tire pressure monitor fault

[feh-ray]

hi all
my first post here .i have an 08 escape hybrid,my first new car.all in all i paid 35k for it in oct 07 ,and i wish i wouldve just stuck to 4and 5 yr old cars.first of all im not gettin 34 mpg city,more like 27 it is colder here on L.I.,N.Y. so ill wait and see
i took the car in for the 2nd oil change and a tire rotation at the dealers recomondation at 6000 miles they also pumped the air up to around 44psi .i took the car to fla. where the" tire pressure monitor fault " alarms and displays started going off, stopped the car ,no flats , so continued my vacation. all the way up the east coast it would go off intermittently.i took it to the dealer where they said "too much air" in tires ,yeah "well your guy put it in " so they set it to 35 psi where the alarm has been going off everyother day any way.. back to the shop for a whole day only to be told they cant do anything unless it is actively going off and they can see it . i wasnt happy .i told them ive read up on this problem and that they should remove each tire and inspect each sensor ( (which each one is battery powered ,and costs $300 per tire, every 5 years! aint that a pissa!) dealer said he cant afford to do that and insisted i bring it back when alarm is sounding , the chances of me beingin the area when this thing sounds are like hitting the lottery. i got a call into ford customer service...p.s. the key also lost its memory and left me unable to start the car had to call a flat bed little did i know my wifes key wouldve started the piece of shit...any helpful comments would be appreciated ray

[deimos]

The sensors are expensive and can be damaged by overfilling the tire i would hope that your invoice from the dealership shows what they did to the truck (filling to 44lbs) and i would make them pay for it, they are liable for any damage that occurs to your vehicle while being serviced in their shop. Almost every modern vehicle has a "chip" in it that gives off a certain frequency when it is inserted into the lock cylinder and if the key gives off the wrong frequency (such as a wrong key) then the door wont unlock.

[feh-ray]

thanks for the info D !

[phantom_smack]

The sensores will no be damaged over filling by 9 psi.Plus tire pressure increases by 1 psi for ever 10 degrees,its cold up north hot in Fla.The tire pressure should be checked cold not after driving for a long distance.
The chip has nothing to do with the door locks period.The chip is read only when the vehicle is initially started only.
The tire pressure moniter system is a pain in the ass for everyone but it s a government mandated system.

[feh-ray]

thanks everyone
the dealer replaced the smart box and one of the tire sensors...been ok so far 3 weeks and counting......the key issue was a separate problem they had to reflash all the keys

[deimos]

Originally Posted by phantom_smack

The sensores will no be damaged over filling by 9 psi.Plus tire pressure increases by 1 psi for ever 10 degrees,its cold up north hot in Fla.The tire pressure should be checked cold not after driving for a long distance.
The chip has nothing to do with the door locks period.The chip is read only when the vehicle is initially started only.
The tire pressure moniter system is a pain in the ass for everyone but it s a government mandated system.

i agree 9psi wont damage them but if his dealership cant figure out what the correct psi is, then i wouldnt put it past them to screw up the readings as well which if they actually put more into them than what they had originally thought and it would defintely cause for a sensor fail, ive seen it dozens of times. As for the door not unlocking your right about the escape it wont work in ignition but it will work in the door my mistake.

[GaryG]

My Son-in-Law just bought a '08 F-150 and already had a tire senor go off. The dealership said his tire pressure was too high in one tires. This was the first time I've heard that high pressure would also cause a warning. Now, you guys are confirming that high pressure would not only cause a warning, but also damage the sensors.

I've found that running my '05 FEH tires at 50psi drastically reduces wear, increases MPG and handles the road much better than the Max sidewall pressure of 44psi. I haven't seen any negative effects of the 50psi pressure other than a little more noise when I hit a bump in the road.

My question is, does anyone know the maximum pressure which would cause damage to the sensors, or give a warning light? My '09 has been ordered and this concerns me. Also, can the system be bypassed by removing the sensors and removing the relay? I know some relays cannot be removed on my '05 FEH.