RECALL on 2,900 Ford F-150 Lightning -- TPMS not warning of low tire pressure

[FlasherZ]

To be clear, this isn't a problem with the TPMS sensor modules themselves.

The way I'm reading it, the software thinks the correct inflation pressure is 35 PSI when it's actually supposed to be 42 PSI. If that's the case, the software wouldn't alert you of a low reading between 35 and 42 PSI but would issue an alert if it's below 35 PSI.

@Mike G discovered this discrepancy almost 3 weeks ago.

Maybe the engineers at @Ford Motor Company should monitor this forum to avoid future embarrassment.

For what it's worth, Tesla had this exact same recall in Model S in 2012 or early 2013. Default programming on their Continental TPMS systems were set too low. The particular subsystem they used couldn't be upgraded by OTA, either, and they had to reset the units using a special tool.

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[FlasherZ]

It doesn't sound like there is any problem with TPMS. TPMS are still reporting the correct pressure. It's the software that issues the warning when pressure is too low. Presumably, you should notice low pressure long before it becomes dangerous. On my MME, I am experiencing a super slow leak (it loses 5 PSI over the course of a month). Since tire place hasn't been able to find it, I just use a compressor to refill it.

Most of us remember life before TPMS when most of us checked the tire on a regular basis.

TPMS systems don't always work this way - for example, the previously-mentioned Tesla recall required reprogramming the TPMS module's alert pressures.

 

[Mike G]

I just checked my VIN on FDRS there's nothing showing in the SW Updates section. What "may" happen is that we get told to just perform a "configuration" on the BCM instead of an actual module update. Assuming no software needs to get changed, just some parameters in the asbuilt.

Anyway my tires are all reading the proper pressure first thing in the morning when it's cool (42psi is my number, yours may be different).

And if this update needs to be applied to all the trucks prior to taking delivery it will literally take 10 minutes tops. In fact it might take longer to hook the laptop up than it does to do the procedure. This should not be the thing that delays your truck delivery. It's just not that big a thing that it would do that.

What I'm worrying about right now is the two glass recalls being performed right now on my Mach-E...now that could all end in tears.

Mike

 

[monsterlag]

For what it's worth, Tesla had this exact same recall in Model S in 2012 or early 2013. Default programming on their Continental TPMS systems were set too low. The particular subsystem they used couldn't be upgraded by OTA, either, and they had to reset the units using a special tool.

Good to see nothing was learned in 10 years.

 

[shutterbug]

TPMS systems don't always work this way - for example, the previously-mentioned Tesla recall required reprogramming the TPMS module's alert pressures.

I don't think that TPMS can be reprogrammed remotely, unless those are indirect TPMS (meaning that there isn't a physical sensor). And Ford already said that they can fix this using OTA update.

 

[Fast911]

I just checked my VIN on FDRS there's nothing showing in the SW Updates section. What "may" happen is that we get told to just perform a "configuration" on the BCM instead of an actual module update. Assuming no software needs to get changed, just some parameters in the asbuilt.

Anyway my tires are all reading the proper pressure first thing in the morning when it's cool (42psi is my number, yours may be different).

And if this update needs to be applied to all the trucks prior to taking delivery it will literally take 10 minutes tops. In fact it might take longer to hook the laptop up than it does to do the procedure. This should not be the thing that delays your truck delivery. It's just not that big a thing that it would do that.

What I'm worrying about right now is the two glass recalls being performed right now on my Mach-E...now that could all end in tears.

Mike

My tires pressures shows 37 psi cold since the day I received my truck. I noticed nitrogen stickers on my vehicle.

 

[Regular150]

Wow, stop delivery because of TPMS. I guess we should ban all vehicles from our roads that don't have TPMS systems. Give us our truck and a manual gauge!

 

[Mike G]

So I did a bit more digging.

I downloaded my asbuilt from the motorcraft site, and checked the BCM addresses at

726-10-01

xxxx

xxxx

**--

PlacardFront_Cfg - Tire Pressure PSI in Hex

726-10-02

**xx

xxxx

xx--

PlacardRear_Cfg - Tire Pressure PSI in Hex

So I had "23" in both of those asterisked locations. "23" in Hex = 35 in Decimal. And that's the same pressure that I saw in FordPass and posted about three weeks ago when I noticed those values were not the same as the ones on my door sticker (42).

So anybody with FORSCAN can go into those two addresses and just change the existing value to whatever the door sticker says and that should be the same thing that the BCM OTA config update will be doing whenever it gets here. For a Decimal to Hex converter you can go here and put your door sticker tire value in and get the value in Hex that should go into those two addresses in the BCM. My tires are 42psi so that value in Hex would be "2A" for both those addresses in the BCM. (the two "--" at the end are check values and could be any value).

Mike

 

[rdr854]

In looking at the thread involving payload and tire pressures, it looks like there is a mix of tire pressures - depending upon tire size and tire type. As a result, some trucks should have tire pressures of 42 PSI while others are 35 PSI. Judging from what I saw on that thread, it seems as though most of the affected trucks are Lariats.

 

[beatle]

Wow, stop delivery because of TPMS. I guess we should ban all vehicles from our roads that don't have TPMS systems. Give us our truck and a manual gauge!

TPMS has been mandatory on all passenger vehicles in the US since September 2007. If a vehicle was around before 2007 and didn't have TPMS, you'd just use a manual gauge. But if you have a system on the car, you expect it to work.

Ford may be more sensitive to tire pressures than others:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestone_and_Ford_tire_controversy

 

[p52Ranch]

Looking at this thread the door stickers have different pressures depending on VIN. Either 36 or 42 psi. https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...ading-figures-label-help-and-add-yours.10286/
Where the 35 PSI came from, who knows?
From what I can discern.
PRO SR and PRO ER - 36 PSI
XLT SR - 36 PSI
XLT ER and Lariat ER with All Season Tires - 42 PSI
XLT ER and Lariat ER with All Terrain Tires - 36 PSI
Platinum ER - 42 PSI

All Spare tires are set at 36 PSI.

 

[RickLightning]

To be clear, this isn't a problem with the TPMS sensor modules themselves.

The way I'm reading it, the software thinks the correct inflation pressure is 35 PSI when it's actually supposed to be 42 PSI. If that's the case, the software wouldn't alert you of a low reading between 35 and 42 PSI but would issue an alert if it's below 35 PSI.

@Mike G discovered this discrepancy almost 3 weeks ago.

Maybe the engineers at @Ford Motor Company should monitor this forum to avoid future embarrassment.

TPMS warns at ~20% below the setting. So 35 warns at 28. 42 would warn at 33.6.

 

[GoGoGadgetTruck]

Maybe the engineers at @Ford Motor Company should monitor this forum to avoid future embarrassment.

this comment... doesn't really make any sense. Setting aside that there is official Ford representation here as anyone on here for more than a few minutes can see, let's say for the moment that they had no idea this mistake happened before it was talked about on here. What would the "saved embarrassment" be exactly? No matter how the screwup was found, they'd still have to do an "embarrassing" recall to get it fixed - proper TPMS is a legal requirement and it being wrong would lead to a recall as a result.

what exactly is the path you see to avoiding the "embarrassment" once vehicles have shipped with an incorrect software configuration, and what does it have to do with anyone reading anything on here?

 

[RickLightning]

Ford does monitor social media. If an issue keeps coming up, it is definitely elevated within the company. Mach-E owners learned that quite quickly.

 

[vandy1981]

what exactly is the path you see to avoiding the "embarrassment" once vehicles have shipped with an incorrect software configuration, and what does it have to do with anyone reading anything on here?

The recall would have been for fewer vehicles if someone had seen @Mike G's post on June 9th and started addressing the problem immediately on the assembly line. I have no idea what the number would have been in that case, but a recall for 1000 vehicles is less of a headline than one for 3000 vehicles.

I don't think the recall is a big deal at all, but these are the headlines that people latch onto when a new vehicle comes on the market.

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