If you have a 2008 Mazda 3 and it seems like you have a overly sensitive or completely broken tire pressure monitoring system, you’re not alone.
Mine warns me about once a month that I have a tire pressure issue and should check it immediately. Tires are important, so I drive to the next exit (the issue is most common on the highway), find an air compressor if possible, and test the tires with a pressure gauge. They are almost always fine. The one time they weren’t, I took the car to a local MONRO and the service guy replaced the sensor with a regular valve, then handed me the pieces of the fancy sensor.
The dealer has been an extremely good sport about these sensors, I think they replaced one or two of them for free, but I paid $120+ for the last replacement. It seems I’ll need another new one soon. Sadly, I have no idea which sensor is complaining. Two are shiny, two aren’t. Who knows.
Please report any issues you have at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/. This is important for two reasons - first, some people, particularly new drivers, react poorly to flashing warning lights. Panicking and pulling over on the highway is dangerous. Second, if enough people report their tire pressure sensors are unreliable, a recall may be issued and we can all get new tire pressure monitors.
I had my last car for 17 years. In all that time, I had one genuine tire issue, which was resolved by frequently pumping up the tire until it could be replaced. That doesn’t count the time I hit a curb, bent two wheels and flattened one tire. We’re just not going to discuss that.
Note: After careful inspection and diagnosis, the recommendation from the dealer was to remove the EZPass from the car. Googling yielded many instances of suspected interference between EZPass and tire pressure monitoring systems. I haven’t had a chance to test the theory yet, but will post back after a month or two.
It’s been a month or so.
The tire light hasn’t come back on. I went to the EZPass office and asked if I could get an exterior transponder (or whatever it is called), since I’ve gotten several warnings as I fumble through the tolls. The very patient EZPass guy gave me some new Velcro for the windshield and told me to stick the little box closer to the dashboard, rather than behind the rearview mirror. So I did. The light hasn’t lit yet, I’m not getting scolded at the tolls, life is good.