Constant TPMS Error

[Un Gato Malodoro]

Anyone else getting this? I realize it's cold out on the east coast but then Germany isn't Dubai and the systems should be able to handle the cold. TPMS error lights up every few days. Car was just in for service and I've performed a reset and put air in the tires just to be safe. Very annoying.

[avlnch]

If its an intermittent issue:
Check your tire pressures on the iDrive screen next time you get an error. You should be able to see what tire is malfunctioning - it's then probably a bad TPMS sensor for that wheel or wheels.

If it's a constant issue:
If you had new wheels or tires installed recently, make sure they installed the TPMS sensors.

Or just bring it to a dealer to have the TPMS system checked. Low exterior temperatures should not make the system error. The cars are tested pre production in severe conditions, cold and hot.

[Bibendum]

Had this same problem. Turned out to be bad sensor.

[Un Gato Malodoro]

Thanks for the replies. All four tires show up as orange on the TPMS screen every time I start the car, so I'm hoping it's a bad sensor. I'll have to wait until next week to take the car over to service with the snow heading here tonight.

BTW I find it odd that iDrive doesn't provide tire pressure values, only color codes (unless I missed something, but I read through the owner's manual again and tried all the available options on iDrive and couldn't find it).

Cheers.

[DrewM5]

You can get the actual pressures and temps through coding. A cool feature. For the life of me, I cannot undersatnd why they don't deliver the car with that enabled.

[m6gcjekyl]

Temps and pressure for each tyre shown as standard on my car. So much better than just the warning light

[DrewM5]

Originally Posted by m6gcjekyl

Temps and pressure for each tyre shown as standard on my car. So much better than just the warning light

Yup. But not in the U.S. That is why we can change it with coding. Again, it baffles me that there is a defference.

[boots]

Go into the system and reset if u haven't tried hope it works.

[avlnch]

Originally Posted by Un Gato Malodoro

Thanks for the replies. All four tires show up as orange on the TPMS screen every time I start the car, so I'm hoping it's a bad sensor. I'll have to wait until next week to take the car over to service with the snow heading here tonight.

BTW I find it odd that iDrive doesn't provide tire pressure values, only color codes (unless I missed something, but I read through the owner's manual again and tried all the available options on iDrive and couldn't find it).

Cheers.

If you haven't already, as boots mentioned you should manually reset TPMS. In the F10 M5 it's simple to do.. while stopped press the reset button in the left toolbar on the TPMS screen. Then you need to drive for about one or two miles in order for the system to reset and fetch new values.

If the wheels don't turn from orange to green, it's probably just a bad sensor somewhere in the TPMS system.. if not in the wheels then elsewhere. Normally orange means low tire pressure, and red means catastrophic tire issue. If your tire pressures are at spec or your getting a TPMS error message on the iDrive, then low pressure defiantly is not the issue. By the way if there is an error message, you can get more details on the error by going to the system check screen in the vehicle info menu. Then select the error(s) listed to read more details on it.

By the way, the M5 TPMS system not only provides a visual cue, but it also provides tire temperature (F or C) and tire pressure (psi or bar) for each wheel. All european and canada spec M5's have it enabled at the factory. For whatever reason the temperature and pressure values are deactivated for US spec M5's. It makes absolutely zero sense.. but for whatever reason that is the case.

Fortunately, this can be re-enabled through coding. Which you can do yourself (BimmerFest is the go to forum for learning to code), or have another willing member code your car remotely through Remote Desktop. There are companies out there that provide coding services as well.

If you know your way around computers, I would recommend downloading the application, data files, and purchasing a key yourself. There's a lot of features you can code and the learning curve is rather simple. If you are not good with computers, I would recommend finding another member willing to help. I know quite a few people have PM'd member v12 for remote coding and have gotten good service.

If you are curious about what can be coded, I posted an excel file that I made up for myself to make coding my M5 easier and faster. It shows the most popular coding features and in what module they are located. It's posted as a sticky in the iDrive/navigation forum.

Good luck with getting the TPM system sorted out. Post back afterwards.

[Un Gato Malodoro]

Closing the loop on this...after two trips to the dealer I found I had a nail in two different tires and was told the temperature fluctuations accounted for the the other two tires showing orange. So got two new tires and the TPMS was reset.

Thanks for the advice on the coding...that will come next.

Cheers.