I got rear-ended on my way to Toyota

The owner's manual page 443 tells you how to reset the TPMS. Use your tire pressure gauge and be sure the tires are at the pressure you want before you do the reset.

 

Major bummer. Sorry to hear about that.

 

Hi Seb...,

I would not believe that service person. If that many TPMS are trigering, its because the cold air has reduced tire pressure to a dangerous level. Low air pressure in tires results in easier hydroplaning. He should have been pumping the tires back up. I would check the pressures on your tires first thing in the morning, to be sure they are at least at the door panel pressures.

 

Whoa hold on! There is nothing wrong with your tire pressure. I had the exact same problem last winter when I was starting at 6am. I was worried like you so called the dealership and they explained. It is absolutely sensitive to cold weather but no way are you in any danger.

 

Just let me make sure I understand this--you're saying the TPMS itself reacts in some way to dropping temps, independently of the loss in tire pressure caused by said dropping temps? Seems like that bug could have been engineered out, if so... Just curious.
~T

btw--this doesn't apply to the Prius (which has a temporary spare), but some other Toyotas w/ full size spares have the TPMS in the spare, which people often don't monitor, leading to much consternation and frustration come cold temps and/or time. I have a friend with a RAV4 with this issue, and it was at the dealer's for a couple of days before the Toyota Brain Trust figured it out.

 

deleted--double posting, sorry folks!

 

Maybe. Or maybe you would have stayed in your driveway longer and gone on some other trip at a different time as a result and been SLAMMED IN AN INTERSECTION BY A GUY RUNNING A RED AND YOU DIE.

So it's very possible that you just paid $800 for your life. I think that was a good purchase

 

I think you are OK on that score, you were rear ended which implies it was the other drivers fault. Your insurance should not go up at all. Your Prius will be as good as new when you get it back.

 

Exactly. Since cold air contracts, the height of the pressure surface will be lower and thus not picked up by the TPMS (or picked up, depending on how you see it), but you've never actually lost pressure in your tire, and is safe to drive.

Trust me. Nothing is wrong with the car. A few minutes after driving or when the weather warms up the TPMS goes away.

 

So sad about your car...I know it will never be quite the same but will probably be ok. I was rear ended in the Murano after 6 mo's and even though the repair was good I could always notice little things...Be sure to check quality of fit on hatch (confirm it does not rub adjacent surfaces like the bumper top). Check under the car for the condition of the exhause pipes and muffler (mine was bent and I almost didn't catch it). Feel all over the inside of the talegate and lift gate for overspray of clearcoat (it happens sometime that they leave a door or window open). I once accepted a car and did not notice until the sunlight hit the window "just right" then it was like a fog on my window.

Why would you pay anything if you were rear ended? Didn't the other guy have insurance?

 

Both my wife's 2004 Nissan Quest SE and my 3 week old Prius III just had a TPMS alert on each vehicle on the same day we had a temp drop here in Central Florida.

Air pressure will change in your tires with a change in climate. You can either trust that you have an adequate volume of air in your tires and just wait for it to warm up (and with it the pressure to increase) or you can add air like we did. Checking your pressure takes 3 minutes and can save so much money in the future.



And I agree with everyone else that insurance should be picking up the bumper. However, just because this forum member was rear ended doesn't mean he/she isn't at fault (hoping they aren't though). I am a paramedic and see many of these instances a month where someone was rear ended and are assessed points for the incident (Florida is a no-fault state). If you come to a sudden and abrupt stop without warning or valid reason, you can be cited for the incident if others are involved. It all depends on the situation. That's why we don't call them accidents any more, we call them collisions. An accident can't be avoided while collisions are avoidable (>90% of all traffic incidents are avoidable with proper judgement and attention)

 

I never had a tpms warning. But i check and fill my tires about every month. I do believe if your warning is going off you need to add air.

You need to inflate them when the tires are cold. Thats why the tpms might go off when you drive and they warm up, but this is not the right way.

It's not smart to have low tire pressure and drive to warm up the tires to make the tpms warning go off.

 

Lol, you don't drive to warm up the tires and make the warning turn off. You drive because you need to go somewhere. The TPMS warning turning off is just a consequence of driving. Of course I've checked my tire pressures when the warning went off during cold weather and they were fine at 38 psi. You've admitted yourself you've never had a tpms warning so how can we even believe what you say?