False Tire pressure Alarm?

[myzmak]

Originally Posted by ciaranob

Ha - I don't get off that easily I'm afraid - Born and raised in Dublin Ireland so definitely in tune with 'seasons' and miss them in a big way - we have two here hot and frikken' hot

Yeah it would not make much sense for BMW to test these in extreme conditions so right after I posted I realized was not my smartest contribution

Have taught courses up in Fort McMurray where it was -55F and the wind would take it 5-10 lower - pretty extreme

yeah, fort mcmurray is hellish in winter. my part of the province is much milder - the mountains tend to moderate the temps quite a bit so we are probably warmer most of the winter than large parts of the northern USA (eg: the dakotas, minnesota, northern michigan, etc)

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by ciaranob

OK at the risk of asking a 'dumb' question, why don't they come with TPMS? Are the TPMS sensors inaccurate in extremely low temps or is it the huge range in temps from summer to depths of winter where they loose calibration/accuracy?

No questions are dumb, my answer could be because we are damn cheap up north! Again I explain to friends that it's for weight savings, because the Canadian M is heavier than its southern cousin ...

[myzmak]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

No questions are dumb, my answer could be because we are damn cheap up north! Again I explain to friends that it's for weight savings, because the Canadian M is heavier than its southern cousin ...

Sure, we have to carry all that polar bear hunting gear wherever we go.....

(actually, i did play golf today - in a course in the middle of calgary - and there was a freaking bear on it. what is funny is my 3 some didnt see it, even though it was apparently a hole or two behind us. I did see some scat that made me think 'hmmm....that looks a lot like a bear.....but, naaaah, couldnt be....)

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by myzmak

Sure, we have to carry all that polar bear hunting gear wherever we go.....

(actually, i did play golf today - in a course in the middle of calgary - and there was a freaking bear on it. what is funny is my 3 some didnt see it, even though it was apparently a hole or two behind us. I did see some scat that made me think 'hmmm....that looks a lot like a bear.....but, naaaah, couldnt be....)

but sorry whats a "scat" ?

[myzmak]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

but sorry whats a "scat" ?

poop.

[dmnc02]

Excellent plan. Bonne chance!

[CanAutM3]

Is it possible that TPMS market has an incidence on a Canadian car becuause it uses the ABS/DSC wheel speed sensors to determine if a tire is low? Could Euro MDM have an impact on the FTM calibration?

aboulfad, when you get your false alarms, were you in MDM?

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Is it possible that TPMS market has an incidence on a Canadian car becuause it uses the ABS/DSC wheel speed sensors to determine if a tire is low? Could Euro MDM have an impact on the FTM calibration?

aboulfad, when you get your false alarms, were you in MDM?

No to both times when I got the low tire alarm. I was with my wife in both cases on same highway and in traffic (damn Decarie) and I drive very slow with her (M1 turtle mode) but now that I think about it, both times she was with me, so I wonder if it's caused by her weight . (Nah she's been with me many other times)

[dmnc02]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Is it possible that TPMS market has an incidence on a Canadian car becuause it uses the ABS/DSC wheel speed sensors to determine if a tire is low? Could Euro MDM have an impact on the FTM calibration?

I thought about that too, but then I would expect that the issue should have arisen if he had changed CTpmsMarket from the factory value (US) to EU, which, if I understand correctly aboulfad didn't do.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by dmnc02

I thought about that too, but then I would expect that the issue should have arisen if he had changed CTpmsMarket from the factory value (US) to EU, which, if I understand correctly aboulfad didn't do.

I see it the other way around. The "US" FTM calibration working fine with the US MDM calibration. But the "US" FTM calibration not working so well with the Euro-MDM calibration.

Anyway, pure speculation on my part. I am a total layman regarding these things

[dmnc02]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

I see it the other way around. The "US" FTM calibration working fine with the US MDM calibration. But the "US" FTM calibration not working so well with the Euro-MDM calibration.

Anyway, pure speculation on my part. I am a total layman regarding these things

I am speculating too: the only way to be sure of anything with coding is to try and see what happens

BTW, do you use Rheingold? Have you ever checked your car for faults?

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by dmnc02

BTW, do you use Rheingold? Have you ever checked your car for faults?

Never heard of it.

Where can I get it? Is it free?

[dmnc02]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Never heard of it.

Where can I get it? Is it free?

Yes, it is free and it is the kind of software tool that I think you will really like (that's why I asked ). I will send you a PM in a few minutes.

[dmnc02]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

Btw I searched a lot, couldn't find anything on FTM.

That's because BMW cannot spell "tire".

In any case, what BMW calls "Tyre Pressure Monitor" (RDC) is the US system. What you have is the "Run Flat Indicator" (RPA).

[aboulfad]

UPDATE: so took the car in to the dealer to have it checked. The irony of things, when the SA was driving it to the shop he got the FTM malfunction.

As far as for the false tire alarms, they sent a message to BMW technical services whom asked them to visually inspect tires/wheels as well measure circumference, ... and send back a report of the data.

[dmnc02]

So are they now awaiting further instructions from the mother ship?

[aboulfad]

The next course of action from BMW was to take the car on a road test to collect sensor data. I requested that I drive the car during the road test but the dealer didn't accept so I refused to proceed.

[aboulfad]

Almost one year later, seven times I got the false yellow "low tire" warning, 5 trips to two different dealers, two full Istep updates and nothing... It is so disappointing that BMW dealers when faced with intermittent problems have no clue what to do

Even though everytime that I get this alarm, I know it's false, but as you are driving and decide NOT to stop and check the tires, it is always in the back of my head, could it be this time a low tire! So I stop and check, only to find out the tires are all within +- 0.5psi

When this happens, a check control message 63, DSC, Loss Of Tyre pressure is recorded in the check control message history and the keyfob.

[stealth70mde]

I also get them too often to my taste...

Funny that there is a piece of road close to where I live where it happens almost systematically around the same spot.

It's one of those long curves with a limit of 70kph that I take at about 80-85kph.
The plane of the curve is inclined in the wrong direction if that make sense.

[aboulfad]

Mine happen at random places and speeds. I am going to pass by quick so they scan the car and open a PUMA case.

[Doublej]

I recently had a flat tire but noticed the flat before the TPMS did. I was in town I made a right hander at a light and the back end felt a little weird and a few blocks down I knew the tire was going flat but the TPMS wasn't reporting anything.

I pulled over and sure enough it was almost flat and just as I stopped the warning came on. I pumped it up with the sealant and dropped it off at the dealer for repair.

I asked why the TPMS didn't detect it until I stopped and apparently it takes a while to detect and it detects based on rotational speed differential of the wheels, not the pressure.

Some of you get false warnings and I didn't get any warning. Seems like a robust system.

JJ

[aboulfad]

Wow, that's worse! Good thing you caught it. They should do away with this stupid system and install sensors just like in the US...