Honda Civic 2008 - Low Tire Pressure Indicator

Discussion in 'Civic' started by vivekian, Oct 15, 2008.

  1. vivekian

    vivekian Guest

    Hi,

    I recently bought a Honda Civic 2008 in August 2008 which has been
    driven 2700 miles.
    Yesterday while backing out of the parking lot, i heard a click sound
    and the Low Tire Pressure Indicator went on.
    I took the car to the nearest gas pump and check the air pressure. All
    tires seemed to indicate around 30 psi.

    I took the car to the dealer today and they wanted to keep the car for
    half the day which i couldn't do as i had to get back to work. Also i
    was skeptical if they would charge me for the inspection. I checked
    the air pressure again today and it seems to be fine but the Low tire
    pressure indicator is still on.

    Any advice would be appreciated.

    thanks in advance,
    vivekian
     
    vivekian, Oct 15, 2008
    #1
  2. vivekian

    Tegger Guest



    The car is still under the factory warranty.

    The dealer is obligated by the terms of their franchise contract with Honda
    to fix your car, and Honda will pay them for any warranty repairs to the
    TPMS system, so there's no point in charging you for this.

    Don't worry until they come back and say there's nothing they can do. At
    that point you get Honda involved.
     
    Tegger, Oct 16, 2008
    #2
  3. vivekian

    Tegger Guest


    And, by the way, those gas station air pump gauges are horribly inaccurate.
    They get dropped, rained on, driven over, covered in winter snow and salt,
    basically beat to death.

    You need to go to AutoZone or someplace and invest ten bucks on a proper
    gauge.
     
    Tegger, Oct 16, 2008
    #3
  4. vivekian

    vivekian Guest

    Thanks for the reply Tegger. That gives me more confidence to visit
    the dealer.
    I will update you with what happens.
     
    vivekian, Oct 16, 2008
    #4
  5. vivekian

    tww1491 Guest

    When this happened with the 08 Civic we bought as an alternative to the
    Pilot my wife also drives, I checked the tires when cold with a decent
    gauge, and then put in the air needed. You need a cheap electric pump or
    manual pump and an accurate gauge. The sensor goes off after a little
    driving. The manual covers it all.
     
    tww1491, Oct 16, 2008
    #5
  6. vivekian

    vivekian Guest

    This is exactly what happened to my car as well.
    I got a gauge from autozone as recommended and measured the air
    pressure when the tires were cold.
    It showed 28psi on 2 of the tires -- enough for the indicator to go
    off i guess.
    I took it to the gas pump and filled in just enough.
    And as twww1491 says the indicator goes off after a little driving.
    Earlier i had been measuring on hot tires and thats why the confusion.
    Also for the LX model the recommended pressure is 32 psi.
    Thanks for all your help.
     
    vivekian, Oct 16, 2008
    #6
  7. vivekian

    Elle Guest

    What Tegger said. Meanwhile, get acquainted with the low
    tire pressure indicator system. I have been learning about
    one on a friend's 2005 Toyota. Some caveats:

    1. Look up info on the system in your owner's manual.
    2. What is the correct tire pressure? It should be posted on
    the driver's door jamb or in the glove compartment. Only
    check tire pressure after the car has sat at least four
    hours.
    3. There is a reset (calibrate?) button for the low tire
    pressure indicator system on some or all newere Toyotas. See
    if your owner's manual also talks about one.
    4. Remember your spare tire may be monitored, too. So it has
    to be at the correct pressure.
     
    Elle, Oct 17, 2008
    #7
  8. vivekian

    Tegger Guest



    Excellent advice, which I should have given in the first place.

    The Owner's Manual has copious information on both the Low Tire Pressure
    warning light AND the TPMS warning light.

    I failed to have the OP ascertain whether it was the TPMS or the Low
    Tire Pressure light which had illuminated, a distinction of critical
    importance. Apparently it was the LTP light, since the lamp has
    extinguished with the OP's correction of pressures.

    These new government-mandated tire pressure monitoring systems are
    extraordinarily needful of correct pressures, so it really pays to read
    the relevant sections of the Owner's Manual exceedingly carefully in
    order to find out just how to achieve correctness. And it's not as
    obvious as you might think...




    It's very wise when checking pressures to make sure some tires have not
    been subject to conditions not seen by the others, such as one side of
    the car having been in full sun while the other side was in shade. This
    would affect pressure readings.




    Unless I've missed it, the '08 Civic's doesn't.




    The spare in the '08 Civic is not monitored.

    And for the record, the '08 Civic has a sensor in each wheel.
     
    Tegger, Oct 18, 2008
    #8
  9. vivekian

    Elle Guest

    One thing I learned today while reviewing a factory service
    manual excerpt on newer Toyota Tundra systems: The system's
    computer looks for a threshold pressure in each tire.
    Anything above it, and the warning light will not come on.
    Nor, from my reading, does it seem to detect large
    differences in pressures between two tires, as long as they
    are both above the threshold pressure.
    Absolutely so. I was checking my friend's tires today, with
    one side facing east in the morning and the other west. I'd
    just set the pressures the other day in a shady area at a
    high elevation in the mountains, so the temperature was low.
    Today we were at low elevations, and it was hot out. The
    pressure was up about the same on all four tires, but there
    was also a clear one psi difference between sides.
    I just checked the '08 manual and agree. It seems like a
    design flaw, though. What about those folks who sacrifice
    ride quality for fuel economy and so drive with overinflated
    tires and so want to know when one goes lower than the
    personally preferred pressure?

    The other interesting thing I learned is the Toyota systems
    use a transmitter (at each wheel), antenna, and receiver to
    send tire inflation pressure info to the system's computer.
    I figure that it takes time for the information to transmit
    and process, and this is why a person has to drive a few
    miles before the warning light goes out.

    I can say so far I like the Toyota design and have not found
    it cumbersome to work with. Undoubtedly it saves fuel.

    I am assuming the sensors etc. do not break easily, though
    or are not expensive to replace when they do break.
     
    Elle, Oct 18, 2008
    #9
  10. vivekian

    Tegger Guest



    What is that threshold? And what is the /specified/ pressure?
    Or are the two the same?
     
    Tegger, Oct 18, 2008
    #10
  11. vivekian

    Elle Guest

    On the 2005 Toyota Tundra and some other Toyotas, one can
    use the reset button to specify the current pressure in the
    tires as the threshold pressure. So the manufacturer's
    specified tire pressure and threshold pressure may be
    different on this Tundra.

    From my reading, and by contrast, these two pressures are
    always the same on the '08 Civic. It really does not seem
    reasonable. I am wondering if the factory service manual
    gives a way to reset the threshold in the '08 Civic.
     
    Elle, Oct 18, 2008
    #11
  12. vivekian

    Tegger Guest


    So, theoretically, you could set the tires to 10psi, press the reset
    button, and 10psi would become the threshold? That's a bit...odd.


    If I (as a Canadian resident) were able to purchase a subscription to
    American Honda's Techinfo site, I could find that out in a flash.
    Unfortunately, AMH will only sell subscriptions to buyers with US mailing
    addresses, so I am SOL. And Honda Canada offers nothing at all online
    outside of dealerships.
     
    Tegger, Oct 18, 2008
    #12
  13. vivekian

    Elle Guest

    I was thinking only in terms of setting it higher than the
    manufacturer's recommended pressure for fuel economy
    reasons, so I do not know.

    Is there any reason a person would want to go as low as 10
    psi and drive on this for a long time?
    Maybe I will look it up via Mitchell On Demand next time I
    am at the library.
     
    Elle, Oct 18, 2008
    #13
  14. vivekian

    Tegger Guest




    No reasonable reason I can think of. I was just considering possible
    extreme stupidity on the part of owners, which I'm /quite/ certain Toyota
    was NOT trying to encourage.
     
    Tegger, Oct 18, 2008
    #14
  15. vivekian

    xprton54 Guest

    Yeah i would also recommend you to get one of those messuring psi
    tools @ pepboys or autozone, because the ones that are @ the gas
    stations are very inaccurate.
     
    xprton54, Oct 19, 2008
    #15
  16. tegger you can use my address to access the american site. pob 1661
    anthony nm 88021
     
    Timothy Stoughton, Oct 28, 2008
    #16
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