Tyre pressures

[WelshGas]

Thanks for your response
It was the other side of the vehicle on the way up which I put down to the side facing the sun at the time. But I only thought this after it changed sides on the way back yesterday. My route through mid-Wales is a diagonal straight line most of the way. These tyres haven't been used in hot weather before, we got the van at the end of September and the winter tyres went on at the end of November. They are Continental 215/60R17C Load range D

Does it operate when it reads above and below the set pressures? I suppose if is measuring rotational speed then it must do as the rotational speed must change in both cases. But I can't understand why a relatively low external air temperature, 20C, would set it off when you were at 35C+ last year.
The article suggests that the temperature rises but quite a lot over a journey on hot roads with high air temperature.

I think it will alarm based on the difference between highest and lowest rotational speed so this will relate to highest and lowest pressures inversely.
You might get false positives in some circumstances but rarely false negatives.

What size tyres/wheels have you got.

I have 17" running 235/55 with 44psi all round. A 4Motion.

 

[SimonB]

I'm running on Continental 17" 215/ 60R17C Load range D at 54psi front & 52 rear
I'm assuming the sticker is from a Caravelle or similar as the loaded picture is 5 adults and an Ocean or SE only holds 4.

 

[Bellcrew]

I'm running on Continental 17" 215/ 60R17C Load range D at 54psi front & 52 rear
I'm assuming the sticker is from a Caravelle or similar as the loaded picture is 5 adults and an Ocean or SE only holds 4.
View attachment 32867

All none four wheel drive Oceans can carry five people if the the extra seat is fitted.

 

[Loz]

I had the same warning last week as I drove home from the station the Sun had been on 3 of the tyres but not the left rear as that was shaded all day. Its a tad annoying but as WG mentioned above the system is using an average rotation speed of all the wheels based on the last SET point.

I guessed it was this as I was driving when the message Loss of pressure, Check Left Rear came up. When I got home I checked all the pressures and they were all now the same to I just reset the TPMS so that it will store the the settings again and clear the light.

 

[SimonB]

Thanks @Loz . Did you change the van settings to make yours tell you which wheel it was or does it do that as part of the 4 motion package? Mine doesn't give a specific tyre to check.

 

[Loz]

Thanks @Loz . Did you change the van settings to make yours tell you which wheel it was or does it do that as part of the 4 motion package? Mine doesn't give a specific tyre to check.

It does tell you which wheel but only once..

 

[SimonB]

I thought I was imagining that. I saw it once when I first put the winter wheels on and it told me which one was not at the correct pressure, but never done it since. Is it something that can be replicated?

 

[Loz]

I thought I was imagining that. I saw it once when I first put the winter wheels on and it told me which one was not at the correct pressure, but never done it since. Is it something that can be replicated?

I forgot to check the menus, but select vehicle status and see if it pops back up?

 

[motacyclist]

On the several vans we've had, the warning has come up fairly regularly and the pressures have always been ok. I came to the conclusion that the purpose of the alarm going off is to make you go and check the pressures! This impression was reinforced when it went off in our current van at exactly 1000 miles after it left the dealer.

No doubt it will also go off when there is a genuine reason.

 

[WelshGas]

False Positives are Not uncommon, but rarely False Negatives.

 

[SimonB]

Thanks so much,sorry to be so dim,it’s nice to know what we’ve got at last,we’ve just gone on our first trip,weather awful but getting used to the van

Don't worry, there's a lot to take in and the manuals are not the easiest things to read.
If you are around over the weekend of 15 - 17th of June come to the Devon Meet. I can promise you a warm welcome and you will meet lots of people who are very happy to help by answering questions, giving tips and advice that have helped them when they started out.
Our first " Cali gathering" was a day meet at a riverside pub near Tewksbury in November 2015. We met so many people, learned so much that we decided to stay overnight. We haven't looked back.
Simon

 

[Erbster]

I’ve started getting the tyre alarm going off for rear o/s tyre. Checked pressure twice and there was no pressure loss. Now I just cancel the warning. I’ll need to take it to the dealer, I guess.


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[T6 CFO]

I’ve started getting the tyre alarm going off for rear o/s tyre. Checked pressure twice and there was no pressure loss. Now I just cancel the warning. I’ll need to take it to the dealer, I guess.


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I’m guessing you’ve done the reset ?


Mike

 

[TripleBee]

I put my tyres to the max the tyre tells me: 3,9 bar.
As the California is already 600kg heavier when empty, I think it is already almost fully loaded, so full load pressure. That would be 3,5 bar. But the tyres start loosing pressure from the moment you start driving, I get the max pressure these tyres may hold fromt the manufacturer: 3,95.

I have 2015/65R16 102/100 H. It is harder to drive (not like in difficult), but the wear is more even.

 

[SimonB]

I’ve started getting the tyre alarm going off for rear o/s tyre. Checked pressure twice and there was no pressure loss. Now I just cancel the warning. I’ll need to take it to the dealer, I guess.


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If you put this into Google "site:vwcaliforniaclub.com tyre pressure warning" you will get a lot of links to previous threads on this subject. The warning light can come on for a number of reasons. The ABS system measures the rotational speed of the wheels and if it varies by + or - 10% of the pressure it was last set at, the light comes on. So, for example, if there is a very heavy load in the rear which compresses the tyres, though the pressure is the same that could set the warning. Also really hot days when you leave the van in the sun and the tyres get hot on one side.
Go to a garage and check all 4 wheel pressure, when they are correct reset the tyre pressure warning. Do you have a multi function steering wheel as it is very easy to do on that. Instructions are well laid out in the threads above.
Hope this helps
Simon

 

[Erbster]

If you put this into Google "site:vwcaliforniaclub.com tyre pressure warning" you will get a lot of links to previous threads on this subject. The warning light can come on for a number of reasons. The ABS system measures the rotational speed of the wheels and if it varies by + or - 10% of the pressure it was last set at, the light comes on. So, for example, if there is a very heavy load in the rear which compresses the tyres, though the pressure is the same that could set the warning. Also really hot days when you leave the van in the sun and the tyres get hot on one side.
Go to a garage and check all 4 wheel pressure, when they are correct reset the tyre pressure warning. Do you have a multi function steering wheel as it is very easy to do on that. Instructions are well laid out in the threads above.
Hope this helps
Simon

Thanks Simon. I wasn’t clear in my post. I have read the other threads about how the monitoring system works and have twice checked the pressure of all the tyres and reset using the mfd. I think I might have a fault.

I have set the tyre pressure at the “heavy load” pressures, however I had been driving for a while and the tyres were warm when checked the first time, which might have made a difference? The second time I had driven only a short distance before checking (pressure ok) and resetting. The warning has gone off twice since.


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[altvic]

Puncture? I say this as I had a similar issue. No obvious puncture but alarm goes off while pressures remained same. What I eventually discovered was a large nail had pierced the inner wall and stayed in place keeping air pressure static BUT there was a large hidden ballooning of the inside wall. I remembered WG’s explanation of tyre diameter and tyre pressure measures- the ballooning altered the rolling distance. New tyre required and pressures indicator static since. This is my theory / explanation

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks Simon. I wasn’t clear in my post. I have read the other threads about how the monitoring system works and have twice checked the pressure of all the tyres and reset using the mfd. I think I might have a fault.

I have set the tyre pressure at the “heavy load” pressures, however I had been driving for a while and the tyres were warm when checked the first time, which might have made a difference? The second time I had driven only a short distance before checking (pressure ok) and resetting. The warning has gone off twice since.


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Doesn’t matter how far you drive or how hot the day is. The system looks at the difference in Rotational speeds between the wheels. Following a Reset, when you start driving the system calibrates over the following 10 mins or so. It does not in fact measure the pressures but the Rotational speed. A tyre with lower pressure than the others will have a different diameter/circumference and so will do more rotations for a given distance and so produce an alarm. As tyres heat up or cool down the diameter alters but tends to produce the same % change across all tyres so no alarm.

 

[Littlesoldier]

Looking for some advice on tyre pressures.
My cali is fitted with 275 35 r20 's
I'm travelling to Normandy with 5 adults on board plus kit. Any ideas on what pressure I should use?
I've been think8ng maybe 42psi ?

 

[TripleBee]

Looking for some advice on tyre pressures.
My cali is fitted with 275 35 r20 's
I'm travelling to Normandy with 5 adults on board plus kit. Any ideas on what pressure I should use?
I've been think8ng maybe 42psi ?

What does the sticker in the door sil states for that tyre dimension?
My 215/65/16 tyres need to be at 3,5 bar (~51psi).

 

[WelshGas]

What does the sticker in the door sil states for that tyre dimension?
My 215/65/16 tyres need to be at 3,5 bar (~51psi).

20" wheels are not VW standard for the Transporter/California , at least in the UK , so won't appear on the sticker.

 

[pluc99]

Looking for some advice on tyre pressures.
My cali is fitted with 275 35 r20 's
I'm travelling to Normandy with 5 adults on board plus kit. Any ideas on what pressure I should use?
I've been think8ng maybe 42psi ?

42 psi sounds reasonable as per google. Is there anything written on the tire itself and/or what does the tire manufacturer give as min/max values?

 

[Littlesoldier]

Thanks! Max load on the tire wall is 50 psi

 

[temporarysecretary]

Looking for some advice on tyre pressures.
My cali is fitted with 275 35 r20 's
I'm travelling to Normandy with 5 adults on board plus kit. Any ideas on what pressure I should use?
I've been think8ng maybe 42psi ?

You will tend to find more info regarding 20s on the T6 forum due to a higher % of modified/after market parts fitted to transporters compared to Californias.

There is a decent length thread here of which the consensus have been roughly 36-40PSI

20” Tyre Pressure

Hello all On 275/35 and 265/40 applications we’ve always gone with and recommended 40psi all round. Recently we’ve been experimenting with different pressures. We’ve had two t32 Kombi s running Bilsteins and 265/40, one on 36psi and the other on 40psi. Both have covered 12000 in a year. The...

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