GMC Terrain, Equinox, and SRX Forum banner

Tire Sensor Issue. Need advice

12K views 26 replies 12 participants last post by  chevysales 
#1 ·
Woke up last week with a blown out tire. Side wall of tire completely ripped open on a 2017 Terrain. Brought to tire shop and got a brand new tire. Drove off and the pressure alert for the back left tire, which was just replaced, was reading pressure of 17. I took it back to tire shop and they used the TPMS tool to reset tires when the car was in learning mode. Horn honked for each tire and at the end multiple honks to register learn was complete. The 3 other tires all reset to 36. My back left still read 17. The manual gauge read still 17 even after the reset. The past few days I’ve driven over 100 miles and the pressure light is still on and the back left will vary on readings between 17-22 depending on the day. I have read that the light will flash if there is an electrical error, which it is not flashing. Any ideas on how to fix this? The tire is certainly filled to 36 and looks great but the pressure is reading low and will not reset. What should I do?
 
#3 ·
I agree, back to the tire store to have a new sensor installed inside the tire.
 
#6 · (Edited)
What I want to know is - how do you “wake up” to a sidewall blowout on a relatively new tire? Was this vandalism?

If not - are these Michelin Latitude tires?

I ask because I had a 2015 ML tire sidewall blow out on me, too - but I was going 75 mph! Tire only had about 6,000 miles on it! Ended up getting $50 toward the replacement tire (wasn’t too happy about it).

Also wonder ... if that sensor was working fine before the sidewall “blew out” (standing still), what are the chances this event damaged that still relatively new sensor? What about the possibility that another sensor was installed? These tire shops must have piles of these things laying around? I’d want to see that sensor getting pulled off that rim. Probably no way to tell if it’s part of the original set of four, though, right? Would they have sequential numbers from the factory?
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the input! I originally thought my tire was slashed but checked my security cameras and isn’t the case. It’s a clean cut which is also strange. I do know that when I got home that night there was no damage to my tire, and when I woke up it was blown out. (See picture). The tire shop advised they do not touch the sensors and they were perplexed by the issue. My one question is if the sensor was faulty, wouldn’t the light be flashing that there is an issue?
 

Attachments

#10 ·
Someone could've "scored" that tire with a razor blade so that it blew out later on ... that's what they do sometimes. So you go to a shopping plaza, park your car, go in, and some jackass happens to be parked near you (teenager punks). One of them pulls out a razor and says to the other ... "Hey watch this!" And in just a few seconds he's made three cuts in the shape of a box on your sidewall. Then they drive off laughing.

That cut is WAY too clean to be a tire failure, but I'd report it to the manufacturer anyway, just in case ... see what they have to say about it.

And then I would be thinking about where that tire had been the previous day or days before the blowout. If it's a razor blade cut, it probably blew out the next day or two days later. Maybe it could've happened at a Mall, Christmas shopping - which has a Management Team you can report it to. Maybe even check with police. There may have been other cases, and if so - one or more people needs to (severely) punished.
 
#8 ·
Usually if the TPMS system detects a malfunction the light will flash for one minute and then stay on.
That's the way it is for my 2014 Nox.
Your owners manual gives a pretty good description of it.

A low or dead sensor battery can give you a false reading or zero.
If your tire shop doesn't want to help you see your dealer.
If it was me I would replace that sensor first, then see if you still have a problem.
 
#9 ·
The tire shop could have damaged that sensor when de-mounting the tire. They are attached to the base of the valve stem and there is a de-mount procedure to prevent damage to the senor. Never the less like the guys above said get a new sensor. I bought 4 AC Delco ones off Amazon for about $30 dollars for my 2013. The chevy dealer wanted $78 for just one.
 
#11 ·
Colt - Your story makes a lot of sense. In fact, so much sense that it sounds like you may have done this one time or another ! LOL


The other possibility, but highly unlikely, is maybe the TPMS failed and blew ought the tire when it failed. Nah...
 
#16 ·
Colt - Your story makes a lot of sense.
About 10 years ago my former next door neighbor was in his backyard while I was out cutting my grass, so I went over to chat for a few minutes. He was staring at a tire lying up against the house. He said his daughter had taken his Trailblazer to high school one day the previous week, and on the way there the tire blew out, sending her into the ditch! I didn’t think anything of it at first, but then he pointed to the sidewall of the tire and said it had been cut with a blade! I doubted it, but looking more closely, you could see the lines were very straight, parallel, and in the shape of about a 1” box. A tire is not going to fail on a sidewall like that! Then he said her ex-boyfriend had admitted to doing it (with a razor).

Before that day I’d never heard of such a thing, but now I know it’s a possibility. Catch someone doing this, probably should do what the Iranians do: cut their hands off.
 
#22 ·
so its at 35 PSI-- but reads 17.
At least 18 PSI off.

After reading the thread---
Im wondering if tire sealant was ever used in that tire?
It could have gummed up the sensor hole where the air pressure reading is taken..
so-- since it was reading wrong air pressure--- on the last tire--- it was aired up to 35+18= 53 PSI... or more...
and it eventually failed- from being over filled?
Or-
the sensor is bad-- wrong reading-- but also overfilled... leading to that blow out.
Buy a new sensor- have it installed- and drive on.
 
#23 ·
you can see the sensor reading hole in the 1st picture.
I recently had new tires installed.

Had the sensors replaced. My OEM were working fine.
But they are 6-7 yrs old. So had them replaced.


look like the ones posted in pics.
the new ones are smaller.
 
#24 ·
Had the sensors replaced. My OEM were working fine.
But they are 6-7 yrs old. So had them replaced.

My wife's car has only had one die so far. It's 12 years old next month but only has 60,000 miles on it.
When the sensor failed last year I was going to have all 4 replaced but for kicks I decided to see how long the other 3 will last.
 
#27 ·
the "rebuild kits" at most tire stores for late model GM's are nothing more than new schrader valve usually not even a stainless steel one and an O ring nothing more. just a scam as the valve insert from factory is stainless steel as not to rust/freeze from moisture in winter months.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top