Tpms

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Thespannerman

Ok cheers. Yes a bit disappointing on a premium car not to have actual pressures shown. Another Volvo quirk fir me to have to get used to

Al

you would no doubt complain at having to buy new sensors with every new tyre. They do go faulty and corrode . the system you have is very good and very accurate

[Thespannerman]

Since 2005 every car I have had has has tpms sensors and I have not ever had to buy a new sensor even after having punctures repaired or new tyres fitted, so don’t try and justify Volvo’s position on tpms on that

Al

[Philip Fisher]

Originally Posted by Clan

you would no doubt complain at having to buy new sensors with every new tyre. They do go faulty and corrode . the system you have is very good and very accurate

Mine is an early xc90 with direct tpms and wheel sensors. I haven't had a sensor fail (yet) in 140k miles and 6.5 years. I bought a set of sensors for my winter wheels from volvo. They cost just less than 200 quid.

That said, as long as the system warns me of a puncture I don't really mind how it works. Certainly I am unlikely to get too animated about it.

[S90]

Originally Posted by Thespannerman

Since 2005 every car I have had has has tpms sensors and I have not ever had to buy a new sensor even after having punctures repaired or new tyres fitted, so don’t try and justify Volvo’s position on tpms on that

Al

Yet you bought a car with a system you clearly hate, if you get a warning you deal with it, otherwise why would you care what pressure each tyre is at!?

[key76]

Originally Posted by Moomoo

I think tyre pressure monitoring is only important with runflat tyres .

Ordinary tyres are a driver responsibility, then again, I’m a dinosaur.

I do visual inspection regularly and a manual pressure check at least once a week. But I like to check every time I get in the car, and that is easier to do with a full TPMS system. I would never rely just on that, but it's a very nice addition to the manual checks.

Originally Posted by OldEngineer

These systems you like have corroding sensors and are hell to deal with in tyre repairs. The better Volvo rotational system is exactly what the major safety systems use. So ABS can measure as low as 1MPH difference (although TPMS is not set this low). Traction Control and Electronic Stability Control are major safety systems comparing rotational speeds.

The Volvo TPMS allows you to set a control pressure and then monitors changes from this control pressure

Since 2003 I have only had a single sensor fail on a car and need replacing at cost to me. I can live with that for the increased peace of mind TPMS gives.

Unless an emergency, I always have dealer fit tyres anyway. They almost always price match, and I have often bought tyres cheap online (Camskill are great) and dealer then fits for a small fee.

I wouldn't let the likes of Kwik Fit near any car I owned - regardless of what was wrong with it.

Originally Posted by Clan

you would no doubt complain at having to buy new sensors with every new tyre. They do go faulty and corrode . the system you have is very good and very accurate

The sensors do not fail constantly. I personally had one in 19 years. They do fail - absolutely - but not at the rate some would have you believe.

It may be a very accurate system, but what is the point in being accurate if you cannot see the readings. Being suddenly told you have a problem will panic some people, and doesn't give you any opportunity to slow down or move over or get to a garage before it gets worse. Yes, some tyre issues will be urgent, but a slow puncture isn't and I'd rather know about that before it is too late and I'm stranded and be able to monitor it.

Originally Posted by S90

Yet you bought a car with a system you clearly hate, if you get a warning you deal with it, otherwise why would you care what pressure each tyre is at!?

Personally, I bought the car knowing it didn't show pressures. But I didn't think it would bother me. It does. It annoys me every time I get in the car (as I used to check every time I got in previously), and it annoys me when I don't think my tyre looks quite right, and rather than taking a quick look on the dash, I have to get the manual monitor out and get my hands dirty (literally). I will absolutely not buy a car without visual pressure readings again.

[S90]

Way to much time on your hands, in the 6 years I’ve had S90’s I’ve had one issue, sensor alerted me, stopped, checked, took it to garage, done!

[key76]

Originally Posted by S90

Way to much time on your hands, in the 6 years I’ve had S90’s I’ve had one issue, sensor alerted me, stopped, checked, took it to garage, done!

I appreciate everyone is different, but I personally like to see the pressures and keep an eye on them.

I'm prepared to bet that Volvo don't use this system because it's more accurate, but because it saves them money.

[RDesign4Life]

Reading this thread I was just thinking that it would be good if the Volvo system at least differentiated and told you whether it was just a tyre that had lost some pressure compared to the others and was still OK to drive on as opposed to a tyre that was virtually or completely flat requiring to pull over and stop. So if the message pops up when you're on a motorway in the dark 30mins from home you know whether to stop immediately or just wait til you get home.

Anyhoo I RTFM and it seems it should indeed do just that...

The status is colour-coded for each tyre in
accordance with the following:
• All-green: the system is operating normally and the tyre pressure in all tyres is
slightly above the recommended level.
• Yellow wheel: corresponding tyre's pressure is too low.
• Red wheel: corresponding tyre's pressure
is very low.
• All wheels grey: the system is temporarily
unavailable. It may be necessary to drive
the car for a few minutes at a speed
above 30 km/h before the system
becomes active again.

So a yellow wheel can wait a bit and a red one maybe worth a stop and look.

[Philip Fisher]

I have an aftermarket TPMS on the motorhome. It is far less reliable than the car and very prone to interference. I often have to switch off the phone charger to get it to work. However, it does have a really good feature which is tyre temperature. If a tyre starts getting hot it alarms. Since blowouts are often caused by slow punctures and subsequent heat build up, it is really good that it measures heat and pressure. So as above if on a busy motorway with no hard shoulder and I get a low pressure alarm I might continue to drive cautiously but keep an eye on the temperature.

[EssexExile]

Originally Posted by key76

I appreciate everyone is different, but I personally like to see the pressures and keep an eye on them.

I'm prepared to bet that Volvo don't use this system because it's more accurate, but because it saves them money.

Seems like a good reason.