I have a 2006 R53 S hatch 6 speed.

My low tire light is on.
I know I don't have TPMS sensors in the wheels but what actually reads the pressure? How does it work?

I have aired all the tires to 40psi, tried to reset the light with the button but it never lights up.
I cannot get rid of this damn light.

I took all of the wheels off to inspect everything and I don't see anything broken .

 

The Gen1s use the wheel speed sensor. There are some OBD2 scanners that that monitor the sensors and tell you which one is most likely bad.

Moving you to the Stock Problem/Issues area.

 

Where is the wheel speed sensor?

Is it behind the top of the hub?
How do you know if it is bad?

Is there any way to bypass this system and remove the light from the dash?

I don't even want the tire pressure checked. i can do that manually.

 

An actual BMW code read can tell you which one.

Otherwise https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post3630892

And it doesnt actually check pressure at all. It measures each wheels speed in relation to the others. If you were to put one tire on that is larger or smaller in diameter it would throw the light. If one wheel happens to be moving faster than the others it assumes it is low and gives the light.

They are located behind the spindle area on top of the hub, yes. They also get incredibly dirty / rusty. You may try getting in there and cleaning it up.

 

are you holding the button for a bit?

as I recall you hold until it flashes the light indicating it is in 'retrain mode'

then after you drive a bit the system us finally reset ...

from the owner's manual, FLAT TIRE MONITOR, INITIALIZING THE SYSTEM:

Initialization is completed while you
are driving, but you can stop the car
at any time. Initialization is automatically
continued when you continue driving. Do
not initialize the system if you are driving
with snow chains or a space-saver spare
tire.<
1. Before a journey, start the engine, but do
not start driving.
2. Press the button until the indicator lamp
in the display elements lights up in yellow
for several seconds.
3. Drive off.
Initialization is completed during the
drive, without any feedback issued.

 

I held it for about a minute at the longest.
nothing ever flashed.

The button by the emergency brake correct? It is supposed to light up or flash? It never did.



i followed those directions but the light never lights up.

 

There is no light on the button under the parking brake. Watch the yellow TPMS dash light as you push the button under the parking brake. It should start flashing after a few seconds of holding it. The light will go out as you drive.

 

My owner's manual ('04 R53) says hold the button (yes, the one underneath the parking brake handle) down while starting the car, keep it depressed until the various dash lights have turned off as they normally do, and then start driving, and the light will go off once the system has established that there are no wheel-speed mismatches.

I once had a similar problem - all four wheels were properly inflated, but no matter how many times I tried to reset the system, the light WOULD NOT GO OUT. Dealer finally traced it to a failed reset switch, which of course would explain your problem perfectly....but after I tracked down a used switch (cheap, but surprisingly hard to find) and went to install it, I found the problem wasn't actually the switch itself....it was simply that a wire had come loose from the switch . So I would definitely recommend getting into the parking-brake housing and making sure the switch is still connected....fixes don't get much cheaper than that.

 

I, too, had that happen on my 2006 Mini Cooper S. Tires were fine. Luckily, I called a Mini Coop dealership and talked with a Service Rep - (How very kind of him!) He told me to remove plate from Ebrake location - pull out and use alcohol to clean button, which I did. Was able to re-set and TPMS light off after following instructions above.

 

I put new tires on, new valve stems, psi set to 40 on all.

Replaced the hubs and saw nothing broken.
Still cannot reset the TPMS.


I will try to clean the button.