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"Tire Pressure Monitor Service Required" Error Message

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JohnGarziglia

#1243
Supporting Member
Oct 22, 2011
211
124
Reston, Virginia
I received the error message below today for no apparent reason. I was not sitting without moving for more than 20 minutes, nor did anything occur that might have dislodged or otherwise disconnected the tire pressure monitor assembly.

At least twice previously in my 2+ years of roadster 2.5 ownership I have received this error message, and have taken it to Tesla where they have replaced the TPMS module, antenna or both.

I have read the threads which describe that the TPMS on the roadster 1.5 is much more stable and reliable than that on the 2.5. Yet, I find it difficult to believe that any such part has such a brief life-span:

Several questions:

  • I saw a post that said that OMVS will give more information on this error message. When I check OVMS on both my Android and my iOS devices, however, I was unable to find any error messages. Where can I find those error messages in OVMS?
  • Has anyone themselves removed and serviced the TPMS module or antenna? If so, where is it/them? Is it possible to just clean up the connections or something to get it working again?
  • Is this a Tesla or a Lotus part -- or more specifically, must I get this part from Tesla if it indeed requires replacement?

Any advice anyone has on repairing this is much appreciated. Otherwise, I guess it will be a visit to the Tesla service center. Thanks!

TPMS Error message.jpg
 
You can also get the same message if even just one wheel sensor fails or if the battery in the sensor is low due to cold weather. The latter is what I have. Anything below 55 degrees and I get the message. Then at 60 it comes back. Unfortunately, the sensor is a sealed unit and you can't just put in a new battery. I'm under warranty, but if I recall correctly, the price of a new sensor is $97 plus installation. One sensor out, and none of the tire pressures will show. You can pull the logs and email them to the service center; they will tell you what's going on.
 
With OVMS, go to the App second screen (TPMS). It should show pressures and temperatures for all 4 tires. Go for a drive. All 4 numbers should be bright white (not gray). If one tire is missing or gray, it is most likely a single sensor fault. If a pair (front/back) are missing, it is most likely an antenna fault. If all 4 are missing, it is most likely a module fault.

If all are bright white, go for a 'spirited' drive and see if all 4 temperatures increase.
 
A couple of years ago I was doing an autocross training event in Toronto, and also had to do a business trip. Asked the service department if they'd mind storing my Roadster for a couple of days and charging it. They told me sure, they had a service bulletin to do anyway. Not only did they store the car, charge the car, drive me to the airport, retrieve me from the airport... they even washed the car. Such amazing service!

The relevance here is the tech noticed my TPMS wasn't working, so he got the tool and tried resyncing it. He was baffled for a moment, but he then remembered that I have a second set of rims with A048's for autocross use. It wasn't working because there weren't any sensors!!!
 
With OVMS, go to the App second screen (TPMS). It should show pressures and temperatures for all 4 tires. Go for a drive. All 4 numbers should be bright white (not gray). If one tire is missing or gray, it is most likely a single sensor fault. If a pair (front/back) are missing, it is most likely an antenna fault. If all 4 are missing, it is most likely a module fault.

If all are bright white, go for a 'spirited' drive and see if all 4 temperatures increase.

This worked I think. While all sensors are showing bright white, the right front sensor is showing a temperature (and a tire pressure based upon the temperature) that the car has not seen for at least a week, while the other three tire sensors are showing temperatures that can be expected. Looks like my right front tire sensor is malfunctioning.

Thanks!
 
It may be weather related. Mine started failing in December, and they replaced the control module. They had already replaced the tire sensors last year, now it was the module's turn.

First I had to convince the tech it wasn't low tire pressure. He said it might be the tires were low when the cold weather hit here. There is a different message for low vs a fault. When I finally got the car in, he admitted they had a rash of the Roadster failures recently.

While this was happening, the message would disappear about every other day or so. I wasn't getting any tire readings when I checked, but I wasn't getting an error either. Then, after about a 10 mile drive, the message would reappear. A few days later it would go away again, and the cycle would repeat.

Lucky for my I've still got warranty left on the car. For a few more months anyway.

-Scotty
 
It may be weather related. Mine started failing in December, and they replaced the control module. They had already replaced the tire sensors last year, now it was the module's turn.

First I had to convince the tech it wasn't low tire pressure. He said it might be the tires were low when the cold weather hit here. There is a different message for low vs a fault. When I finally got the car in, he admitted they had a rash of the Roadster failures recently.

While this was happening, the message would disappear about every other day or so. I wasn't getting any tire readings when I checked, but I wasn't getting an error either. Then, after about a 10 mile drive, the message would reappear. A few days later it would go away again, and the cycle would repeat.

Lucky for my I've still got warranty left on the car. For a few more months anyway.

-Scotty


So much for my few more months of warranty. It failed again.
Seriously... Can they use a component that DOESN'T have only a 15 month life span??
Now they are pushing this new Roadster battery... Why would I buy a new battery when this car has is loaded with so many poor components already??

Back on subject, has anyone managed to do their own repair on it? Can anyone supply information like where the monitor or sensors are?

-Scotty
 
Although the 1.5 is stuck with the front/rear revolutions with the wheels and has no tire-learning, I love that the TPMS system is bullet-proof. Replacing the TPMS components would be a pain in the ass if it needed attention and money every 15 months. What a pain. Heck, I haven't even had to replace the battery/sensor in the wheels yet although I do think that its lifespan is coming up soon.... Everything has been smooth since its build date of April 2009 and 50k miles.
 
Although the 1.5 is stuck with the front/rear revolutions with the wheels and has no tire-learning, I love that the TPMS system is bullet-proof. Replacing the TPMS components would be a pain in the ass if it needed attention and money every 15 months. What a pain. Heck, I haven't even had to replace the battery/sensor in the wheels yet although I do think that its lifespan is coming up soon.... Everything has been smooth since its build date of April 2009 and 50k miles.

Yeah, well...
Good luck getting the service center to call you back, too.

I have a National Drive Electric Week show off this Saturday... Where I usually get to say stuff like "No Oil, no coolant, no transmission..."
Now I get to point at that big fat fault light and say: "Maybe you don't have to replace the timing belt every 4 years, but you get to pay twice the price to replace the tire monitor THREE TIMES MORE OFTEN".

I'm hoping someone can tell me where it is, and I can do it myself. I drove 25 miles home today, and never got any indication on any tire. Clearly it's the main receiver or similar.

-Scott
 
Yeah, well...
Good luck getting the service center to call you back, too.

I've always had excellent response from Tesla's Service center (Menlo Park) when I had to take my Roadster in for its annual or if it was under repair. And when I had issues with my APS, Tesla's engineers kept the email dialog going, even at 11:30pm at night, in order to diagnose and fully understand the issue.

But I have heard a few people here and there that have a sour taste from the experience. If you do I'd escalate that higher up to Tesla since I'm sure that's not how they want their customers to be treated.
 
I've always had excellent response from Tesla's Service center (Menlo Park) when I had to take my Roadster in for its annual or if it was under repair. And when I had issues with my APS, Tesla's engineers kept the email dialog going, even at 11:30pm at night, in order to diagnose and fully understand the issue.

But I have heard a few people here and there that have a sour taste from the experience. If you do I'd escalate that higher up to Tesla since I'm sure that's not how they want their customers to be treated.

I appreciate the positive comments you report, living in the nearby shadow of their home. Out here in Texas, they are swamped with delivering the new S's. Because I finally got a call back, and they said they can squeeze me in, in about 10 days... A sour taste that comes from their obsession with putting in super chargers, yet not even a conventional HPC to accommodate the us "trailblazer roadsters" that helped the company keep going. So their priorities seem to come from the top down, from where I sit.

And furthermore, that fact that this is a such an inferior component (apparently one of many), that it's gone bad three times already, isn't something that the service center can do anything about. All they can do is continue to make me pay them to replace it with the same poor quality component over, and over, and over... Where did Tesla get this concept from?? GM?

So, if Tesla in Menlo is really worried about how they are perceived, they should know that I know three people who really thought the Tesla design is cool and now turned off after seeing how many times I've had to fix things. One of them is my company VP who has to hear about my being late, or seeing that I have a substitute car because, and he says, "You spent how much for that thing?? and you keep taking it back to get fixed how many times?"

-CSW #1277
 
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So, if Tesla in Menlo is really worried about how they are perceived, they should know that I know three people who really thought the Tesla design is cool and now turned off after seeing how many times I've had to fix things. One of them is my company VP who has to hear about my being late, or seeing that I have a substitute car because, and he says, "You spent how much for that thing?? and you keep taking it back to get fixed how many times?"

-CSW #1277

I really should have pursued invoking a "lemon law" on this this thing.
 
Totally agree, the TPMS system on the 2.x is a flakey system and also agree that Tesla should have done a recall to fix the issue that's reoccurring with them. And I have the opposite view / reaction when I come into work. I usually get, you Whizzed by me today again and Wow I love your car from all my co-workers and VPs. 50k and the only issue was the APS inside the ESS which they replaced the ESS with a healthier one while there were at it.

I also passed on your disappointment to the store manager at Tesla who I work closely with. There have been times where he/I disagreed on an issue, and when that happened I escalated it up. But after the dust cleared I discovered it was an honest misunderstanding in communication which he took the blame for and whole-heatedly apologized. I even had Jerome from above email me back to personally verify that everything was ok, and this was when pushing the Model-S was the #1 priority for Tesla.

Been here before, its all about persistence and if you're not heard, keep pushing your issue higher. But also don't get emotional about it. I tend to forget that and my emotions get into the issue by my tone which then works against me.

You have valid concerns, just voice them to the right people. And always do a self check on your attitude that's being received by them, be firm and direct, but try not to be emotional. I know personally that's a tough thing to grasp at times since passion can fuel emotions, but your emotions can be misconceived from the real picture of what your passions portray.
 
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I got the same message on the weekend driving between Buffalo and Cranberry. It came on for 10 minutes and then disappeared and has not come back.

Should I take it in?

You can and should have them look at it, but you can also pull the logs yourself. Just stick your thumbdrive in, and wait.
Then move them to a PC, and load a log Reader. I used this one: TeslaFlux

I load the logs, clicked a little button in the lower left to pick error messages, and it showed my the error.
Then there is this:
Roadster - Tesla Motors Club - Enthusiasts & Owners Forum
Which helps you decode the error codes.