If you notice your Honda Civic’s “Tire Pressure Monitor Problem” light comes on, it can be scary. As a skilled mechanic, I’ve seen this problem a lot of times. The good news is that it’s easy to fix most of the time.
In this piece, I’ll explain the most common reasons why that light stays on and how to turn it off. Let’s get started.
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Honda Civic Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Explained
Before we get to the most common reasons why your Honda Civic’s “Tire Pressure Monitor Problem” message comes on,
Know what the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is and how it works. The Tire pressure monitoring device is a piece of technology in your Honda Civic that keeps track of how much air is in your tires.
Indirect (also called “Passive TPMS”) technology is used in new Honda Civics. This means that your tires don’t have tire pressure monitors (TPS).
Instead, the Honda Civic’s TPMS system uses wheel speed sensors that are part of the ABS system to measure how fast each wheel turns to tell if a tire is low on air.
This method lets you know when one of your tires starts to lose air pressure. This helps you avoid blowouts.
Main Reasons Why Your Civic Uses an Indirect TPMS
- Expense-wise not too bad (because there are no tire-pressure monitors).
- Reduced Long-Term Need for Programming and Maintenance
- The rotational speed of a tire is used to determine its pressure.
As an expert engineer, there are a number of reasons why I don’t recommend this particular brand of tire pressure monitoring device.
- Installing tires that are a different size than the factory tires on your Honda Civic makes it difficult to monitor the pressure.
- You will need to have it recalibrated if you swap in tires that are a different size than the factory ones.
- Tire pressure gauge reliability decreases with uneven tread wear.
- After filling your tires, you’ll need to keep resetting it.
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What Does “Tire Pressure Monitor Problem” Mean on a Honda Civic?
People frequently confuse the “Tire pressures low” warning with a “Tire pressure monitor problem.”
It’s not like that at all. The former warning will sound, rather than the latter, if one or more of your tires has low pressure.
To put it plainly. There is a malfunction with your Civic’s TPMS system, and you have received a warning that it is unable to do its job of keeping tabs on your tires’ pressure.
What Causes the Honda Civic Tire Pressure Monitor Problem?
Here are some of the most typical reasons why a Honda Civic’s tire pressure warning light comes on:
Bad Wheel Speed sensor:
Most of the time, a bad wheel speed gauge is what’s wrong with the tire pressure monitor.
The vehicle’s wheel speed sensor, which is also called the ABS, is a small device that is attached to the hub of each of your car’s wheels and keeps track of how fast each wheel is turning.
With this knowledge, it can tell if the tires are losing their grip or slipping. Since the indirect tire pressure system is used on later models of the Civic.
If a wheel speed sensor is broken, it will send the TPMS device wrong information. Because of this, a message that says “tire pressure monitor problem” will show up on the dashboard.
Bad Tire Pressure Sensor (Honda Old Models):
A faulty tire pressure sensor is the second most prevalent reason for a malfunctioning tire pressure monitor.
Tire pressure sensors (TPS) are used by the direct tire pressure monitoring system found in Honda Civics manufactured before 2014.
Small, cylindrical, black plastic sensors measure air pressure inside tires.
Tire pressure is monitored by sensors that alert the Honda Civic’s computer if the pressure in the tires falls below or rises over a predetermined threshold.
The PCM will warn you that there is a problem with the Civic’s tire pressure monitoring system if any of the TPS sensors fail.
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Different Tire Size:
If you most recently replaced any of the tires on your Honda Civic to a size that is different from what the factory guidebook says, Then, this could be why your car is giving you a warning about the tire pressure monitor.
The TPS are set up for a certain tire size, and they won’t work right if the size of your tires is different from what your Honda car expects.
The same thing happens if you put an extra tire on your Honda Civic that has a diameter that’s smaller than the tires that were supplied with your car.
Recalibration Issues:
When you get new tires, rotate your tires, or adjust the tire pressure on your Honda Civic, you need to reset the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
Recalibration makes sure that each tire’s pressure number is correct. If you don’t have it, you could get warnings like “Tire Pressure Monitor Problem.”
Tire Pressure Imbalance:
Tire pressure imbalance is the fifth and last frequent cause for a tire pressure monitor system (TPMS) danger light to come on.
This happens if one or more of your Honda Civic’s tires are much lower than the rest. This can happen if you run over a nail, run out of air, or have a flat tire.
Even if your tires are at the right pressure, if there are differences between them, the TPMS will go off.
As an instance, if your front tires are inflated to 30 PSI but your back tires are inflated to 34 PSI, the difference can set off an alarm.
The TPMS works best when all four tires have the same amount of air in them. Any difference between them is seen by the system as a problem.
You might not think that a difference of 4 PSI between tires is important, but the secondary TPMS does.
How to fix the Tire Pressure Monitor Problem ?
When you receive this warning, I advise you to:
- Make that the PSI in each of your vehicle’s tires is at the level specified by the manufacturer.
- Try filling your tires to a pressure that is about 2 psi higher than what is recommended on the sticker in the door jam. After that, the TPMS system will need to be recalibrated. Many people have reported that this easy fix for the warning light worked for them.
- Take the battery out and put it back in. In doing so, the tire pressure sensor will be reset.
- Take your Honda to an authorized service center and have them inspect the wheel speed sensors and bearings if the warning light continues to flash.
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Resetting the TPMS on Your Civic
There is a little difference in the procedure that must be followed in order to reset the tire pressure monitoring system that comes standard on your Honda Civic, depending on the model year.
Resetting New Honda Car TPMS Systems
newer Civics with a touchscreen display:
- Navigate to the menu labeled Settings located on the home screen.
- Choose Your Settings for the Vehicle
- Select the TPMS Calibration option.
- Choose the option that is labeled “Calibrate.”
newer Civics without a touchscreen:
- Buttons on the steering wheel that can be used to access the menu of vehicle settings
- Scroll down until you find TPMS Calibration, then click it.
- Select the Calibrate option from the menu.
Resetting Older Honda Car TPMS Systems
older Civics with steering wheel buttons:
- A drop-down menu will appear.
- Select the option to Customize Settings.
- Choose the TPMS Calibration Option
- Choose to Initialize
- Confirm by picking the Yes option.
- To leave, press Menu once again.
older Civics without a touchscreen:
- You may access the screen for the Vehicle Settings by using the buttons on the steering wheel.
- Scroll down until you find TPMS Calibration, then click it.
- Select the Calibrate option from the menu.
Final Thoughts
The article explains why the “Tire Pressure Monitor Problem” light comes on in Honda Civics. The TPMS system tracks tire pressure and warns of issues.
In newer Civics, an indirect system monitors wheel speed instead of tire sensors. The light means the TPMS system is malfunctioning, not just that the tire pressure is low.
Common causes are faulty wheel speed sensors providing bad data, different-sized tires confusing the system, not recalibrating after tire changes, and imbalance between tires.
Fixes include checking tire PSI, resetting sensors, and recalibrating through a touchscreen or steering wheel buttons.
More serious issues may need wheel speed sensor service. Proper recalibration when changing tires helps avoid problems and keeps the TPMS providing accurate monitoring.
FAQs
A dying sensor battery or faulty tire pressure sensors could be the cause of your Honda’s TPMS indicator flashing. Bring your car in to our Service Center as soon as possible, for whatever the problem may be. We have highly trained specialists who can rapidly identify the issue and provide a solution.
The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is designed to sound an alarm if it detects low tire pressure, which could lead to hazardous driving conditions. Tire failure and premature wear can result from underinflated tires, which is indicated by the presence of the warning light.
The tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensor may be defective, the sensor’s battery may be dead, a gradual leak may be to blame, or the temperature may have caused the light to remain on long after the tires were filled.
If the light just came on and you need to get to our store or a nearby air pump, you should be able to do so without any problems. However, it is unsafe to continue driving with the light on. Listed below are the reasons why. Your tires will wear out faster and need replacing sooner if you drive with low tire pressure.
You could run over something and ruin a tire if you don’t fix your defective pressure sensor. The low air pressure warning light may not come on even though the tire pressure is low, making it difficult to detect a flat tire.
