# Tire Pressure Dealer Screw-Up



## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

So I took my Cruze in for the oil change and tire rotations on Friday. My tires were all 38 psi cold (manual says 30 psi all around). Dealer obviously takes some pressure out. I drive the car it says 35 psi front, 37 psi rear cold. That's cool an all but I'm thinking.. Why the f---- is the dealer leaving so much more in the rear? So naturally because I'm anal I go to the gas station and start pumping up the front tires to even it out. No change. I put another $1.00 in and I then notice the rears are reading 44 psi!!! Oh no! Finally I realize that the air I'm putting into the fronts is actually showing up on the rears on my tire pressure monitor. Normally, I use my handheld monitor but it was really cold today and it usually isn't accurate on the low profile LTZ tires... So I ended up having to just take a crapton of air out of all 4 and it reads 34 all around.

Question is... did the tire rotation screw up the sensors or something? The front should not be registering as the rear #s!!!! -_-. They don't even use that rotation pattern!


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

After rotation the computer has to be reset to determine where each tire is. There is information about resetting the tires using the TPMS tool. Deflating the tires and re inflating the tires does the same thing and then resetting on the dash. Search for posts about the TPMS tool and I believe "vetterin" asked the same question just recently. Do a search on TPMS tool or rematching the tires after rotation or by "vetterin" This problem has been discussed already


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

**** dealer. Why the f---- didn't they do this? What am I paying them for -_-


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## CHUV (Jun 25, 2011)

my dealer forgot to do this too.... or they were too lazy to do it... or they didn't know how... or all three...


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

70AARCUDA said:


> ...take it back and have THEM correct the problem, ie: _"...do it RIGHT, this time..."_


I certainly will. Unfortunately I'm back in NY on spring break. See I had to get an RS badge ordered because the decal on the left one peeled off. So I'll have *another* chevy dealer back near school do it when they install these. Ahhhh.. Warranty


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## CHUV (Jun 25, 2011)

my red decal peeled off as well... i liked it better in silver so i peeled the other one off myself lol


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## EcoTec (Mar 9, 2012)

ErikBEggs said:


> Ahhhh.. Warranty



i feel the same way lol


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

I don't really use TPMS to narrow a certain tire's pressure. I set them all to be the same and rely on TPMS to tell me if one of them is significantly low. At that point, I have to get out of the car anyway, and I'll be able to visually identify the one that's low. I also keep a good tire pressure gauge in my glove compartment.


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## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

Same thing happened to me, although the left tires read 36, the back right read 35, and the right front tire read 34.

Si I just went to the gas station and re-set them myself. Its doesn't really take that long to correct.


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

XtremeRevolution said:


> I don't really use TPMS to narrow a certain tire's pressure. I set them all to be the same and rely on TPMS to tell me if one of them is significantly low. At that point, I have to get out of the car anyway, and I'll be able to visually identify the one that's low. I also keep a good tire pressure gauge in my glove compartment.


I don't know what it is with the low profile tires but my handheld gauge reads 3 psi higher than what the TPMS reads. It's always been that way -_-


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

ErikBEggs said:


> I don't know what it is with the low profile tires but my handheld gauge reads 3 psi higher than what the TPMS reads. It's always been that way -_-


TPMS isn't too horribly accurate. My tire pressure gauge consistently reads 1-2psi lower than what TPMS reads. I assume you've tried a different gauge?


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

OP, if the dealer was dumb enough to NOT reset your TPMS I would, just for peace of mind, recheck your oil level too as some of these dealer service techs could be coming from Jiffy Lube.


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## NOONZ662 (Apr 2, 2012)

When I drove my car I thought, good road feel, then I realized I was feeling everything I rode over. Tire pressure was @40psi thought with a W rated tire they jacked up the air pressure. Car was a little skittery at speed in turns. So I checked the door opening sticker for tire rating and pressures, dropped to 30 psi(recommended) much nicer ride and handles much better. Apparently someone forgot to correct the air before delivery. The factory leaves the pressure high to prevent flat spots if sitting for too long. Now if I can figure out how to get my car to approach the "W" speed rating I'll be flying.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

NOONZ662 said:


> When I drove my car I thought, good road feel, then I realized I was feeling everything I rode over. Tire pressure was @40psi thought with a W rated tire they jacked up the air pressure. Car was a little skittery at speed in turns. So I checked the door opening sticker for tire rating and pressures, dropped to 30 psi(recommended) much nicer ride and handles much better. Apparently someone forgot to correct the air before delivery. The factory leaves the pressure high to prevent flat spots if sitting for too long. Now if I can figure out how to get my car to approach the "W" speed rating I'll be flying.


Your car actually handles better with higher pressure in your tires. The sidewall doesn't flex as much, which makes the car more predictable and allows you to maneuver better in emergency situations. Comfort is indeed compromised, but I wouldn't go quite down to 30psi. That's a bit low for even me. I'd bump that to 32 or 34.


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## msz2012 (Nov 24, 2011)

They certainly forgot to match the sensors to the tire/wheels. The TPMS sensors can also be matched to each tire/wheel position by increasing or decreasing the tire’s air pressure. Personally, I start this procedure by inflating the tires to the maximum as shown on the sidewalls. You will see why when you do the matching process. Also, if a horn chirp does not sound after 35 seconds for any of the 4 sensors, turn the ignition OFF to exit the learn mode and repeat the procedure from step 1.

1. Set the parking brake.
2. Turn the key to run (do not start the car).
3. Using the control on the stalk, press the menu button to get to your tire pressure readings.
4. Press clear to reset. Your horn should chirp twice.
5. You have 2 minutes to match the first tire/wheel position and 5 minutes to complete the procedure.
6. Start with the driver side (left) front tire. Deflate the pressure until the horn chirps. Yes, the pressure will get really low, which is why I inflate to max before I start. Also, it takes a few seconds for the system to catch up.
7. Move the to passenger side front tire. Repeat.
8. Move to the passenger side rear tire. Repeat.
9. Finish with the driver side rear tire. When complete, the horn will sound twice.
10. Refill your tires to whatever pressure you run (I'm staying away from this one).

One thing that I noticed happened to me twice is that when I got done, the Engine light came on. However, after driving the car, it turned itself off. Not sure what causes this. Also, I noticed that when the engine light was on, the remote start did not work. Again, it resolved itself with no issues.

Hope this helps.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

You should make a new thread for this in the "How-to" section. Very good information for those of us who rotate our own tires and want the DIC to reflect each tire location accurately.


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