Well my TPS sensor went off on my left rear tire...

So I thought I had a flat, and went and grabbed my manual tire pressure gadge from track kit. Guess what....

My tire was down to 24psi, so I checked the rest...

Left Front- 26psi
Right Front- 26psi
Left Rear- 42psi
and of course my Left Rear was 24psi

So at first before I hit the 42psi left rear I thought crap, I have 3 flats.... But when I hit the left rear I knew the truth...

My Mini was delivered new 2200 miles ago with underinflated tires and one over inflated tire (manual and door says 38psi). THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE and they dealer did have the car back for an oil change, but I guess they just trust the TPS system so they don't even bother checking the actual tire pressure.

Apparently what ever the tires have in them when they setup the car is what it thinks the norm is even if it's wrong.

If I didn't have a tire that went down 2psi, then I chanced messing up my tires by having them underinflated or heaven forbid an accident over this....

BTW: This happened yesterday and I filled the tires up to the correct 38psi for all 4 and everthing is still perfect and the car rides much much better.

 

Don't let the air out, that's UK air

Glad everyone is safe. That's one of the first thing you should check. I had over40psi in all of my tires when I bought my Jeep. Since Jeeps sit longer they over fill the tires so they prevent flat spots.

 

I've found the metal stem valves are significantly more prone to leaking air than the ole-fashioned rubber stems. The metal stems must be torqued to a specific torque [which is a very small torque value], and even then it takes several days for the tiny rubber grommets to seat against the wheels. This means that in the first few days of the tires being mounted, even if they leave the supplier with the correct pressure, I can confidently assure you they will not arrive at the dealership with the same pressures unless someone has checked them [which is not likely!]

Bottom line; check your tire pressures before leaving the dealership to ensure they're the pressure you prefer or is recommended.

 

Your right, and the worst part is I knew better and should have done it as I have on every other car I ever bought when I left the dealer. This is my 1st car which is supposed to "check" it for you so I guess I had skipped it. My Bad, but their worse than bad...

 

And don't trust the TPS until you check the pressure manually then reset it because it's a dumb idiot light as I found out.

 

When I went to a tire shop recently to mount new tires I saw a handful of TPS's sitting on the counter that had all failed for various reasons. I asked about it and he was talking about how numerous ones have been in that have failed or been damaged from something basic. Boy I am sure glad i missed those pieces of junk by a month. Good thing our government is hard at work mandating pointless things that will probably add at least 100$ to your next set of tire