Tire Pressure sensor?

[tazzboo]

All right I am a little confused. Hopefully somebody on here can help me out. Today I came home from picking up the kids from the grandparents house and well opened the garage and the wifes 2006 Solara Convertible had a flat. Come to find out it had a screw in it. Well I asked my wife if her Tire Pressure light came on and she said nope. So I was a little curious. I took the tire off and down the road I went to the Local tire shop to have it patched. Well he took the tire off and I for the life of me could not find a Tire pressure Sensor any where on that rim. I know my 2005 Tundra Double cab has the sensor as the Valve steam. On this rim its a normal valve stim. I looked at the rim and nothing. So here it is where is the Tire Pressure Sensor located on the 06 Solara? Or did Toyota leave it off and I need to go pitch a fit. Any IDEAS and for all of you out there with the 06 go look and see if you have normal valve steams also!

[swindler]

I'm not sure about the Solara, but I know that some Low Pressure warning systems work by measuring the rate of rotation of the wheel with respect to the other wheels. The ABS system constantly monitors wheel rotation and compares the average rotation rate of all four wheels. If one wheel averages a 'higher' average rotation, then the odds are that it's pressure is low.

Again, I don't know if this is how the Toyota system works, but I know for a fact that there are systems that do work like that.

If you had a relatively fast flat, it wouldn't catch that. It's designed to catch a tire that's either low, or has a slow leak.

[cklinh]

I've kinds asked this before... the consensus? The sensor is not on the rim... it doesn't actually detect the pressure in your tires, just any difference in the rotation of one of your tires versus the rest... it assumes that a rotational difference would probably be the result of a loss in pressure...

[NitrousFlare]

You know the button, it's...under the steering wheel and to the left, when exactly are you supposed to press that?

[cklinh]

When your warning light comes on, that button resets it (turns it off).

You have to be stopped and press the button for a few seconds (assuming you've already taken care of the problem or to see if the light comes back).

[theprodigy79]

The button also recalibrates the pressure warning system. For Tazz's case, he may need to do this once all 4 tires are at his desired pressure (30-35lbs).

Also, to verify what cklinh stated, the warning system on the Solara works from taking measurements of the rotations from each wheel.

[MCOjerry]

You know the button, it's...under the steering wheel and to the left, when exactly are you supposed to press that?

First, let me say that I wonder if the pressure monitor works at all. I have had my 2006 since April of last year and I NEVER put air in my tires. I know I should check them, so spare me the lecture...but the light has never come on. I find it hard to believe that in almost a year, the pressure has not gone below that point where the light would come on.

Anyway, you are supposed to press the reset button each time you bring the tire pressure back up to normal. At least that's what I remember reading in the owner's manual.

Has anyone's pressure monitor ever come on?

[cklinh]

MCOjerry... maybe all your tires are losing pressure at the same rate... they system does not detect any differences between the tires, and hence, no light...

The sensor is designed to detect changes in pressure BETWEEN tires.

[Biggi_e]

i had that damn light...mine always comes back on after being reset or even having the tires aired up...

[theprodigy79]

Eddie, you need to recalibrate it... Check out the manual, it's pretty easy but it takes driving several miles to do properly. Take a cruise around the beltway or something

Jerry, the system is designed to detect discrepancies in the rotational speed among all 4 wheels... As cklinh said, if you're losing air in all 4 tires at a natural rate, the variance is not going to change enough to set it. If one, two, or three tires, however, lose air at a different rate, the sensor will read the speed difference in the other wheels and your light will come on. If you somehow puncture all 4 tires at once and they lose air at the exact same speed then I guess you're SOL... but that's not a likely scenario...

It's worked very well for me thus far... I've had to recalibrate it before, but it's done it's job a couple times.

[tazzboo]

Thank You for all of the info. That explains alot about why it didn't go off. From what I have came up with, my wife got the screw in the tire on the way home on Friday. I saw the car on Sunday with the flat and we hadn't driven it since she came home on Friday.

With all that being said its great to find a place that one can ask questions and get anwsers so fast. I am also a member of Tundra Solutions and on that site it seems nobody views the Solara forum. Now for the Tundra forum thats a great place for anybody looking for info for their Tundra.

Big Thank you to all that replyed

[SPF 0]

Rotation speed differentials? That sounds like over-engineering worthy of BMW.

BTW, tazzboo, it's "their Tundra" not "there Tundra"

[kingkakyle]

i had that damn light...mine always comes back on after being reset or even having the tires aired up...

just take it to the dealer and they reset it for u
mine kept coming on for no reason....i had just gotten it back from service
so they did something and had to reset it
and yes i pressed that button many times

[theprodigy79]

i had that damn light...mine always comes back on after being reset or even having the tires aired up...

just take it to the dealer and they reset it for u
mine kept coming on for no reason....i had just gotten it back from service
so they did something and had to reset it
and yes i pressed that button many times

They probably added air to a couple of your tires... that's all it takes to trip the sensor until you recalibrate it with the new pressures. To recalibrate it (if I remember properly), all you have to do is leave your car in park with your key turned to accessory and hold the button 'till the check light goes off, comes on, and goes off again. After that, you have to drive several miles while maintaining a speed of more than 19mph (so do it on a highway or beltway with no stoplights or stop and go traffic).

[Biggi_e]

i had that damn light...mine always comes back on after being reset or even having the tires aired up...

just take it to the dealer and they reset it for u
mine kept coming on for no reason....i had just gotten it back from service
so they did something and had to reset it
and yes i pressed that button many times

They probably added air to a couple of your tires... that's all it takes to trip the sensor until you recalibrate it with the new pressures. To recalibrate it (if I remember properly), all you have to do is leave your car in park with your key turned to accessory and hold the button 'till the check light goes off, comes on, and goes off again. After that, you have to drive several miles while maintaining a speed of more than 19mph (so do it on a highway or beltway with no stoplights or stop and go traffic).

Thank guys for the help, i will get this done tomorrow after work when traffic passes by!