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tpms light

Fizz

New member
Hi all-

I have a 2010 GTI, about 35k miles. 12 days ago, i had new tires installed. All seemed fine until 3 days ago. That morning i set off for work and the tire pressure warning light was flashing at me. A minute later, it stayed solid. Reading the manual, this behavior suggests that the tpms system has some sort of malfunction.

I went back to the place that installed the tires. They had no idea. So today i took it to the dealer. They first tried pressing a button in the glove box- no effect. They then looked and they suspected one of the sensors was damaged during the installation, and they'd have to take off all the tires and replace the damaged sensor- this would cost $300!

Now, if the sensor was damaged, why did i not get a warning light for 10 days? On the other hand, it does seem awfully coincidental time-wise.


So i was hoping to get input from other GTI owners about this and figure out if i'm going to have to bite that $300 bullet.

Thanks in advance!


-Fizz
 

michal

Go Kart Champion
A 2010 does not have any TPMS button in the glove box so I have no idea how they were trying to reset it. In addition if the tpms light comes on blinking for 1 minutes then stays solid, it's the software issue and the module needs to be reflashed by your dealer (it was a TSB for this IIRC) If it's not blinking and just stays solid all the time it's probably one of your sensors. I do not why they had to replace your sensors. IMO it was the software related issue.

I got the same problem a few months after I bought my GTI. It was reflashed by my dealer.
 

mmmoose

Ready to race!
The TPMS light flashing indicates a communication problem with one of the sensors. This sometimes means that one of your TPMS batteries is getting low. I had the same thing happen to my '08 Rabbit before. Unfortunately the solution involves finding the offending sensor and replacing the unit completely, since the batteries aren't designed to be easily swappable.

Unless you need to pass state inspection soon I wouldn't worry about it. Give it a few days to see if it goes away on its own. It's not something that needs to be urgently replaced. So if it does end up being a single sensor dying, you can at least buy yourself some time to save up a little money for a new one. ECS Tuning actually runs a sale on them from time to time. At one point they knocked the price down to something like $46.
 

Fizz

New member
A 2010 does not have any TPMS button in the glove box so I have no idea how they were trying to reset it.

I had heard this too, but it's definitely a 2010, and there is definitely some sort of round rubber button in the top left inside of the glove box. Unless that's just a button for the glove box light, but i'd hope a dealer would be more knowledgeable than that.

if the tpms light comes on blinking for 1 minutes then stays solid, it's the software issue and the module needs to be reflashed by your dealer (it was a TSB for this IIRC)

Yes, this is what it is doing. The manual is very unspecific and says to take it to the dealer. Heh. Reflashing certainly sounds better than $300, so i may ask them about that.

Unless you need to pass state inspection soon I wouldn't worry about it. Give it a few days to see if it goes away on its own.

Yeah, no urgency on it, everything else about the car feels fine. Just that darned annoying light. :)

I'd read other threads suggesting that new tires can cause the sensors to need to re-adjust since the rotation of the new tires may be slightly different to the old. I've no idea if that applies here, but i guess it's another good reason to give it some time to see if anything changes.


-Fizz
 

DekeTurbo

Ready to race!
I had this issue on my Mini cooper. Come to find out that the when I didn't have the tire valve covered (where you fill with air) it would trip the sensor. Especially if it got a little corroded. Once I cleaned them up a bit, filled the tire to proper pressure and put on the covers that were lost the light went out. Not sure if it's the same on the GTI but it couldn't hurt. I've made sure that my GTI has all the covers on tight and I haven't had a trip of the sensor yet.

-DT
 

AccelaSX

Ready to race!
I thought that MK6 do not have standard TPMS sensors in the wheels. The reading is done by ABS sensors when car rolls. I have 2012 and that’s what I have. Aren't all MK6 GTIs are the same?
Also the TPMS reset button is in glove box. It’s at the top, so you cannot see it when open glove box from the driver’s side.
My nephew has 2012 GTI as well and he had similar issue. I was able to resolve it by clearing the fault code using VCDS.
 

DekeTurbo

Ready to race!
I could be completely wrong... I'm still learning about my GTI and all the systems. I still haven't even gotten through the owners manual yet. I'm just making assumptions so if I confuse I apologize.

-DT
 

Modshack1

Go Kart Champion
I thought that MK6 do not have standard TPMS sensors in the wheels. The reading is done by ABS sensors when car rolls. I have 2012 and that’s what I have.

That change happened with the 2011 model year..
 

Cabriolet

Passed Driver's Ed
You have a 2010 model which still used the wheel senors. If you know someone with a VagCom unit you can change the system to operate off the ABS system. It only takes a few minutes to change it over. I did it on my 2009 TDI a few years ago. Of course you will have to install the above mentioned button in mthe glove box but that only costs a few dollars on EBay.
 
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