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Toyota Sienna Tire Pressure Indicator Light Problem...

faifai83faifai83 Member Posts: 6
edited March 2014 in Toyota
Hi there,

I have a '98 Toyota Sienna LE Minivan and have recently come into trouble with the Tire Pressure Indicator Light.

The problem started yesterday, August 31, on my way back home from Los Angeles -> San Francisco.

I was travelling North on the I-5 when suddenly the Tire Pressure Light came on. Since the Tire Pressure Light came on before when one tire was about to go flat, I pulled over quickly and did a visual inspection...found nothing wrong. I shut off the ignnition and restarted my car...the Tire Pressure light went off.

I drive for another 10 minutes @ ~70 mph and then the Tire Pressure light comes on again. This time I pull over on the side of the freeway to do another visual inspection...still nothing.

I shut off the ignition once more and restart it. The light turns off. I drive for another 20 minutes, looking for a gas station. As I approach the off-ramp and slow down from ~70 mph, the Tire Pressure light comes on again. I turn off the ignition at the gas station and check the tires visually and using a tire pressure guage. All 4 tires read 38 psi, which should be normal since I had already been driving ~200 miles. I adjusted all 4 tires per the side of my door @ 35 psi a week earlier.

I get back on the freeway and the indicator light comes back on 2 minutes after I get on the freeway. This time I ignore it until I go have lunch..which was another 2 hour drive.

After lunch, I go back on the I-5 and the Tire Pressure light stays off for an hour, before staying on once more. Again, I ignore it.

I get off the I-5 to switch over to a smaller freeway. I take a break. As soon as I get back in my car, the tire pressure light stays on until I reach the off-ramp of my final destination. The tire pressure light turned off...

Any suggestions on how to fix this? or what the cause of the problem may be? Thanks.

And yes...I have tried pressing the reset switch many times...

My e-mail is as follows: faifai83@yahoo.com
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    jeproxjeprox Member Posts: 466
    there is nothing wrong with your light.
    you just have to reset it properly.

    turn your ignition to "on" position but don't start the engine. once it's "on", press and hold down the reset button until you see the tire pressure light FLASH 3 TIMES, then let go. this will reset the light! pressing it once WILL NOT reset the light.

    the newer manuals tell you do this but the older manuals don't mention this trick!
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    kw_carmankw_carman Member Posts: 114
    Yeah...our 2000's manual said nothing about resetting it, and we had to ask the dealer.
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    faifai83faifai83 Member Posts: 6
    Hi there,

    Hmm, I followed your directions but the tire pressure light didn't flash at all. My '98 manual has the exact same instructions...

    How long am I supposed to hold the set button for? I did it for say 20-25 seconds and nothing happened...yup I did try it multiple times as well... and yea... my ignition was in the "on" position with the engine not running.
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    kw_carmankw_carman Member Posts: 114
    Did you wait until all of the idiot lights turned off after first switching the ignition on?
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    faifai83faifai83 Member Posts: 6
    Hi there,

    Hmmm...what do you mean by "idiot lights turned off" I followed the instructions in my manual and parked my car, put the transmission in Park, and engaged the parking brake.

    I then shut off the engine to the "off" position. Next, I turn the key to the "on" position, wait for the ABS, tire pressure, and Airbag to go off before pressing the "Set Tire Presssure" button for upwards of 30 seconds...

    The result it nothing. I do not see any flashing tire pressure indicator light...
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    jeproxjeprox Member Posts: 466
    ok, you have the "off" position then "acc" position and then "on" position. make sure that you switch to "on" position and not the "acc" position.

    you have to press and hold down the button until you see the light flash (3x) inside your instrument cluster and then let go of the button.

    it takes a while for the light to flash so be patient. if it doesnt flash by one minute, then you have a problem - it's probably defective!
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    faifai83faifai83 Member Posts: 6
    Hi there,

    Hmmm...yea...I put the key in the "on" position when I perform this task... The "on" position is when the oil and battery light stays on as well as the radio...

    And yea... I also press and hold the set button for upwards of 30 seconds before I release it...but I don't see any flashing...

    I guess I will try pressing it for a full minute...and see what happens

    But mind you...the tire pressure light comes on for 3 seconds, just like the ABS indicator light when I turn the key to the "on" position
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    jeproxjeprox Member Posts: 466
    sounds like you are doing everything right. just make sure you press the button all the way down.

    if it still doesn't work, then you may need to visit the dealer.

    goodluck
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    piusjudepiusjude Member Posts: 12
    My 98 LE has been doing the same thing. Light always comes ON after 20 miles of driving. Won't reset. It started when I had my 2 front tires replaced. I figured out that it is "sensing" falsely because I have two sets of Michelins with different tread designs. Just a thought...
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    jeproxjeprox Member Posts: 466
    just make sure you press and hold it down until it flashes 3 times and that will solve your problem
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    piusjudepiusjude Member Posts: 12
    Tried that a thousand times...instruction on the manual was pretty straight forward.
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    jeproxjeprox Member Posts: 466
    check your tire pressures, if all are correct - either your sensor is busted or it's coz you replaced 2 different tires on the front and the front/rear tires are rotating at different speeds and it triggers the light.
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    piusjudepiusjude Member Posts: 12
    I agree with you...one of those or the combination of both.
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