LightEmUp

I think that's what it was when I started the car this morning. It was 27 degrees outside when I started it up, and the light stayed on for a good 10 minutes or so while I was driving. Will I be expecting this every morning since it gets pretty cold in North Dakota very early in the year. Any suggestions? I don't want to put more air in the tires since the air in the tires will expand once I drive for 10 minutes or so. My dash was a mess this morning! TCS completely disabled, tire pressure monitor on, headlights on. If you didn't know what those lights stood for, you would probably think something was wrong with the car!

Gord96BRG

The recommended tire pressures are cold pressures, ie before the car has moved. Yes, the tires will heat up and the pressure will increase, but they do that no matter what the initial ambient temperature is, and the pressure rise is fairly constant (ie if they heat up and the pressure rises 3 psi when it's 70F outside, they'll still only rise 3 psi when "hot" when it's 10F outside). You should always keep the cold pressure the same, which means adding air when the outside temperature has dropped significantly.

Regards,
Gordon

PS - how do you know that it wasn't just one tire that had low pressure? It's definitely advisable to pull out your pressure gauge and check each tire when the warning light comes on...

jtimbck2

You should definitely check the pressure in your tires when the light comes on. My tire pressure light came on one evening a couple weeks ago; I drove home by the time I got home the light had gone out. I checked the pressure the next morning (so I'd be checking "cold" pressure). Three of the tires were right at 32psi, the fourth was 27psi. So I pumped that one up to 32, and I've had no problems since.

miata2rx8

my light was on this morning, didnt have time to check, so took the backup vehicle- good news that it could have just been the cold weather. I'll put a gauge on it and confirm, though...

red_rx8_red_int

Yes, damn the cold weather. I left work and noticed the light was on while I was headed down a spiral ramp to leave the building garage. I was worried it could be serious so I went slowly to the closest gas station, 5-6 blocks away. After reading about people getting door dings and keyed, I always give the car a once over before I get in. But I don't check the tires, I will from now on, at least a cursory glance. It turned out to not be serious. Topped them all off using the built in gauge at the station. It was raining and I was in a hurry. When I got home I left the tires cool for a few hours and they were all at about 35-37. Took them all back to 32 and put a pressure guage in the car. Now I'm wondering if I waited long enough to get a true "cold" reading. I felt the tires and they felt room temp. I'll check one tomorrow morning before I leave.

sohcpunk

My tire pressue indicator lights have been constantly going on. I took the car back to the dealers and they said they fixed the problem and added free chrome valve stems ( they probably broke the old ones). But now they light up and blink instead after 10 mins of driving on the freeway. I think the reason why this is happening is because they added the chrome wheels to the car when it was on the lot and I told them to switch back to the stock ones, they probably messed it up somehow. So now I will bring it back to the dealer to get it check again. They seem pretty eager to get the car, the service guy said he'll give me a loaner car so they can drive my rx8 around but I hope they don't race the car around for fun.