No Mobile App Notification for Flat Tire

[Bruce_]

So, from afar yesterday, I thought that one of my tires looked low or flat. This morning, I walked all the way across the street to check, and it was indeed nearly totally flat, with a puncture in the sidewall. (Of course, I hadn't made it to Discount Tire to buy insurance on the new tires, yet. Procrastination Cost: $400.) I woke the vehicle from sleep and unlocked it, and the tire pressure showed as 21 psi on the console with an alert symbol, but I never got a notification in the mobile app (on Android) that there was a problem waiting for me. Does anyone know if there is a mobile notification for tire pressure issues, e.g., 0 psi?

Update: I forgot that TPMs turn on and report data when in motion (spinning) -- if the vehicle isn't rolling, then tire pressure data and updates are not expected. So, that the vehicle reported 21 psi for the tire going flat must have been from data collected near the time of the last parking. It would have been nice to have been notified in the app that one of the tires lowered in pressure from 48 to 21 during that trip.

Sponsored

 

[iamnid]

I'm surprised you even got a notification on your dashboard. I got a flat (100% flat) the first week of ownership. I didn't see it as I approached the vehicle and noticed it once I was backing out of my parking spot. I was able to pump it up and get it to Discount Tire to be patched. I never once got a notification in the app or in the car. In fact, the PSI in the car still showed "last updated 8:00 a.m." or something and it wasn't until the tire had been plugged, and I had driven almost 5 miles home before the PSIs ever updated.

It's gotten a little better in recent updates (takes about 5 minutes of driving to get current PSI now) but it's not like my Tesla which would alert me about low tires directly on the phone app.

 

[lefkonj]

Tire pressure monitoring is tricky in this sense. The vehicle doesn't really read them all the time so if the car is stationary how would it know?

 

[cbrcanuck]

I hadn’t considered this. It takes a couple of mins of driving for the TPMS to wake up and send, so no alert on start-up. I’m going to keep that in mind.

 

[VandalSibs]

So, from afar yesterday, I thought that one of my tires looked low or flat. This morning, I walked all the way across the street to check, and it was indeed nearly totally flat, with a puncture in the sidewall. (Of course, I hadn't made it to Discount Tire to buy insurance on the new tires, yet. Procrastination Cost: $400.) I woke the vehicle from sleep and unlocked it, and the tire pressure showed as 21 psi on the console with an alert symbol, but I never got a notification in the mobile app (on Android) that there was a problem waiting for me. Does anyone know if there is a mobile notification for tire pressure issues, e.g., 0 psi?

TPMS requires the vehicle moving to get an accurate measurement. Or why, when you have parked for more than a few hours, you see on the gauges view a timestamp for when the pressure was measured. The number updates once you have driven for some distance.

If the tire lost it's pressure all the way to flat/zero while parked, the vehicle can't know that. And while 21psi is low, it's not "emergency!" level as people lower their tires to a level like that for driving on sand and other off-roading.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

TPMS requires the vehicle moving to get an accurate measurement. Or why, when you have parked for more than a few hours, you see on the gauges view a timestamp for when the pressure was measured. The number updates once you have driven for some distance.

If the tire lost it's pressure all the way to flat/zero while parked, the vehicle can't know that. And while 21psi is low, it's not "emergency!" level as people lower their tires to a level like that for driving on sand and other off-roading.

Adding the TPMS sensors have sealed, non-serviceable batteries. And they aren't sensing and reporting data constantly in real-time—in order to extend service life of said battery. They are dormant unless vehicle is moving and queried by vehicle to report, in intervals specified by vehicle's software. This is how TPMS sensors work in majority of vehicles. Otherwise, you'd be constantly buying new sensors and having to pay tire shops to install them.

If any vehicle that has feature to show real-time live data, as you air up or down, it's because of a specific operating mode that is querying the sensors to report in shorter intervals.

Sponsored