F150 Tire Pressure Sensor Fault

I have a 2009 F150. The truck just turned 35,963 miles (i.e., bumper
to bumper warranty is all but up). The truck is 15 months old. For at
least the last 10 months, I keep getting a message that says "Tire
Pressure Sensor Fault." When I get this fault, the tire pressure
warning light blink about 18 times and then goes solid. It irritates
the heck out of me. This is not the same as a low tire pressure
warning. This is a warning that indicates there is a problem with a
tire pressure snesor, but provides no indication of which sensor (at
least to me). It is not a consistent problem. I can go weeks without
seeing it. It can come on, stay on for a hundred miles and then go
off. When I first saw the fault indication, I called the dealer. They
told me to bring it in when the fault was indicated. Of course the
fault was never "active" when I went anywhere near the dealer until
yesterday. It finally was on when I arrived at the dealer. Of course
it was Sunday, so the dealer was closed. I abandoned the truck at the
over night drop off in hopes it would still be "bad" today. So far I
have not heard anything. I am not hopeful.

Has anyone else had this sort of problem? My truck has the valve stem
type sensors. I've had one flat fixed, and one tire replaced (with the
OE tire originally mounted on the plain spare tire rim - the spare tie
does not have a sensor). The sensor failure occured randomly before
and after these tire changes.

I have a theory - As a part of typical dealer scamology, my truck had
the tires filled with nitrogen. I actually watched the process. The
hooked all four tires to a machine that sucked the tires flat and then
pumped them up with nitrogen (well ~96% nitrogen instead of the usual
80% - what a SCAM). I think this was a horrible idea. I think there
is a good chance that this stupidity damaged one or more sensors. I
doubt they are designed to be exposed to a vacuum. How likely is it
that the dealer damaged a sensor in an attempt to scam another $30 out
of me for this nitrogen nonsense?

Ed

"C. E. White" > wrote in message
...
>I have a 2009 F150. The truck just turned 35,963 miles (i.e., bumper to
>bumper warranty is all but up). The truck is 15 months old. For at least
>the last 10 months, I keep getting a message that says "Tire Pressure
>Sensor Fault." When I get this fault, the tire pressure warning light blink
>about 18 times and then goes solid. It irritates the heck out of me. This
>is not the same as a low tire pressure warning. This is a warning that
>indicates there is a problem with a tire pressure snesor, but provides no
>indication of which sensor (at least to me). It is not a consistent
>problem. I can go weeks without seeing it. It can come on, stay on for a
>hundred miles and then go off. When I first saw the fault indication, I
>called the dealer. They told me to bring it in when the fault was
>indicated. Of course the fault was never "active" when I went anywhere near
>the dealer until yesterday. It finally was on when I arrived at the dealer.
>Of course it was Sunday, so the dealer was closed. I abandoned the truck at
>the over night drop off in hopes it would still be "bad" today. So far I
>have not heard anything. I am not hopeful.
>
> Has anyone else had this sort of problem? My truck has the valve stem type
> sensors. I've had one flat fixed, and one tire replaced (with the OE tire
> originally mounted on the plain spare tire rim - the spare tie does not
> have a sensor). The sensor failure occured randomly before and after these
> tire changes.
>
> I have a theory - As a part of typical dealer scamology, my truck had the
> tires filled with nitrogen. I actually watched the process. The hooked all
> four tires to a machine that sucked the tires flat and then pumped them up
> with nitrogen (well ~96% nitrogen instead of the usual 80% - what a SCAM).
> I think this was a horrible idea. I think there is a good chance that
> this stupidity damaged one or more sensors. I doubt they are designed to
> be exposed to a vacuum. How likely is it that the dealer damaged a sensor
> in an attempt to scam another $30 out of me for this nitrogen nonsense?
>
> Ed
>
>
>

YOU PAID $30 FOR NITROGEN?!

Sorry dude, but they see suckers coming for miles.

1.) There is no reason to suck the air out, just remove the valve stems and
let the air drain to atmospheric pressure. The few molecules of air that
remain are not going to affect the $30 worth of nitrogen you bought.

2.) Nitrogen is a scam, almost as bad as the Nigerian lawyer that sent you
details on how to collect your uncle's inheretance from the oil company
after he drove off a cliff last weekend.

3.) There's no way to tell if sucking the air out of the tires did anything
to the sensors, but if they did it at the stealership, it ought to be okay.

Ed... we do occasionally see tire pressure sensor failures (but I do have to
state that the majority are cause by unknowning tirebusters).

A few things... first, as far as I can see, putting nitrogen in tires is a
scam (as has been said). $30 for some pretty green valve caps is a lot of
money and the **** we breath IS 76% nitrogen already. Add that, if you have
a low tire, I doubt that you will drive on it to find somebody with
'nitrogen' - I would think that most anyone is going to opt for plain old
air and continue their journey.

For the sensor concern... you can have the dealer or even a decent tire shop
train the sensors - faulty sensors "usually" don't train. But neither can I
say I have seen one go intermittent.

HTH

"Jim Warman" > wrote in message
news:PJoIn.4147$Z6.1230@edtnps82...
> Ed... we do occasionally see tire pressure sensor failures (but I do
> have to state that the majority are cause by unknowning
> tirebusters).
>
> A few things... first, as far as I can see, putting nitrogen in
> tires is a scam (as has been said). $30 for some pretty green valve
> caps is a lot of money and the **** we breath IS 76% nitrogen
> already. Add that, if you have a low tire, I doubt that you will
> drive on it to find somebody with 'nitrogen' - I would think that
> most anyone is going to opt for plain old air and continue their
> journey.

I kne the nitrogen was a scam. We agreed on a price and the nitrogen
was jsut in their. I told them I didn't care aout it, but got it
anyhow.

> For the sensor concern... you can have the dealer or even a decent
> tire shop train the sensors - faulty sensors "usually" don't train.
> But neither can I say I have seen one go intermittent.

Well the tire pressure sensor fault was active when I dropped the
truck off at the dealership on Sunday afternoon. The service writer
called me yesterday (Monday) and said the light was off (I figured
that was going to happen). And becasue the light was off, they
couldn't figure out which sensor (if any) was bad. I told them to keep
the truck and try some more. Probably they will jsut park it and call
me today and say they couldn't find a problem. The temperature dropped
from the 90's to the 60's between Sunday and Monday. I suspect the
problem is heat related and there is no chance it will fail for them.
BUT, I'll bet Wednesday when I drive the truck 140 miles, it will fail
and I will be so mad I'll be tempted to ram the truck into the Ford
dealership's service department and set it on fire. I am sure at leat
one sensor is bad. Seems to me, they should replace all four sensors
and be done with the problem. I blame Ford (not the dealer) for not
having a better diagnostic strategy for this problem. I've searched on
the internet and I am not the only person that has problems with
intermittent sensor failures on Ford trucks.

Ed

On Mon, 17 May 2010 14:11:49 -0400, "C. E. White"
> wrote:

>...
>When I first saw the fault indication, I called the dealer. They
>told me to bring it in when the fault was indicated. Of course the
>fault was never "active" when I went anywhere near the dealer until
>yesterday. It finally was on when I arrived at the dealer. Of course
>it was Sunday, so the dealer was closed. I abandoned the truck at the
>over night drop off in hopes it would still be "bad" today. So far I
>have not heard anything. I am not hopeful.
>

Ignoring the nitrogen issues, you should have established a problem
trail with the dealer, long before the warranty was up. Even if the
dealer is unable to repair the problem because of lack of diagnostic
tools, expertise, etc., establishing the problem trail protects your
warranty and requires them (the dealer and Ford) to repair the
problem.

"PeterD" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 17 May 2010 14:11:49 -0400, "C. E. White"
> > wrote:
>
>>...
>>When I first saw the fault indication, I called the dealer. They
>>told me to bring it in when the fault was indicated. Of course the
>>fault was never "active" when I went anywhere near the dealer until
>>yesterday. It finally was on when I arrived at the dealer. Of course
>>it was Sunday, so the dealer was closed. I abandoned the truck at
>>the
>>over night drop off in hopes it would still be "bad" today. So far I
>>have not heard anything. I am not hopeful.
>>
>
> Ignoring the nitrogen issues, you should have established a problem
> trail with the dealer, long before the warranty was up. Even if the
> dealer is unable to repair the problem because of lack of diagnostic
> tools, expertise, etc., establishing the problem trail protects your
> warranty and requires them (the dealer and Ford) to repair the
> problem.

That is why I finally left it at the dealer -just before the warranty
was up. But do I really have a "warranty trail" if they come back with
a claim of "no trouble found?"

Ed

On Tue, 18 May 2010 10:02:32 -0400, "C. E. White"
> wrote:

>
>"PeterD" > wrote in message
.. .
>> On Mon, 17 May 2010 14:11:49 -0400, "C. E. White"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>>...
>>>When I first saw the fault indication, I called the dealer. They
>>>told me to bring it in when the fault was indicated. Of course the
>>>fault was never "active" when I went anywhere near the dealer until
>>>yesterday. It finally was on when I arrived at the dealer. Of course
>>>it was Sunday, so the dealer was closed. I abandoned the truck at
>>>the
>>>over night drop off in hopes it would still be "bad" today. So far I
>>>have not heard anything. I am not hopeful.
>>>
>>
>> Ignoring the nitrogen issues, you should have established a problem
>> trail with the dealer, long before the warranty was up. Even if the
>> dealer is unable to repair the problem because of lack of diagnostic
>> tools, expertise, etc., establishing the problem trail protects your
>> warranty and requires them (the dealer and Ford) to repair the
>> problem.
>
>That is why I finally left it at the dealer -just before the warranty
>was up. But do I really have a "warranty trail" if they come back with
>a claim of "no trouble found?"
>

You should report the problem multiple times to establish your case
that the problem existed prior to warranty expiration.

Jeff Strickland wrote:
> "C. E. White" > wrote in message
> ...
>> I have a 2009 F150. The truck just turned 35,963 miles (i.e., bumper to
>> bumper warranty is all but up). The truck is 15 months old. For at least
>> the last 10 months, I keep getting a message that says "Tire Pressure
>> Sensor Fault." When I get this fault, the tire pressure warning light blink
>> about 18 times and then goes solid. It irritates the heck out of me. This
>> is not the same as a low tire pressure warning. This is a warning that
>> indicates there is a problem with a tire pressure snesor, but provides no
>> indication of which sensor (at least to me). It is not a consistent
>> problem. I can go weeks without seeing it. It can come on, stay on for a
>> hundred miles and then go off. When I first saw the fault indication, I
>> called the dealer. They told me to bring it in when the fault was
>> indicated. Of course the fault was never "active" when I went anywhere near
>> the dealer until yesterday. It finally was on when I arrived at the dealer.
>> Of course it was Sunday, so the dealer was closed. I abandoned the truck at
>> the over night drop off in hopes it would still be "bad" today. So far I
>> have not heard anything. I am not hopeful.
>>
>> Has anyone else had this sort of problem? My truck has the valve stem type
>> sensors. I've had one flat fixed, and one tire replaced (with the OE tire
>> originally mounted on the plain spare tire rim - the spare tie does not
>> have a sensor). The sensor failure occured randomly before and after these
>> tire changes.
>>
>> I have a theory - As a part of typical dealer scamology, my truck had the
>> tires filled with nitrogen. I actually watched the process. The hooked all
>> four tires to a machine that sucked the tires flat and then pumped them up
>> with nitrogen (well ~96% nitrogen instead of the usual 80% - what a SCAM).
>> I think this was a horrible idea. I think there is a good chance that
>> this stupidity damaged one or more sensors. I doubt they are designed to
>> be exposed to a vacuum. How likely is it that the dealer damaged a sensor
>> in an attempt to scam another $30 out of me for this nitrogen nonsense?
>>
>> Ed
>>
>>
>>
>
> YOU PAID $30 FOR NITROGEN?!
>
> Sorry dude, but they see suckers coming for miles.
>
> 1.) There is no reason to suck the air out, just remove the valve stems and
> let the air drain to atmospheric pressure. The few molecules of air that
> remain are not going to affect the $30 worth of nitrogen you bought.
>
> 2.) Nitrogen is a scam, almost as bad as the Nigerian lawyer that sent you
> details on how to collect your uncle's inheretance from the oil company
> after he drove off a cliff last weekend.

It's not a total scam. The tire pressure will remain more constant than
if you use air, because of the water vapor in air. Thing is that if you
use nitrogen, the difference between that and air is very little when it
comes to real life performance unless you race the truck and exact tire
pressure is critical, like it is for NASCAr vehicles. For the common
truck and car, it hardly makes a difference.

While it's not a total scam, it is a waste of the energy needed to get
rid of the oxygen and other gases in air (other than, of course, nitrogen).

Jeff

> 3.) There's no way to tell if sucking the air out of the tires did anything
> to the sensors, but if they did it at the stealership, it ought to be okay.
>
>
>
>
>
>

"dr_jeff" > wrote in message ...
> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>> "C. E. White" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> I have a 2009 F150. The truck just turned 35,963 miles (i.e., bumper to
>>> bumper warranty is all but up). The truck is 15 months old. For at least
>>> the last 10 months, I keep getting a message that says "Tire Pressure
>>> Sensor Fault." When I get this fault, the tire pressure warning light
>>> blink about 18 times and then goes solid. It irritates the heck out of
>>> me. This is not the same as a low tire pressure warning. This is a
>>> warning that indicates there is a problem with a tire pressure snesor,
>>> but provides no indication of which sensor (at least to me). It is not a
>>> consistent problem. I can go weeks without seeing it. It can come on,
>>> stay on for a hundred miles and then go off. When I first saw the fault
>>> indication, I called the dealer. They told me to bring it in when the
>>> fault was indicated. Of course the fault was never "active" when I went
>>> anywhere near the dealer until yesterday. It finally was on when I
>>> arrived at the dealer. Of course it was Sunday, so the dealer was
>>> closed. I abandoned the truck at the over night drop off in hopes it
>>> would still be "bad" today. So far I have not heard anything. I am not
>>> hopeful.
>>>
>>> Has anyone else had this sort of problem? My truck has the valve stem
>>> type sensors. I've had one flat fixed, and one tire replaced (with the
>>> OE tire originally mounted on the plain spare tire rim - the spare tie
>>> does not have a sensor). The sensor failure occured randomly before and
>>> after these tire changes.
>>>
>>> I have a theory - As a part of typical dealer scamology, my truck had
>>> the tires filled with nitrogen. I actually watched the process. The
>>> hooked all four tires to a machine that sucked the tires flat and then
>>> pumped them up with nitrogen (well ~96% nitrogen instead of the usual
>>> 80% - what a SCAM). I think this was a horrible idea. I think there is
>>> a good chance that this stupidity damaged one or more sensors. I doubt
>>> they are designed to be exposed to a vacuum. How likely is it that the
>>> dealer damaged a sensor in an attempt to scam another $30 out of me for
>>> this nitrogen nonsense?
>>>
>>> Ed
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> YOU PAID $30 FOR NITROGEN?!
>>
>> Sorry dude, but they see suckers coming for miles.
>>
>> 1.) There is no reason to suck the air out, just remove the valve stems
>> and let the air drain to atmospheric pressure. The few molecules of air
>> that remain are not going to affect the $30 worth of nitrogen you bought.
>>
>> 2.) Nitrogen is a scam, almost as bad as the Nigerian lawyer that sent
>> you details on how to collect your uncle's inheretance from the oil
>> company after he drove off a cliff last weekend.
>
> It's not a total scam. The tire pressure will remain more constant than if
> you use air, because of the water vapor in air. Thing is that if you use
> nitrogen, the difference between that and air is very little when it comes
> to real life performance unless you race the truck and exact tire pressure
> is critical, like it is for NASCAr vehicles. For the common truck and car,
> it hardly makes a difference.
>
> While it's not a total scam, it is a waste of the energy needed to get rid
> of the oxygen and other gases in air (other than, of course, nitrogen).
>
> Jeff
>

Nitrogen is a scam. Period.

The scam is diminished when nitrogen is put in for FREE. Period.

There is NO benefit to private automobiles to have tires filled with
nitrogen. Mostly because 1.) we pay very little attention to our tires, and
2.) because we go to the gas station and fill our tires after we notice they
are low. I suppose your argument is the benefit of nitrogen comes from the
notion that we pay so little attention to our tires. But forstalling the
need to refill tires from time to time is not worth the cost of the
nitrogen, unless it's free.

As for NASCAR, and what they may or may not do -- there is very little
comparison in the way they operate an automobile and how you and I operate
an automobile. They can put solid gold into a tire if htey want, and find a
way to justify it.

As a practical matter, mere mortals like you and I shouldn't care whether
the tires are filled with air or nitrogen, and we CERTAINLY should not PAY
for having nitrogen put in. If the tire company wants ot put in nitrogen and
do it for free, there is certainly no reason to object. But if they come out
and say, "we put in nitrogen, and it's gonna cost an extra dollar," then
refuse the service because it's not worth a dollar. Indeed, at a dollar, it
costs precisely a dollar more than it's worth.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

If a garage air system is adequately maintained, there should be little or
no moisture in the air delivered to the end of the hose. If there is any
possible danger of filling a tire with "wet" air, it will likely come from
some of the conveninece store type air dispensers that compress the air "as
you go".

Face it... how many people do you know that want moisture laden air passing
through their expensive air powered tools?