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Tyre Management System


markparsons
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Hi,

I have just purchased a Ford Focus having driven a Vauxhall Astra for the past 6 years. One of the things the Vauxhall Astra had within the Tyre Management System was the facility to show you the actual tyre pressures of each tyre. I'm not sure if this facility is available within the Ford Focus Tyre Management System?

Mark P.

 

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49 minutes ago, markparsons said:

Hi,

I have just purchased a Ford Focus having driven a Vauxhall Astra for the past 6 years. One of the things the Vauxhall Astra had within the Tyre Management System was the facility to show you the actual tyre pressures of each tyre. I'm not sure if this facility is available within the Ford Focus Tyre Management System?

Mark P.

 

Not that I've seen on my 2017 Ti x.  Think it just alerts when pressure drops by a certain amount.

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Thanks - I think it might be a "safety" feature on the Focus as the figure shown on my console on the Astra was always different to what the pump dial said so I was never sure which one was correct. At least now I only have to rely on the one!

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23 minutes ago, markparsons said:

Thanks - I think it might be a "safety" feature on the Focus as the figure shown on my console on the Astra was always different to what the pump dial said so I was never sure which one was correct. At least now I only have to rely on the one!

Yea.  The only option I've seen is to reset the tyre pressure monitoring. I assume the system then monitors changes from the pressure recorded at this point.

 

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the law changed....

 

I believe circa 2012 it became mandatory for a car to have a warning for low tyre pressures.   Many manu bodged on a reading from the difference in wheel speeds from ABS sensors

That law was updated in 2016 ( I think) making physical individual wheel TMPS sensors mandatory.  On mates Nov 2015 build Mondeo it looked like it has ordinary valve stems, and the dash display was just a tyres OK (or not) message, but after a puncture it became clear there where indeed individual BT tyre pressure sensors.  For an ODD reason Ford give the tyre boys no visual clue they are fitted and so they wreck them swapping tyres or doing a repair.  Running diagnostics it does indeed show the car fully knows each tyre pressure, yet the dash display even with multi function screen doesn't bother. 

As ALL Blutooth TPMS sensors send out tyre temp and tyre pressure data its ridiculous FORD don't bother to allow the driver to see the individual tyre read out. 

You do get the full individual wheel pressure read out on the equivalent Vauxhall .... although mates insignia is throwing an alarm message for issue even though NOTHING'S wrong and each tyre readout is spot on.  Looks like software glitch to me 

 

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tyre boys should know, theres a well known ridge on the tyre valve that indicates a tpms sensor on fords. also sensors are not manadatory. vw amongst other car manufacturers dont use them but rely on abs sensors. some higher spec mondeos/smax galaxy have individual tyre pressures shown on instrument cluster but not focus.
vauxhall ones are a nightmare , when i worked at vauxhall customers were allways coming in with faults, having resets , far to sensitive.

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not quite correct

EU TPMS legislation:

As of 1st November 2012, all new-type vehicles will be required by EU law to have a pressure based tyre pressure monitoring system installed. This applies to the road wheels, not the spare

By November 2014, all new passenger vehicles will have to have TPMS installed by the manufacturer

The law is not currently retrospective, and does not apply to older vehicles. This law applies to passenger vehicles only, with no more than 7 seats

Many car manufacturers have already introduced TPMS to their vehicles ahead of the 2012 legislation change, Renault, Peugeot, and Citroen have fitted TPMS to some models since 2003/4

 

and the lunacy is with real TPMS sensors there is NOTHING to reset... they just work.   You can reset a nag threshold but why would you ever want to touch it,

the Vauxhall issue I think is a mess up between the rubbish ABS set up and real BT sensors ... they have muddled the software - probably because an overlap on hardware for different markets.... that said somewhere in infotainment is probably a region setting that when you do a general reset to default its not showing UK anymore

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As said before I'm not sure whether the new legislation mandates pressure sensors in the wheels.  I also have a 2017 Audi S4 (the entire platform was new in 2015 - so would be a 'new type) and that uses ABS sensor data to work out whats going on - as far as I'm aware that is the case for the vast majority of VAG cars.  All the VAG cars I've had since 2005 have had this form of monitoring.  Whilst VAG are known to take a loose approach to complying with legislation I doubt they would get away with this if indeed it is mandated that the technology used is direct pressure sensing in the wheels. 

In the US things might be different - and I wonder whether thats why the American manufacturers use this system because they want to standardise technology across all markets.  Whereas European manufacturers take a different approach (lowest cost technology they can get away with in each market).

I have to say in my experience the ABS systems do work, and are less of a PITA with respect to changing wheels with no additional parts to go wrong.  

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As said before I'm not sure whether the new legislation mandates pressure sensors in the wheels.  I also have a 2017 Audi S4 (the entire platform was new in 2015 - so would be a 'new type) and that uses ABS sensor data to work out whats going on - as far as I'm aware that is the case for the vast majority of VAG cars.  All the VAG cars I've had since 2005 have had this form of monitoring.  Whilst VAG are known to take a loose approach to complying with legislation I doubt they would get away with this if indeed it is mandated that the technology used is direct pressure sensing in the wheels. 
In the US things might be different - and I wonder whether thats why the American manufacturers use this system because they want to standardise technology across all markets.  Whereas European manufacturers take a different approach (lowest cost technology they can get away with in each market).
I have to say in my experience the ABS systems do work, and are less of a PITA with respect to changing wheels with no additional parts to go wrong.  

i was just about to mention your car. lol
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@ ub7rm, have you taken off the tyres and looked. My mate with the Mondeo was telling me he had TPMS and I said he was an idiot.... based on how the valve stems looked and the useless display in the car.   He had posted a photo of the diagnostic readout showing the data for each wheel after he had issues with a puncture.... but I thought he had told me it was from a similar Mondeo not his.  And I was saying just do the calibration set up for the ABS and it will be OK.

it was kwik fit who twice trashed BT sensors and never said anything, that caused all the issues!!!  it was only after Ford handed him a sensor in two parts attached by dangling wires and said they won't be doing it under warranty, that I realised his did have real TPMS 

On my car and bikes I have the big aluminium valve stems and separate readings for each wheel...

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reading another post above.....

TPMS adapts the reading based on tyre temperature to give a more stable readout.   That's why they ALWAYS send out data on both pressure and temperature.

On my BMW bikes I have tweaked the dash display so I can see the second readout.   I get RDC (T) in degrees C and RCD (P) in bar

 

TPMS is always a better readout then garage displays...  Another top tip, on the old fashioned air lines... after you put in air, ALWAYS release some air and you get the tyre pressure not the air line pressure.  that often gives a 2 PSI difference

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Since factory installation of TPMS became mandatory in November 2014 for all new passenger vehicles in the EU, various iTPMS have been type-approved according to UN Regulation R64. Examples for this are most of the VW group
iTPMS ( indirect tpms ) no sensor in wheel.

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4 hours ago, Botus said:

@ ub7rm, have you taken off the tyres and looked. My mate with the Mondeo was telling me he had TPMS and I said he was an idiot.... based on how the valve stems looked and the useless display in the car.   He had posted a photo of the diagnostic readout showing the data for each wheel after he had issues with a puncture.... but I thought he had told me it was from a similar Mondeo not his.  And I was saying just do the calibration set up for the ABS and it will be OK.

it was kwik fit who twice trashed BT sensors and never said anything, that caused all the issues!!!  it was only after Ford handed him a sensor in two parts attached by dangling wires and said they won't be doing it under warranty, that I realised his did have real TPMS 

On my car and bikes I have the big aluminium valve stems and separate readings for each wheel...

Hi - no I haven't taken the wheels off but I'm confident its an indirect system because there is the function to reset the system (which you have to do once you have corrected the low pressure warning / put new tyres or wheels on the car as instructed in the manual).  This would not be relevant to a direct system.

Second, and more telling, when I put my winter wheels on from my old car (the previous generation S4) the system did not not get upset I had installed wheels without sensors in them.

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even sensors in wheels  on fords have to be reset after a warning message/puncture

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If you swopped the front wheels to rear & vice versa for tyre life wear .

Then you got a puncture in the front right , would the tpms say the puncture is in the rear right as you have swopped the wheels from front to rear ? 

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on my Merc car the sensor BT codes are unique to each car so they don't get in a pickle in traffic etc..... but are all the same code as each other,  You can move wheels about and nothing gets confused.

on my BM bikes each sensor is unique....   I suspect because on a bike the wheels are quite close to each other... ( although that wouldn't explain how a short car copes), of course on a bike you don't have same wheels each end unless its an old scooter.

One other point could be the type of sensor.... the car wakes up because the unit on the car body told it to wake up... on the bike its has to be spun up ands then wakes up.... although a different dealer tool can allegedly wake it up... but my autel TPMS stuff can't wake up the bike ones... which is a pain as needed it awake to swap one out with a flat battery the other day... but new solution is get another bike seleotape to rear wheel and then take back to the bike that I'm coding... the bike ones stay awake for about 15 mins

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18 hours ago, ub7rm said:

Hi - no I haven't taken the wheels off but I'm confident its an indirect system because there is the function to reset the system (which you have to do once you have corrected the low pressure warning / put new tyres or wheels on the car as instructed in the manual).  This would not be relevant to a direct system.

Second, and more telling, when I put my winter wheels on from my old car (the previous generation S4) the system did not not get upset I had installed wheels without sensors in them.

... second point would kind of confirm it ! and also the post from iannt suggesting iTPMS bodge for VAG.

But one reason I was keen to know is mates 2016 insignia.  He has 4 separate TPMS pressure readings on the dash all working and yet the warning light is on all the time and won't reset.  owners manual says needs a reset that is remarkably like the ABS set up....   But it won't work and Vauxhall forums have lots saying the same... procedure is car locked for a min of 20 mins, key in and with handbrake on toggle to reset menu fiddle about till is beeps then drive without going below 12mph for about 20 mins.... but most owners says its over 30.... but mates won't do it over 60 mins.  And my diagnostics doesn't support vauxhall after 2012   But does 2016 fords, maclarens, maybach's RR, Porche's etc.

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Yeah, just had a look in the manual and it confirms.  Not sure how much of a bodge it is - on previous cars the same type of system has told me of pressure loss that I wouldn't have spotted with a visual inspection.  But its probably not as precise as the direct sensors.  

However I guess there is less to go wrong which isn't a bad thing.  

WIN_20180122_21_56_13_Pro.jpg

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3 hours ago, Botus said:

... second point would kind of confirm it ! and also the post from iannt suggesting iTPMS bodge for VAG.

But one reason I was keen to know is mates 2016 insignia.  He has 4 separate TPMS pressure readings on the dash all working and yet the warning light is on all the time and won't reset.  owners manual says needs a reset that is remarkably like the ABS set up....   But it won't work and Vauxhall forums have lots saying the same... procedure is car locked for a min of 20 mins, key in and with handbrake on toggle to reset menu fiddle about till is beeps then drive without going below 12mph for about 20 mins.... but most owners says its over 30.... but mates won't do it over 60 mins.  And my diagnostics doesn't support vauxhall after 2012   But does 2016 fords, maclarens, maybach's RR, Porche's etc.

theres probably numerous updates your mates insignia needs , they were the worst for faults that even vauxhall technical struggled to overcome. by the time i got my head round there diagnostics i left the vauxhall garage and went back to ford.

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On ‎22‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 10:19 PM, iantt said:

theres probably numerous updates your mates insignia needs , they were the worst for faults that even vauxhall technical struggled to overcome. by the time i got my head round there diagnostics i left the vauxhall garage and went back to ford.

thanks, I suspected as much.  keep saying take it back and moan about everything

Sat nav is a strange beast, no speed limits on a 2016 car which is silly... and the rest of the infotainment makes the ford one seem OK

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