TPMS warning for one tire only BMW says its fine

rbocc13 · 07-25-2011, 09:04 AM

Here is the deal. My car has the stock run flats and every 2 weeks about my TPMS light goes on for my front left tire only. I fill all 4 tires up to the same pressure using my own gauge (not the gas station ones that are inaccurate) and somehow its only the front left that comes on. I was at BMW and mentioned it and they said they checked for nails, or a leak and tire came back fine.

for example I drove all weekend and then parked in a garage last night and the garage is open air so the temp change from outside is barely noticeable and this morning before work the light is on again, the other week it was on and i reset and drove and it came off and now its staying on. Not sure what my options are besides bring it back to BMW and tell them which got me no where last time. Do you think it could be the monitor in that tire going off as a fault? It went off before when the tire had exactly 32psi in it. Any Ideas of checks I can do on my end before dealing with service. (car has warranty and maintenance plans still)

*as a side note, which run flats (yes i'm keeping with run flats) are best for the 328xi coupe all season? Continental, Pirelli or bridgestone? Just looking for some opinions. Thanks

username604 · 07-25-2011, 10:01 AM

I had a similar thing, one tire would activate tpms every 2 weeks. By the third time it happened, I skipped the dealer and went straight to my tire guy. He found an extremely thin nail lodged in the tire, and I would have missed If I were inspecting it myself.

I would not purchase a runflat if i were you. You can search about all their problems, the most annoying I find to be their susceptibility to bubbles.

rbocc13 · 07-25-2011, 10:16 AM

I cant just get a new tire i would need a new set correct? I might bring it to BMW just to have them deal with it. Also I want a few rattles fixed as well. B pillar by the seat belt by driver side ear, the little sliding thing between the back seats rattles, and when the AC is on there is a rattle from one of the AC vents in the front passenger area. I will give BMW one more chance when i drop it off hopefully this week and if it still happens i'm going to a tire place in the area and see what they can do. To patch it should be cheap if they can even patch it.

smallseafishie · 07-25-2011, 10:31 AM

Check with a pressure gauge to see if you're losing pressure.

If your tires are not losing pressure and you are getting an alarm, it could be marginal readings on the sensor or your TPMS sensor or system is defective.

I would try the following to see if it's just marginal readings on the sensor.
Deflate the tire about 5 psi of what you regularly run it at. Reset the TPMS and let it clear. After that, go back in and put the 5psi back in. That should give you a little buffer on pressure fluctuations due to temps.

Now if you are actually losing pressure, check for nails. Other things could be a bad valve stem or a cracked rim / bad tire.

View Poll Results: Which run flat do you reccommend
Continental	3	60.00%
Pirelli	0	0%
Bridgestone	2	40.00%
Voters: 5. You may not vote on this poll

07-25-2011, 09:04 AM	#1
rbocc13 Second Lieutenant 29 Rep 231 Posts Drives: 2014 3281 Xdrive Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Northern NJ iTrader: (0) Garage List 2008 BMW 328 xi [0.00]	TPMS warning for one tire only BMW says its fine Here is the deal. My car has the stock run flats and every 2 weeks about my TPMS light goes on for my front left tire only. I fill all 4 tires up to the same pressure using my own gauge (not the gas station ones that are inaccurate) and somehow its only the front left that comes on. I was at BMW and mentioned it and they said they checked for nails, or a leak and tire came back fine. for example I drove all weekend and then parked in a garage last night and the garage is open air so the temp change from outside is barely noticeable and this morning before work the light is on again, the other week it was on and i reset and drove and it came off and now its staying on. Not sure what my options are besides bring it back to BMW and tell them which got me no where last time. Do you think it could be the monitor in that tire going off as a fault? It went off before when the tire had exactly 32psi in it. Any Ideas of checks I can do on my end before dealing with service. (car has warranty and maintenance plans still) *as a side note, which run flats (yes i'm keeping with run flats) are best for the 328xi coupe all season? Continental, Pirelli or bridgestone? Just looking for some opinions. Thanks
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

07-25-2011, 10:01 AM	#2
username604 Colonel 124 Rep 2,554 Posts Drives: bmw Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: repair shop iTrader: (0) Garage List 2008 BMW 335i [10.00]	I had a similar thing, one tire would activate tpms every 2 weeks. By the third time it happened, I skipped the dealer and went straight to my tire guy. He found an extremely thin nail lodged in the tire, and I would have missed If I were inspecting it myself. I would not purchase a runflat if i were you. You can search about all their problems, the most annoying I find to be their susceptibility to bubbles.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-25-2011, 10:16 AM	#3
rbocc13 Second Lieutenant 29 Rep 231 Posts Drives: 2014 3281 Xdrive Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Northern NJ iTrader: (0) Garage List 2008 BMW 328 xi [0.00]	new or plug I cant just get a new tire i would need a new set correct? I might bring it to BMW just to have them deal with it. Also I want a few rattles fixed as well. B pillar by the seat belt by driver side ear, the little sliding thing between the back seats rattles, and when the AC is on there is a rattle from one of the AC vents in the front passenger area. I will give BMW one more chance when i drop it off hopefully this week and if it still happens i'm going to a tire place in the area and see what they can do. To patch it should be cheap if they can even patch it.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-25-2011, 10:31 AM	#4
smallseafishie Colonel 110 Rep 2,017 Posts Drives: AW 07 e92 335i + AW 11 X5 35d Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Atlanta GA iTrader: (13) Garage List 2007 E92 335i [0.00]	Check with a pressure gauge to see if you're losing pressure. If your tires are not losing pressure and you are getting an alarm, it could be marginal readings on the sensor or your TPMS sensor or system is defective. I would try the following to see if it's just marginal readings on the sensor. Deflate the tire about 5 psi of what you regularly run it at. Reset the TPMS and let it clear. After that, go back in and put the 5psi back in. That should give you a little buffer on pressure fluctuations due to temps. Now if you are actually losing pressure, check for nails. Other things could be a bad valve stem or a cracked rim / bad tire.
	Appreciate 0 Quote