I keep my tires inflated to about 39 psi and check them every week. Driving to work this morning and "bing bing bing" with "Low Tire Pressure" showing on the information center.

I pulled over and checked the tires visually, but they looked fine. I started thinking that maybe a sensor went bad. Not knowing for sure, I turned around and went home quickly to check the pressures. The passenger rear tire only had 26 lbs in it! I then saw a screw embedded in the tread. It looks like it was there for a while and the leak was a slow one.

So, I dropped it off at the dealer and they called me saying its a perfectly repairable problem. They'll use a plug and patch then rebalance.

I've always thought TPMS was a waste of time having to deal with delicate sensors and such, but it came in very handy today giving me the heads up to check the tires.

 

My TPMS story. I was road racing a C5 vette back in 1999. Just put on a fresh set of stickies. About the 3rd burst over 100mph the low tire came on. I brought it back in the pits. The metal valve stem/sensor was loose. So when the speed was high enough the centrifugal force pulled on the sensor enough to leak the air out. So it kept me from finding that out on a track at high speeds.

 

I was leaving the lakehouse, getting ready to jump on the turnpike when my TPMS warning came on. I got to the local wal-mart, checked the tire pressure, found one low and saw the screw in the tread. I went in, bought a tire plug kit and drove across the street to the gas station that had an air compressor. 15 minutes later, I'm back on the road with a tire plug and I didn't even get dirty.

 

Yeah, it was nice to get that warning light. Otherwise, I wouldn't have clued into it until the started to flop around.

It looks like the dealer took the tire off of the rim and patched it from the inside and then rebalanced. Interestingly, the fixed tire has no weights on the outside of the rim. The untouched rims have weights clipped to the outside. I guess they have a way of mounting them out of sight.

 

Jeeez...

Seems I have bad luck with tires. The SAME tire lost pressure again and turns out it was punctured by a nail. Last time was a screw. Dealer repaired it again and now it has 2 patches.

I have no idea where I'm running over this crap on the road.

Are these stock Goodyears made of butter perhaps?

 

Lol...I wouldn't let you drive my truck, these 35's are way too expensive for your luck. But I have had a 3/4 in BOLT in my Nittos of my 01 screw, wedged right between two treads. I was able to use two truck tire plugs and it sealed right up, never had another problem with that hole.

 

TPMS is great! I first had it on my 06 Tacoma. My first experience was when the light went on while I was on vacation hundreds of miles from home and in a small town. I stopped to see which one was flat. They all looked fine and confirmed all had proper pressure with my gauge. So, I go to see how much air is in my spare. Doh, the factory installs the spare with the valve facing up at the bottom of the bed! WTF? I got back to the motel and proceeded to drop my spare in the parking lot, air it up, and put the spare back in with the valve facing down.

Another time, I was on my way home from work, probably 2 miles from the house, and the light came on. I whipped in to the nearest gas station and when I got out, hear my left rear going pssshhhhh. I immediately see the screw head sticking out of the tread. By this time, there aren't any places open where I can get this fixed, so I think for a minute. I open my toolbox and find a short but fatter screw than what was in the tire, pull it out, and screw in the fatter screw. The psshhhh goes away and I got home. Next morning, I drive down the street to the tire store and get it fixed permanently.

One of the first things I looked at on my Ford when I brought it home was the spare tire and sure enough, the valve faces up. From my understanding of the manual, my truck may not have a TPMS sensor on the spare, which is fine with me as I carry a portable compressor in the truck at all times. I probably will drop it at some point in time to check the pressure and flip it over so I can get at it easier in the future. I sure wish my wife's Honda Civic had TPMS, but it was built one year before it was required on all vehicles.

 

Thanks Chug, reminded me to check my spare also. So, your saying that all spares do not have the sensor? Wonder why the difference of some do, some don't?

 

Per my owners manual, it says only the 4 road tires have TPMS and the system continues to sense a tire issue even when you remove the flat tire from its position and replace it with the spare.

The first time I read this section of the manual, I misunderstood it. The TPMS section starts off by saying that TPMS is no substitute for tire pressure maintenance and to periodically check the pressure on all 4 tires and the spare "if provided." I think that phrase "if provided" made me think they were referring to a TPMS sensor on the spare. Makes me wonder if any of these trucks come without a spare?

 

Yes the stock Goodyear SRA's are in fact made of butter, I punctured mine as well and a friend of mine punctured 3 and slashed one on gravel before he replaced all of his.

 

Yeah, I think these stock tires suck anyways. I'm going to replace them next month with Michelins. Either the LTX M/S2 or A/T2.

 

TPMS is a good thing. I really liked it on our Suburban. It actually gave you pressure readings on the screen.