[DuoMaxwell007]

So I get a text from my Onstar diagnostics saying
My front passenger tire is flat. I turned on the car and the display on the dash says check tore preside and shows that my right front passenger tire is 5 PSI AND the tire pressure light is on and solid. I visibly checked the tire and it looks fine (surely if it were 5 psi it would be visibly flat like a deflated basketball right?). I pressure on the tire with my finger and it's hard, I can't push in or squeeze it at all (if it were flat I could do that right?)

I plugged in my electronic tire inflator and when I plugged it in the automated reading said 28 psi and I inflate it to 35 psi. Then I got back in the car, turned it on and off and drove it for 2-3 miles, the tire pressure light is still on and still claims it's 5 psi. What do I do?

Also everwhere I read say there's no way to know which tire pressure sensor is bad so if you're getting a bad sensor you have to replace them all. Is that true? I meanI would think that if my car tells me might front passenger tire is flat but the other tires show the correct psi then wouldn't that mean the front passenger tire pressure Guage is whats fate and need changing?

[WhiteMale]

Sounds like that one sensor has gone bad. It is possible to rebuild a TPMS sensor I've had a shop do that as opposed to replacing a sensor. But ya should be limited to that one sensor not all of them.

[Rayvan]

They're (the sensors) are five years old now. One probably failed just a little early. How are your tires? If it were me; if they're getting a little bald anyway, just replace all four when you replace the tires, and check the tire with the flakey sensor yourself periodically.

[DuoMaxwell007]

I've put a whole 7k miles on the car I can assure you the tires are nowhere close to bald yet

[GXP08jrf]

Originally Posted by DuoMaxwell007

Also everwhere I read say there's no way to know which tire pressure sensor is bad so if you're getting a bad sensor you have to replace them all. Is that true? I meanI would think that if my car tells me might front passenger tire is flat but the other tires show the correct psi then wouldn't that mean the front passenger tire pressure Guage is whats fate and need changing?

Not true. If the tires have been rotated and not re-learned to the correct position by the vehicle, you may not be checking the correct tire.

On runflats the side wall is stiffer and more structural, the touch and feel method of assessment may not be sufficient. Check the pressure on all 4 tires with a gauge to verify that the sensors aren't learned to the incorrect location.

[DuoMaxwell007]

It's been at least 6 months since they were rotated and I've put air on all 4 at least twice since then and the readings seemed to be sccurate/correct for the correct tires those 2 times, so I doubt they'd be showing the wrong sensor now if no rotation has been done. But I'll check em all

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by WhiteMale

Sounds like that one sensor has gone bad. It is possible to rebuild a TPMS sensor I've had a shop do that as opposed to replacing a sensor. But ya should be limited to that one sensor not all of them.

Sounds like the electronics/battery are the problem in the one sensor. The rebuild kits I have found seem to only address the valve stem, not the electronics.
I would probably switch the front tires to see if the problem moves to the other side, just to make sure the problem is in the tire and not on the car.
You can find replacement TPMS units online. Just make sure you buy the right frequency. As far as DIY, this will depend on how comfortable you are with breaking the bead on a tire to get in there. probably worth a check here on camaro6 to see if anyone has pulled this off. These low profile tires might be hard to squeeze out of the way, so the whole tire may need to come off. You will probably need a compressor to reseat the bead.

[DuoMaxwell007]

Originally Posted by GXP08jrf

Not true. If the tires have been rotated and not re-learned to the correct position by the vehicle, you may not be checking the correct tire.

On runflats the side wall is stiffer and more structural, the touch and feel method of assessment may not be sufficient. Check the pressure on all 4 tires with a gauge to verify that the sensors aren't learned to the incorrect location.

looks like you were right... I just used my pressure gauge on all my tires and even though the sensor says the front passenger tire is at 5 psi, I plugged it into the REAR passenger tire and it read 2 PSI, I filled it up to 35 psi, checked the other tires too for good measure (they were still fine) the tire flat icon on the dashboard went off after i filled it... hopefully that solves the issue and theres no actual hole/leak in the tire... i doubt it though since a tire shouldnt just drop to 2 psi on its own overtime yet the other tires stay at 28+, but I guess I'll find out in a few days huh?


Also like you said even though the rear passenger tire read 2 psi it looked no different or felt no different than the other tires so I guess you cant tell 2 psi just by looking at it or touching it.


So now that we know the tires have not been relearned to the correct position by the tpms if it says my front passenger tire was 5 psi when it was actually my rear passenger tire... how do we fix that?

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by DuoMaxwell007

So now that we know the tires have not been relearned to the correct position by the tpms if it says my front passenger tire was 5 psi when it was actually my rear passenger tire... how do we fix that?

Get this. There are about 10 different versions that all look the same. Just buy the cheapest:
https://www.amazon.com/JDIAG-EL-5044...49929906&psc=1

BTW, I suspect that 2 psi tire does have a leak. I would pull the wheel and hit it with some soapy water, assuming you can't spot the screw/nail/staple.

[Gen6cyl]

I just ordered it 6$ +tax shipping. After 2 yrs and 41 k miles I'm gonna sync my tpms. I think it's the right one.

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by Gen6cyl

I just ordered it 6$ +tax shipping. After 2 yrs and 41 k miles I'm gonna sync my tpms. I think it's the right one.

It's a good unit. Mine even came with the 9V battery. I remove the battery for storage, as I only use this once or twice per year.
The instructions are in that amazon listing.
Only tip I would give is to make sure you point the black cylinder so you are aiming the radio signal through the rubber sidewall of the tire. Don't point it at the valve stem as the metal of the wheel will block the signal. The tool has a pretty short effective range. The signal receiver bits are on the inside of the wheel.

[GXP08jrf]

Originally Posted by DuoMaxwell007

So now that we know the tires have not been relearned to the correct position by the tpms if it says my front passenger tire was 5 psi when it was actually my rear passenger tire... how do we fix that?

This is a pretty common issue in the industry: When people get their tires rotated the tire shop doesn't re-learn the sensors to their new position. I'm not sure why it's so prevelant because it's pretty simple to relearn them.

As the previous posters indicate, you can buy a very inexpensive tool to excite the sensor once you put the vehicle in learn mode. There are instructions on how to get the vehicle into learn mode in the owner's manual. From there you go around the car and relearn each sensor per the instructions. My advice is to make sure you're at least 20 feet away from other vehicles when you do the learn so your Camaro desn't pick up the sensor broadcasts from nerby vehicles.

Lastly, as previously instructed, you've probably picked up a nail or screw in the "flat" tire. You need to get that fixed.

[Gen6cyl]

Thanks for the info fellas.

[truckrglenn]

Five year old tires? It's time to replace them. If you went to a tire shop and they were going to put five year old tires on your car you wouldn't be happy. One of the original run flat tires on my 17' Camaro had some dry rot on the sidewall. I replaced all four even though I only had 30,000 miles on them.


" Car and Driver: It may be tentative, but tires do have an expiration date. There is a general consensus that most tires should be inspected, if not replaced, at about six years and should be absolutely be swapped out after 10 years, regardless of how much tread they have left. How do you know how old your tires are? There’s a code on the sidewall that you can read about here. Wear is a far more straightforward consideration: Tiremakers and safety advocates say a tire is worn out when its tread depth reaches 2/32 of an inch. That’s all fine, but what most car owners want to know is how long to expect a set of new tires to last before they need to be replaced. "