hi, have an '02 sc430 with 34K... put in new mich. pilot sports about 1000miles ago.... great tire....

anyway, came out of my office and started the car this PM, and the tire press. light was ON, looked at the tires and measured the pressure... 3 at 38# and 4th was 36#.... turned engine on/off, no change,..... drove home with light on, not a problem going 80+mph with traffic... checked pressure again and put 4th tire at same pressure....

light still ON.... what do you guys think is going on? battery on one of the sensors going bad? if so, how do they know which one to change? warranty coverage?

any suggestions???

thanks in advance.

J.rho
so. calif.

 

I just went through this yesterday. I replaced my run-flats with Michelin Pilot Sport A/Ss yesterday afternoon at NTW, started driving the car, and the low-pressure warning was beeping. I have an '02 Silver/ecru SC430 with 15,470 mi. I telephoned Lexus of Silver Spring (one of the best in my opinion) and they told me that the sensors needed to be reset and that they could do it quickly. Since the dealer was on the way home, I stopped there and they reset the sensors - no problem. From what I could see, they used a remote device on each wheel. It took 5 minutes to reset the sensors (they did it no charge) and they washed my car! By the way, I'm loving the Michelins!

Good luck!

 

One more thing. You should have the "new" valve stems that were the subject of a Lexus "recall" a few months ago. If not, contact your dealer and have them installed. Based on what my technician told me at the time, these valve stems are an integral part of the tyre pressure sensor system.

 

You can reset the sensor by taking all the air out of the tire and inflating the tire to 60psi and then let t he air out until you reach 36-40 psi. This was told to me by a friend of mine who is a Lexus mechanic.

 

The recall was on the valve caps NOT the stems. The original valve caps in certain environment could "rust" onto the stems and be very hard to remove. It is not really rust since they are aluminum or chrome, but some sort of degradation due to some road chemicals.

Anyway, the new (or old) valve caps have NOTHING to do with the tire pressure sensors.

 

well, the interesting aspect is that, i've had the tires done , new mich pilot sports, about 1 month/1K miles ago... it was all fine until a few days ago, the thing went on....

if i want to save a trip to the dealer, i could empty and refill to 60psi? hum...

i also found that the back of my car seat, the covering was loose.... seems that there should be 2 screws holding the seat back and mine was gone !, hence, loose seat back cover/driver's side....


j.rho

will let you guys know what up.... try riverside lexus...

 

I, for one, would not recommend self-help (inflating the tyres to 60psi) to address this situation. To me, it's worth a trip to the dealer; it may be something as minor as resetting the sensors, or it might be that whomever mounted the tyres did something wrong (or damaged s sensor). Self-help would likely abrogate any third party responsibility that could be existing.

Also, for the record, I said that the valve stems, NOT the valve covers, are an integral component of the tyre sensor system.

Good luck!

 

This happened to me after I replaced my stock wheels with sensor compatible wheels. Took it down to the dealer and it took 5 minutes to reset it.

 

well, went to riverside lexus, calif...
they said one of my sensors were 'bad' - couldn't reset it.... charged me $240 .... 140 for part, then labor/tax..... they tell me that it was damaged when i had new tires put, most likely.... it doesn't make sense,.... the sensors were working fine for past 3 wks after the tires were put on....

the old sensor, supposedly from my car, looks fine externally... meaning, no visible dings/etc. to explain how it could have been hit/damaged during tire change.....

i don't know.... at least the light is out now....

j.rho

 

You know......when is Lexus (or any other car maker for that matter) going to either punt on the sensor idea, or come up with a better way!!??? On the new LS and RX, they don't have sensors in the wheels. They use the ABS and VSC electronics to monitor wheel speed. When one wheel is turning slower for a period of time it sets off the warning and assumes the wheel has low pressure. I know the government is mandating wheel sensors on all cars soon and this system seems way more practical than these d---sensors!!!! I heard the government is now saying that that system may not be accurate enough and require the use of sensors. Hmmm....sounds like someone in the NHTSA has a relative in the run flat sensor business!!!! How about a whoopie cushion run flat system??? When the air escapes from the tire, you hear a distinct farting sound and you know you have a flat??? You would call it a "flat"-ulence indicator!!!! Okay, I'll shut up!!! take care!!!!

Doc C

 

I' ve had my new wheel/tire for 2 months & the check tire pressure light is on for the first time ever, I'll take it in to have them checked tomorrow. Hopefully is something simple.

 

It's just a nail, cost < $10 to plug, everything's fine now.

 

well, i'm wandering... shouldn't the tire pressure sensor be covered by warranty?
it was working fine until a few days ago.... they can't say that the tire shop broke it 'cause it's been working fine for 3 wks after the tire change. . ... ?.!?

j.rho

 

I think they should be under warranty. BTW, my Lexus dealer patched my tire for me free as a warranty service, even though it's not the stock runflat that was damaged, but the Michelin Pilot Sports A/S that I purchased somewhere else.