less white - as white will show as clear and then I'll see that light shining thru. I'll photo that when its done.

This is the light for those who might not have seen it.
This is the image i 'designed'

This is it mounted - it doesnt look bad at all, in my opinion. And it takes that frustration off and out of mind not having to look at a warning light while im driving.

This is it from a higher angle to show you the light behind it - so yeah the sticker doesnt hide it completely, but i was just concerned about blocking the driver's angle - its tough to see the cluster from the passenger seat anyhow.

The moral of the story - when you get aftermarket rims on your '07 tc make sure they take out the electronic sensors built into the stock valve stems and put them in your aftermarket wheels!

 

So..my question is..how much does the tire lose pressure wise before the warning actually comes on in the 05-06??

Is there a certain lb. of pressure that causes it to set the system off?

 

in your years the way it worked was the monitor watches how fast each wheel spins. if one is spinning faster than the other it assumes its cuz its low or blown out. I wonder what happens if you can force a fishtail around a corner - maybe the difference in speed doesnt last long enough to register.

so your question should be - how much lbs of air can a tire be short to make it lose a grip. if you think the # is important - its not. You need to check your pressure regularly - this is more of a blowout warning.

 

So it only gives you a warning if your pressure is really low? or what?

 

in your years it only measures the speed of the tire - so i dont know how much air you need to lose to make the tire lose grip and spin faster

 

perruzziscion is correct, only 07' has them, the 05 06 is base on the speed of the tires, but the 07' has a problem right now with the tire preasure light being light up all the time.

 

No it doesn't. I have an 07 and I have yet to see the light with 1500 miles on the clock.

 

I just put on the racing heart 19" TRD wheels and my tire pressure light came on after a little bit and i just came on here to find out why and now i have but i cant believe there is no way to shut the light off without buying some other tire monitoring system this kind of sux

 

It doesnt lose grip and spin faster. It has nothing to do with when you lose grip. When a tire is underinflated, it is smaller in diameter. This means that wheel turns faster in relation to the others. This sets off the warning.

 

It takes about 10 minutes to take the gauge cluster out, dissasemble it and desolder the led.

 

Ok - now this has become an obsession. (Firstly, i believe that last post was correct and i was not - sorry, thanks).

So i was removing my rear inside panels the other day to do some cupholder lights. Look at these pics - see what i found on the passenger side, labeled: "Tire Pressure Monitoring System". Now maybe we can just short out some of those wires to temporarily disable the system? When I unplug it - the light is still on.

Noone wants to desolder their guage cluster.



Disassembled

 

I guess I musta been the lucky one with 07 tC. Ive driven my tC on aftermarket rims without sensors for a while now and the sensor light still off

 

Why would no one want to desolder the gauge cluster??? It takes less than 2 minutes to remove. About 5 - 10 to take the front and needles out and maybe 1 minute to remove the LED in question. If you short the wrong wires to disable that unit, you will possibly cause more issues.

tcGuy... yours is faulty then.. I guess in a good way this time.

For everyone, it is SIMPLE to remove that led from the cluster. much easier than spending a lot of time trying to disable the system. It is easier than getting to the module in question above and doesnt risk fooling with the ECU's signals

 

hmm.. i'm sure if an accident were to occur, the ecu will still know that light was still supposed to be on...

tampering with a device mandatory by federal law on the vehicle is a little bit..... not good?

 

It WILL come on eventually TCGuy, it took about 600 miles for mine to come on, and is speratic at best, some days on and off all the time, some weeks, nothing, . I am thinking if i desolder the light when i do the led swap, but .. will inspection stations know it's supposed to be there?

 

probably yes.

 

If the light does come On, I'll just ignore it or put a sticker on top of that. Desoldering the LED is just too much work

 

This is not 100% correct.

I have an 06 tC with winter wheels on it (16" steels with snow tires):


The tires/rims have been on the car since the end of October.

That picture above was taken in VT over the holiday. I spent 3 days there, and the roads were very muddy. I got a tire pressure warning light 3 days in a row up there driving on the dirt roads (muddy, slick, bumpy roads).

Resetting the warning lamp and driving home on pavement I have had no issues with the warning lamp coming on.

So, to say the least I am somewhat disappointed in the system on the 2006. Living in New England, I am expecting to have to reset this lamp alot once the roads get crappy out, or when I am on the frozen lake having some fun. I would much rather have an actual tire pressure sensor in the wheel for accurate information.

Paul G.