Tyre Pressure Indicator didn't go off and tyre damaged

[Maverick]

Yup, the Phaeton made a big deal of this.

I am pretty sure they abandoned the idea as it used to trip out all the time.

As the MFD used to be able to say "low pressure - right front" it made a huge mess when tyres were rotated etc. as the system needed to relearn where the tyres were on the car. It also meant if you changed a flat tyre the MFD would continue to show a fault after you repaired it.

The system on the phaeton is the same as the system fitted to all the VW's in the USA. The car doesn't need to relearn where the tyres were on the car as it has the pickup for each wheel sensor in the wheel well.

I think the R36 System relies on ABS sensors, to monitor wheel rotations. It does this over a long period of time, not just one rotation, as someone said there is flex in a tyre and it would go off every time you went around a corner or hit a bump.

It is not a failsafe system. Nothing replaces the need to regularly check tyre pressures and fluid levels in your car.

Many forget this and leave it to the dealer to do it once a year

I have some more detail on the two TPMS system here

[richdave]

So which of your statements is untrue ?

Umm... I was taking the piss with the first post...

[rotelman]

The TPMS should have alerted the driver no matter how fast the leak happened though I can't see how the alert would have made any difference as it sounds like the tyre went flat immediately. Mine worked perfectly alerting me minutes after I hit a pothole that the tyre pressure had dropped. In Sylvester's case checking tyres regularly would have made no difference .

I think the TPMS is giving the driver a false sense of security. I just had a flat (rear)after the side wall was punctured badly. I heard the "PSSSSS" as I had the windows down. I drove probably 200m before I could pull in off the busy road to check. Driving in a straight line at 60kmh I could not tell it was completley flat.

TPMS did not go off. If I had the Radio cranked up then I may have kept driving. I had previously set the tyre pressures and TPMS only a couple of weeks ago. ABS originated TPMS are crapola! Beware!

[KWICKS]

My wife got a flat, the TPMS did not alarm. She changed the tyre and drove off. It alarmed after a while. She pulled over, RTFM, reset the TPMS and continued on her way.

Was this too much for the OP?

What is of more concern is the alarming regularity of flat tyres experienced by VW owners. I haven't had more than 1 flat in my family in a decade, here there are many regularly. Go whinge about the choice of tyre and unsuitability rather than the TPMS?

[Gravey]

Exactly rotelman, however most gadgets in new cars these days are marketed as 'driver assistance' devices, not as a safety device, this is to cover the manufacturers in the event the device fails and someone complains that "ESP failed and I crashed in the wet as a result" - the driver still needs to drive to the conditions. In the same way there is still a need for the driver to check their tyres and you shouldnt rely on the oil indicator to tell you when your oil is low (what if it fails?).
Most people should realise this.
Before an operator operates a forklift at work they have to go through a checklist, this happens every shift. Then you have people who cary a lot more valuable cargo (family)than the forks at work in their cars and dont check them at all between services!

[tryingavw]

Exactly rotelman, however most gadgets in new cars these days are marketed as 'driver assistance' devices, not as a safety device, this is to cover the manufacturers in the event the device fails and someone complains that "ESP failed and I crashed in the wet as a result" - the driver still needs to drive to the conditions. In the same way there is still

BMW manuals have a classic comment alongside the ABS ESP etc: "note that the laws of physics still apply...."

[vanDub]

Coming in late but I had my TPMS set some time previously and did a 5 wheel rotation which put the spare on the road. My spare was some 10PSI higher than the tyre it replaced.

With no leaks etc it took the system about 3 days and 30-40 Km of driving before it recognised that the original spare was not the same pressure as the one it replaced and trigger a warning. I know that this case is one of higher pressure but I believe it's the same for lower pressures. The system needs a fair amount of driving to establish that a wheel/tyre has changed from when the TPMS was last set.

Remember that tyre diameter changes with pressure variations (and the resulting rotational speed changes that the system monitors) are very small indeed.