Question by ssr: Lexus LS430-Idiot light won’t stay off. “Low Tire” Can someone help?
I just purchased a 2005 Lexus LS430 last week. The car is great, however the idiot light that shows Low Tire won’t seem to stay off. I reset it and about 30 miles later it shows up again. I took it to the dealer and he says it is normal due to the winter weather. All tires are just fine. Is the dealer right or is there something I can do to fix it. Thx
Best answer:
Answer by snakchrmr70
In cold weather, the air pressure decreases slightly, which is enough to make the Lexus think it has a low tire. Air expands when it’s hot and retracts when it’s cold.
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Please read other answers to this question at the very bottom of this page, below you will find a video and related articles that will try to answer the question, if you have a proper answer please post it at the bottom.
Before putting car tires back on a vehicle during a rotation, it is a good idea to check tire tread wear for damage or uneven wear. Check tire tread with tips from an automotive repair specialist in this free video on car tires. Expert: Kerby Witt Bio: Kirby Witt owns and operates Team Witt Customs which specializes in auto restorations and customs. Witt has been fixing, restoring, customizing, and creating in the automotive industry for 20 years. Filmmaker: Doug Craig
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Guide To Inflating Car Tires
Today as more and more non-renewable energy sources are getting exhausted across the world, people are veering towards ways of saving energy and using alternate energy resources. Hybrid cars that can run on two or more energy source for example, gasoline, electricity, hydrogen, etc. are an attempt towards saving energy. Hybrid cars as a result are generally designed to save energy from its engines to its tires. Most hybrid cars available today run on low-rolling resistance tires.
What are low-rolling resistance tires?
Low-rolling resistance tires in simple words are those tires that roll easily on the road thereby creating less friction in other words less resistance between the road and the tire. Today most of the hybrid cars run on these tires. These tires are easy on the engine and as a result save a lot of energy which in turn saves your gas expenses. Low-rolling resistance tires also help the driver in handling the car on the road, are more stable on the run and are durable.
How do these work?
As in all tires, even for low-rolling resistance tires generate heat at three different places the friction between the road and the tire, the heat generated within the walls of the tire and the heat generated between the rim and the tire. Now in a low-rolling resistance tire, the manufacturers try to reduce the amount of heat generated by the tires. This is achieved by a number of ways:
The tread of the tire is designed in a different way.
The material is used such that it generates less heat. Mostly strong but light material is used to help generate less heat.
The tires can run without air for at least fifty miles which means that even if you have a flat tire you can drive till your nearest mechanic without being stranded.
How can such tires save energy and money?
Statistics show that low-rolling resistance tires can improve the rolling resistance of your car by 25% which in turn can give an improved mileage by three to five percent. The material used reduces the heat generated which saves fuel. Although you may need to pay extra on buying a set of low-rolling resistance tires, you may eventually save up to 6% of gasoline usage.
Although there is hardly any negative point about these tires, if you are a bit of a wild driver and go on long off-terrain drives, then may be the tread of low-rolling resistance tires will not be sufficient for you.
Apart from that consumers and authorities have both taken notice of the low-rolling resistance tires so much so that California has come up with the law where replacement tires are supposed to be of the same quality, performance and efficiency of the tires of a new car, which are mostly low-rolling resistance tires.
Most hybrid cars come with low-rolling resistance tires. However when it comes to getting replacement low-rolling resistance tires it gets a bit tough and contacting the manufacturers directly would probably be a safe bet.
Full-service gas stations belonged to the past. One cannot judge if the tires need air just by looking at them or even by kicking them because they are not cycle tires. It is a person’s responsibility to check and add air in tires every month.
Things Needed
- A garage or gas station that has a facility of Pressurized Air
- A Tire Pressure gauge
Step 1
First, one has to go to a garage or gas station that has a facility of pressurized air with a gauge.
Step 2
The car should be parked in such a way that one can reach all the four tires with the air hose.
Step 3
The air-pressure specifications of the car’s tires have to be found. There is a sticker located on the door jamb of driver’s side, trunk or in the glove box.
Step 4
The plastic cap on the air valve would have to be unscrewed. It should be put in the pocket so it does not get lost.
Step 5
The air pressure must be checked with the help of either a personal tire-pressure gauge or the one belonging to the gas station air pump. The gauge should be pressed against the valve and held down tightly. If a hissing noise is heard, then it means the air is leaking. It should be pressed down harder.
Step 6
Air should be added as necessary. The air pump hose should be pressed on the valve while squeezing the lever present at the end of the hose.
Step 7
The air pressure should be checked with the gauge. The air pump hose can also be used for checking.
Step 8
The tires must be deflated if they are accidentally overfilled. The small needle in the center of the valve should be pressed down to let the air out. There is a small knob on many tire-pressure gauges for this purpose, although a fingernail or a pen can also do the trick.
Tips and Warnings
- If the tire needs air every time while checking, a tire shop can be asked to inspect for any slow leaks.
- A good-quality tire-pressure gauge should always be kept in the car’s glove box. The cost of a good electronic one costs nearly about .
- The spare tire should not be forgotten to check and adding air in it as necessary.
- The tire’s sidewall should not be considered for air-pressure specifications. This is because it only lists the maximum pressure of the tire.
- A tire-pressure gauge should always be used for getting the right air pressure. One cannot afford to exceed or under inflate the tires.
Now you have learned to inflate tires, you might also want to learn how to measure tire sizes and how to mount tires
.
Article from articlesbase.com
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Under the steering wheel, there is a button you need to press to re”initialize” the wheel pressure. The LS430 is not a direct Tire Pressure Monitoring (TPM) system, it uses the ABS system to detect if there is “low pressure” by measuring the spinning difference between tires. So, because of this, if somehow it’s detecting that the tire pressures of one (or more) are off, then it trips the TPM. Make sure all your tire pressures are at 32 psi, then reinitialize, and that will be the new baseline that the computer will use.
This will resolve your issue. As for what dealer is telling you, it’s not a total BS answer. The winter and cold does falsely trigger some TPM systems, but after driving a while, it should go off. If not, then reset and if still goes on, then something is definitely wrong. If this Lexus dealer can not help, then find another dealer and see if they can do a better job.
The 2005 LS430′s tire pressure monitor system operates off the brake/abs/trac/vsc ecu. This means that this particular system is
very sensitive to differences in tire pressure, road type, and tire tread.
In other words, a flat tire will turn slower than the other inflated tires, when the ecu senses a difference, that sets off the low tire pressure
light. Tread difference, and road type can also set this off. There might be a different computer available reduce the sensitivity of the system.
Check with the dealer. Hope this helps.
I have this problem also. Basically I’ve learned to live with it. The dealer explained to me that it is a ‘glitch’ in certain models ( I think 06 and before). When the temperature drops drastically the light will come on.
Unfortunately, on one occasion they actually found a nail in tire so I try to use my instinct now and take it in…whenever. The only good thing is that since it is an irreversible glitch, the dealer makes the inspection and resets at no charge. But if you really do have a foreign object in the tire, you’ll be really grateful for this feature.
Enjoy the ride while gas prices are low