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TPMS saved me, plus a bonus rant

Zprime29

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Background and rant first, skip to bottom for TPMS part.

Made an out and back trip from Tucson to El Paso this weekend to pick up the kids from the grandparents house. Discovered last weekend, when we took them out and dropped them off, that the chargers in Lordsburg are now useless. 3 of the 4 completely down and the 4th was derated to 33kW. I saw the issues on Plug Share so we had planned on skipping and just charging in Deming on the way out, since we could leave with 100% from our house (it's about 240miles). We ended up stopping there anyways for a bio break (the little one managed to hold it for 15 min, woohoo!) so I confirmed...they where useless.

To come home, I charged at the nearby Tesla SC's.....amazing experience. A2Z was flawless, got 180+ kW (I logged the charge, can add it later if anyone is interested). Charged up to 85% since it was a lot cheaper (even without the plan) and I wouldn't have to charge as much to get home. Last weekend was no problem, even got one charge free from the EA station in Deming when it had trouble activating.

Fast forward to today....*sigh*... it was a rough day. Left like normal with 85% and made it to Deming. Then I was greeted with this:
Ford F-150 Lightning TPMS saved me, plus a bonus rant 20240811_133246

Yep, he's blocking 3 spots. Brand new e-Tron, this fella was over 90%. I tried charging on the same stall that I used 24 hours prior and it was stuck in the reboot screen. Tried the other, and it kept faulting after a couple minutes. So we had to wait for the owner to return. Was an old guy and his wife. I waited for them to load their shopping bags and when I faulted for the 3rd time I resigned myself to asking him to move. I tried everything in the book to convince him. He claimed the cord was too short if he pulled in normally and he HAD to have 100% charge so he could make it to Tucson. He spent more time waiting for 100% then if he had just done a quick top up in Benson. I was so angry when I gave up talking to him, I was shaking when I got back in my car. He was the grumpiest, rudest, most inconsiderate old man I've ever encountered.

After he left I moved over and plugged in. Shortly there after another lightning pulled in. I jumped out and talked to him to let him know the trouble I had. He decided to try customer support, I never saw him plug in before I left so I don't think it went well. A Hummer EV also showed up, the guy first tried to plug into the same station I was using. So I hopped out again to talk to him. What a cool guy, he and his friend where road tripping from Houston to CA.

**Ok, now on to the TPMS part. We leave after hitting 50% in Benson (enough to get home with ~20% left) and get about 20 miles down the road. Then I get a warning flashing on the screen with the angry chime, TMPS Warning. Now I did have to put air in a tire last week but it had held fine up that point. So I clear the warning and switch to the tire pressure screen. The tire I had put air in was down from 44 to 34. That ain't good I thought. And in the time it took me to think that, it dropped to 32. What!?!?!? About every 5 seconds the pressure dropped another 2. Oh crap, I need to pull over, but I had to wait for what seemed like the worlds longest guard rail to stop so I'd have room. Finally, at 14 psi left on the tire I get off the road.

I get out and inspect the tire. I could hear the air escaping, not good, felt around. Easily found the leak, inside edge of the tire, where the tread meets the tire wall. It was still spewing air like it was trying to blow out a birthday candle. Crap. I then had to search the manual as I couldn't remember where the jack kit was. heh, I kinda wish I had followed the advice of certain members here that recommended checking their tire once a year. It took me longer than I'm going to admit to figure it all out but I did eventually get the spare swapped on. (Thank you @LASFIT , your portable air pump came in very handy here to pump up the spare)

I'll be visiting @Discount Tire tomorrow to discuss what to do. I have good tread left on most of the tires. I'm contemplating getting the "el cheapo" for now and ordering a set of the new Toyo tires. I feel like the TPMS system saved me a lot here. The tire was leaking air very quickly ( I still can't figure out what, if anything, I ran over) and think that could have gotten way worse if I didn't know it. There are a couple of lessons I learned in this process.
1) I'm going to buy a set of work gloves to toss in with the jack. I have several blisters I'm now nursing.
2) I'm going to also get a kneeling board. I had shorts on and I tore up my knees on the shoulder/ground.
4) Finally, going to toss in a couple hand towels/wet wipes. I was dripping sweat and covered with dirt/grease
3) I need to take a break when it's 95F, I was wiped out after the marathon of rotations to get the jack high enough. Happy it worked, but good Lord that took a while.

One last thing, I haven't looked it up but is the spare a full size? And are we supposed to go slower on it? I was so tired after swapping it I just decided to take it a bit slower and we made it the rest of the way home going 60mph. (Fun fact, I got 3.2 mpk going 60mph on flat ground.) Should I have gone slower or full speed okay on it? Thanks all!
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RickLightning

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Yes, you are supposed to go a max of 55.
 

Henry Ford

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Max speed is 70 mph when using a full sized dissimilar spare according to the owner's manual. It also says max speed is 50 mph when four-wheel-drive is engaged, which is not applicable to a Lightning and tells me it's generic information. My guess is the limit is due to limitations of a differential, which Lightning has so 70 mph seems right to me. That's what I did when I had to use a spare.

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queuewho

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heh, I kinda wish I had followed the advice of certain members here that recommended checking their tire once a year.
Is it possible to access the valve stem on the spare without dropping it?
 
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Zprime29

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Is it possible to access the valve stem on the spare without dropping it?
I don't think so, the outside of the wheel faces the bottom of the truck.
 

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Zprime29

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As expected, Discount didn't have much in stock that fits. They said I'm at 4/32 on two and 5/32 on the other, giving me a couple of months left before I'm looking at replacing. Decided to put on the cheapest they have and asked them to order the Toyo open country A/T III EV. He said the system doesn't show any availability to order but will call around and see if he can source a set.
 

Avocadodude

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As expected, Discount didn't have much in stock that fits. They said I'm at 4/32 on two and 5/32 on the other, giving me a couple of months left before I'm looking at replacing. Decided to put on the cheapest they have and asked them to order the Toyo open country A/T III EV. He said the system doesn't show any availability to order but will call around and see if he can source a set.
I stumbled into a set of these (was planning to order, but a set showed up at my dealer). Love them, truck feels so much better.
 

RickLightning

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Max speed is 70 mph when using a full sized dissimilar spare according to the owner's manual. It also says max speed is 50 mph when four-wheel-drive is engaged, which is not applicable to a Lightning and tells me it's generic information. My guess is the limit is due to limitations of a differential, which Lightning has so 70 mph seems right to me. That's what I did when I had to use a spare.
No. The spare on many Lightnings is a TEMPORARY SPARE. Max speed is 50 or 55.
 
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Zprime29

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The guy at Discount said 60 was probably fine on the spare. He did caution driving too long on it, since the wheel is a different size. Apparently AWD systems don't like the mismatch.
 

MaintGrl

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Ya, great story. when I got my 06 Taco 4x4, I got a large zip lock baggie, got a tyvec suit, pair of rubber glove, leather gloves, in the bag and water bottle, first aid kit, and put it beneath the rear seats, along with my LED Mag-light. Additionally I threw a shank of 1/4 nylon braided rope,. This all got transferred to my Lightning after the Taco got totaled. Also, now in the Frunk I have my 4way Lug wrench. (great for breaking tight lug nuts off)
 

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Zprime29

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Ya, great story. when I got my 06 Taco 4x4, I got a large zip lock baggie, got a tyvec suit, pair of rubber glove, leather gloves, in the bag and water bottle, first aid kit, and put it beneath the rear seats, along with my LED Mag-light. Additionally I threw a shank of 1/4 nylon braided rope,. This all got transferred to my Lightning after the Taco got totaled. Also, now in the Frunk I have my 4way Lug wrench. (great for breaking tight lug nuts off)
Flashlight, I knew I was forgetting something to add! Sun was just starting to set so I had ample light. But it woulda been a lot more difficult without light. Thanks!
 

RickLightning

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Source? My screenshot above is from page 472 of the 2022 Lightning Owner's Manual.
I looked at the tire. Says TEMPORARY SPARE in big letters. That was a big clue.
 

Henry Ford

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I looked at the tire. Says TEMPORARY SPARE in big letters. That was a big clue.
Okay. Why do you think the limit is 50 mph when the Owner's Manual says it's 70?
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