TPMS

[TominMO]

I just bought my ex's '09 Kia Rondo, with 66K miles. I have to admit it has really grown on me. I have ridden in it and driven it a little over the last four years, and wasn't really impressed with it so much. But after driving it around yesterday, it's nice to actually have a modern quiet car with good heat & A/C. Essentially it's a 2WD Subaru Forester--small SUV/tall station wagon format. Really nice for road trips!

My question is, if I put taller tires on it, would that screw up the TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) so that I always get an erroneous reading? I hate TPMS and would love to be able to delete it. Just another unnecessary feature that probably needs to be working to pass the safety inspection, and costs $$ to fix when it breaks.

[Stinsin63]

I think you will be ok as long as the recommended tire pressure is basically the same. However, I believe the TPMS sensors have a sealed battery inside which means they have a limited life span. If you do change the tires you might want to change the 8 year old sensors at the same time to save the money & hassle of having all of the tires dismounted and remounted again to change the sensors out. I have also heard like anything else you get what you pay for and the cheaper TPMS sensors do not last nearly as long as OEM.

[FestYboy]

^ correct, the TPMS doesn't see tire rotation, just pressure and will only go off when the pressure drops 25% below nominal, which to me is too far a drop. Also it should go off at approx the same pressure above nominal. The average lifespan of those batteries is 10 yrs depending on driving habits. They are not constantly active, they have an auto on/off feature based on rotation speed and time respectively. Given the production date, you may be able to disable the system completely even though it's part of the BCM. Give Kia a call.

[firebush357]

^ correct, the TPMS doesn't see tire rotation, just pressure and will only go off when the pressure drops 25% below nominal, which to me is too far a drop. Also it should go off at approx the same pressure above nominal. The average lifespan of those batteries is 10 yrs depending on driving habits. They are not constantly active, they have an auto on/off feature based on rotation speed and time respectively. Given the production date, you may be able to disable the system completely even though it's part of the BCM. Give Kia a call.

There should be a way to reinitialize the TPMS as well so that it will go off at higher pressure. Basically if your tires usually run at 35 PSI just put 40PSI in the tire and reinitialize the system then take the pressure back down to 35PSI. This will make the sensors go off at 30PSI instead of 26. iirc the newer cars go off at 20% due to safety regulations.

[FestYboy]

From what I've experienced, the trigger pressure is built into the BCM, and the sensors are calibrated, so there no real way to trick the system without reprogramming the tables in the BCM. The sensors are dumb, there is no feedback to them. They just wake up and throw signal.

[firebush357]

I know that at least "Most" Newer Toyota's have an initialization process but I can't speak for other kinds of cars. I work for a Toyota Distributor and we had to develop a class for our associates to show the importance of initializing them at the correct pressure due to safety regulations. What I didn't realize is some vehicles come with a TPMS inside the Spare tire that will throw a code as well and it confuses most people when all of the pressures are good on the 4 wheels on the ground.

[TominMO]

Just got my Rondo inspected today. The inspector told me that TPMS, ABS and TC (traction control) are not covered by the safety inspection. They are just extra features the manufacturer does. So when my TPMS dash light goes on, the solution is a small piece of black electrical tape! :-)