I have a fairly new Tacoma and recently the tire sensor light came on. I took it to have the tire pressure checked and the service guy, not a Toyota service guy, said my tires were good but that the tire sensor can come on during some turns or bumps in the road. Also that the sensor is hard to reset. I have tried to reset the sensor but it will not go off. Is this true about this sensor and will I have to go to the dealership, where I bought it, to have the sensor reset?
You could just disable the whole monitoring system. For my part, I’d check in with the dealer since it’s fairly new, and see if disabling that sensor/fixing any tire issue falls under your warranty.
You took the vehicle in to have the tire pressure checked because an idiot light came on?
First of all, you need to get a tire pressure guage and check your tires yourself every week or so. They’re cheap and easy to use. Take a little time to acquaint yourself with basic upkeep and maintenance items, or there’s going to be an expensive lesson in your future involving muffler bearings. (or some other non-existent automotive part that a disreputable mechanic will try to sell you)
As for the sensor - bumps and turns should not affect the system, so there’s definitely something loose somewhere. Rather than a reset, you’re needing a repair.
Not necessarily. If it’s the Tire Pressure Monitor that’s lighting up, it can just be an anomaly. I don’t recall the specifics but the one in my 07 Matrix can light up falsely.
Of course the one I have can be reset by holding the button down, so maybe we’re not talking about the same thing here.
Discussion: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t106765.html
I have held the reset button and checked the tire pressure and the sensor refuses to reset. I do not like going to the dealer due to distance and hassle but I guess I sm going to have to do that to see if there is a problem. Part of my initial post was to see if these tire sensors were a good thing or a good idea that doesn’t really work.
It happened on my RAV4 when the weather got cold. My BIL said I could reset it myself by adding an extra couple PSI to each tire to get the light to go off and then let the air out of each tire back to the normal PSI.
Also, check the PSI on your spare. It should have a sensor on it also.
First off I have no clue how the tire pressure monitoring system on a Tacoma works, but I do deal with the ones on our car all the time.
Step one, Check your own tire pressure. As has been said, get a gauge. Use it.
Step two RTFM Read your owner’s manual, it will probably have a section on the TPMS system, our does. You paid 25K for that book, and they threw in a free truck. 
The least you could do is open it and see if it has a section on TPMS. Your manual was written by experts on your truck, not a bunch of anonymous people on a message board.
Step three, Take it to the dealer, and let him figure it out. Unfortunately because TPMS systems are very new, there is not a lot of information in the aftermarket yet, and the shop you dealt with may never have seen one before. Again I don’t know how the Toyota system works, but ours will not give a false low reading from corners, or potholes. Again, I don’t know how the Toyota system works, but telling me that a pothole will trigger the system makes me go :dubious:
YS(ystem)MV
On preview, are these systems a good idea? I don’t know, but you might want to ask someone that has been injured or killed when a low tire failed and their car/truck/SUV crashed or rolled over. Let me ask you this, prior to this problem when was the last time you checked the pressure in your tires? Last week? Last month? Three months ago? Never? If you answered more than 1 month this system is probably a damn good idea. These systems are a legacy of the Ford Explorer tire problems. It is a federal mandate, and probably against federal law to disconnect. Just like any other federally mandated safety device.
hampshire The reason your went off is because in cold weather the pressure in your tires drops with the temp. If you air up the tires, all should be good. If you let the air out to below the trigger threshold the ligsht will trigger again because it is detecting a low tire. So my advice is get a gauge and put the correct amount of pressure in the tires (check the tire inflation sticker), and leave it. By the time the weather warms up the tires will have dropped enough pressure that you probably won’t have to bleed the pressure.
Having proper air pressure will also maximize your mileage and minimize tire wear, and is easily achievable at at least 50% of gas stations.
The system on my new Pathfinder gave me a warning about a month ago. So I checked the tires. All seemed OK. I checked the sticker on the inside of the door jamb for the recommended pressure for the factory tires.
The warning light went off again about 2 weeks later. One tire was about 2-3 lbs low. They are quite sensitive. An air temp of only 30 degrees or so difference seems to set it off. Seems a bit too sensitive.
On the one hand, that’s fine. On the other, it’s a bit easy to ignore when you are right on the cusp when it is fine most of the time, and a tiny bit low when the temp gets low.
At this point, I need to put about 3 psi in one tire. It’s at 32 or 33 psi right now (at 10 degrees F, and fine above freezing) and calls for 35.
I worry a little that systems like this should only be used as an indicator, and new as they are, may be prone to failure. They are no substitute for keeping a close eye on your tires and your vehicle over all.
Again, I have no experience with the system on your Pathfinder, but ours are set up to alert at 15% low with a soft warning. Something along the lines of “Check tire pressure” and a hard warning at 20% low. Something along the lines of “Low tire pressure, check tires NOW.” In the driver’s information display.
With a recommended pressure of 39PSI that gives a soft warning at about 33PSI and a hard warning at about 31PSI.
If you are getting a warning, air up the tire, and then get another warning very quickly thereafter, consider this. The source could be a leak of course, or it could be your tire gauge is inaccurate. If my tire gauge reads 5 lbs off, it may say 39 but in reality it is only 34 and I am only 1 lb away from a low tire warning. Pencil type tire gauges are not exactly precision quality measuring devices.
In th event of repetitive warning, I would check for leaks, and if none were found I would get a new gauge.