Low Tire Pressure Warning - 2014 BMW i3 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Low Tire Pressure Warning - 2014 BMW i3 Long-Term Road Test

The 2014 BMW i3 uses multiple screens to warn drivers when tire pressure falls below a safe level.

Read the full story here

kirkhilles1

Certainly having reliable Low Tire Pressure warnings is a very nice luxury (and good to know that you're not super low), but these warnings crack me up. Its acting like you've had a major engine failure and should stop along the side of the highway. Geez, you 5 lbs too low. Instead, just "find a convenient gas station and top them off". Not the end of the world.

longtimelurker

Low tire pressure warnings, like low oil level or low coolant or brake fluid warnings, are a fail-safe...you should not be counting on them as a regular part of your maintenance procedure. Your fleet manager should be doing this proactively every month or so.

kirkhilles1

longtimelurker said:

Low tire pressure warnings, like low oil level or low coolant or brake fluid warnings, are a fail-safe...you should not be counting on them as a regular part of your maintenance procedure. Your fleet manager should be doing this proactively every month or so.

They have a fleet manager? Then maybe they shouldn't be spending $400 on unnecessary maintenance especially since they only keep the vehicles for a year and have a guy change the oil instead of the dealer.

stever

I think they are as much a safety feature as a luxury. Twice I've avoided being stranded by a flat thanks to the warning. Another time I got the TPMS light but the tire went down too fast for me to get to a station. At least I was able to get off the highway onto a side road.

And yeah, the sensor on my van went off last month when it cooled here.

ebeaudoin

Why would they bother to display tenths of PSI? Is the tire exactly 35.8 PSI and does it really matter? Odd.

longtimelurker

kirkhilles1 said:

longtimelurker said:

Low tire pressure warnings, like low oil level or low coolant or brake fluid warnings, are a fail-safe...you should not be counting on them as a regular part of your maintenance procedure. Your fleet manager should be doing this proactively every month or so.

They have a fleet manager? Then maybe they shouldn't be spending $400 on unnecessary maintenance especially since they only keep the vehicles for a year and have a guy change the oil instead of the dealer.

They have a vehicle testing manager, who I would think would be bird-dogging the care and feeding of all these long-term test vehicles - ? He would be the one if not doing the maintenance himself, would be establishing protocols for those driving the vehicles on a daily basis. I would agree on your point that it's his responsibility to not get rooked by dealers, but disagree on taking vehicles to dealers for scheduled maintenance in addition to warranty work...they are after all trying to duplicate the average owner experience, which for new vehicles would generally be going to the dealer for those items.

lewis26

longtimelurker said:

kirkhilles1 said:

longtimelurker said:

Low tire pressure warnings, like low oil level or low coolant or brake fluid warnings, are a fail-safe...you should not be counting on them as a regular part of your maintenance procedure. Your fleet manager should be doing this proactively every month or so.

They have a fleet manager? Then maybe they shouldn't be spending $400 on unnecessary maintenance especially since they only keep the vehicles for a year and have a guy change the oil instead of the dealer.

They have a vehicle testing manager, who I would think would be bird-dogging the care and feeding of all these long-term test vehicles - ? He would be the one if not doing the maintenance himself, would be establishing protocols for those driving the vehicles on a daily basis. I would agree on your point that it's his responsibility to not get rooked by dealers, but disagree on taking vehicles to dealers for scheduled maintenance in addition to warranty work...they are after all trying to duplicate the average owner experience, which for new vehicles would generally be going to the dealer for those items.

He's too busy polishing the floor where the 66 corvette is going to be parked forever.

Poor car

hacefrio

This perception lingers. We have some people on staff who can wrench, some who can't. Those who can have other tasks that occupy most of their working hours. We don't have a full-time mechanic on staff. We've explored the idea, but it's hard finding someone willing to accept payment in Italian lira and free trail mix from the reception desk. If this sounds like your dream career, send us a PM.

thecardoc3

hacefrio said:

This perception lingers. We have some people on staff who can wrench, some who can't. Those who can have other tasks that occupy most of their working hours. We don't have a full-time mechanic on staff. We've explored the idea, but it's hard finding someone willing to accept payment in Italian lira and free trail mix from the reception desk. If this sounds like your dream career, send us a PM.

This lets a little light shine on the issue that most don't understand. Even if you did add a full time tech to the staff, if he/she stops working full time the skills will quickly erode and they will rapidly fall behind with the technology in the cars. "Being able to wrench" doesn't equal being able to professionally work on today's cars and hasn't for decades.

markedwards

Same warnings flashed for me earlier in the week when temps in SF "plunged" to the high 40s. I don't think it's a big deal. If anything, I see the warning when a tire drops by 5 psi as a positive feature in a car that never needs to visit a gas station and has scheduled maintenance every two years. I didn't even have to go to a station for air since the i3 includes a 12-volt air pump.

schen72

It's good that the TPMS system here displays each tire's individual pressures. I love having TPMS in my cars, and I often like watching the display to make sure all the tires look good. I also consider it a safety feature in that you would be alerted to a slow leak sooner than you could notice it visually. I've also confirmed that my TPMS matches exactly what my analog gauge reads, so I trust it.