Greetings from Japan! Recently bought my first MINI. Finally!
Got it from a knowledgeable and trustworthy (I believe) expat so I have confidence that it is as advertised.
However, one of the issues he alerted me to that I would like to resolve is the TPMS light.
He replaced the run flats with standard tires as many have done and since then the light has come on and remained on.
Now in most cases I understand it just needs to be reset, however, it is not blinking, it is on all the time and cannot be reset.
Any thoughts? He told me the sensor is bad and needs to be replaced. In researching what that might mean I've become a bit confused.
Is there one sensor or are there 4, one for each tire? Is it a tire pressure sensor or ABS? By the way, this is a 2004 model.

Also, what are your thoughts on the iCarsoft (or similar) diagnostic tool? A worthwhile investment?

One last thing, the airbag warning light came on a couple of weeks ago. What does that mean and what should I do about it?

Unfortunately the manual is in Japanese which makes looking up info a bit difficult.
This site has already been a tremendous help with learning tips and tricks.
I was able to replace a burned out brake light bulb in less than 10 minutes.
I shudder the thought of what even the most minor repairs will cost me at my local dealer here. Hehe

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and help.

Cheers!

 

Welcome to NAM. Going to move you to the Stock Problems/Issues area.

How many miles on the car? You may have a bad wheel speed sensor as I see the tire and the DSC/ASC light on. On the airbag, your car may be subject of a recall, mine was. You can try the link below but it might not work on your side of the Pacific.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?gclid=...SAAEgK8r_D_BwE

 

press and hold the tpms reset button down by the parking brake

for airbag resets, get a copy of ista/d and the diagnostic cable, check bimmerfest for info on it and a link

 

Item # 0006 in the below thread will take to a site where you should be able to download an Owner's Manual in English.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...questions.html

 

1st gen MINI's do not use TPM sensors in the wheels to determine low air pressure . They use the wheel speed sensors for the ABS/traction control to compare the revolutions of the tires compared to the others.

Make sure all of the tire pressures are correct then try resetting the monitor with the button on the console. If I remember correctly, the light should turn off after driving a bit, not right after pushing the button.

 

Tried that but no go. I believe that's for a standard issue and the light will be blinking, but in this case it is on all the time. Thanks a lot though.

 

Thanks a lot! It's just shy of a 100,000 km so about 60,000 mi. Thanks for the tip on the airbag. I've been meaning to swing by my local dealer and introduce myself so this might be a good reason to.

 

Since resetting it hasn't worked is there a good chance one of the wheel speed sensors is bad? And if so, would a diagnostics tool sort out which one? Thanks!

 

No, that will cause more lights, the abs and tsc lights will all be on if a sensor or bearing sender is bad

Did you hold the button down?

 

Yes, I did. I held it for various lengths of time with no luck. I also reset the system using the odometer/tachometer button too.

 

A faulty steering angle sensor will cause the TPMS and traction control lights to stay on.

 

​​​​​​Any way to know for certain that's the problem?
Any experience with replacing it? Difficult? Expensive?

 

Is there any way to determine for certain that the steering angle sensor is the problem? And if so, is it difficult to replace?

 

Yeah use ista/d it'll tell you what is wrong and how to fix it