I have at times been made aware of the tyre deflation sensors in my (year 2017, 1.2 turbo) 2008. It’s worked a few times, due to both punctured tyres and also sheer laziness on regularly checking tyre pressures. My understanding is that these “sensors” actually work by sensing the relative rotational speeds of each tyre, and send an alert when one detects a change in tyre diameter (due to a puncture, for example).
However, in Melbourne the other evening, I managed to clout the end of a concrete separator (about the height and cross-section of a brick) between tram tracks and the road, turning from Sturt Street outside the Recital Centre into Southbank Boulevarde. (I could show a picture of a banana for scale, but this is getting too long, anyway). I would further attempt to explain how it wasn’t all my fault, but I’d get little sympathy, I expect.
The car made a loud thump, I said “bother!”, and I wondered whether I’d punctured the tyre, but there was no message from the puncture warning sensor in the car, and the car still seemed to drive OK. I drove home, with some slightly louder road noises from the rear of the car, but otherwise the car handled fine, and I drove home via the freeway doing 100K for much of the trip. Nothing particular to report except for the slightly louder road noise, and in hindsight, some slight feeling of wandering.
I inspected the tyre when I got home and it was dead flat, and I now suspect that this happened immediately after the hit.
Short story - the next morning, I put the spare on and further inspected the tyre. The bead had separated from the rim at least partly, but there was no obvious mechanical damage to the tyre. I’ve since had the two rear tyres replaced, as, in any case, replacement was due.
My question is that the deflation warning did not occur at any time after the collision. Id be interested in any thoughts. Since I’ve replaced the two tyres and fiddled with pressures a bit, the deflation warning has worked as it should. Just didn’t work when there was an obvious massive pressure change.
any thoughts?
However, in Melbourne the other evening, I managed to clout the end of a concrete separator (about the height and cross-section of a brick) between tram tracks and the road, turning from Sturt Street outside the Recital Centre into Southbank Boulevarde. (I could show a picture of a banana for scale, but this is getting too long, anyway). I would further attempt to explain how it wasn’t all my fault, but I’d get little sympathy, I expect.
The car made a loud thump, I said “bother!”, and I wondered whether I’d punctured the tyre, but there was no message from the puncture warning sensor in the car, and the car still seemed to drive OK. I drove home, with some slightly louder road noises from the rear of the car, but otherwise the car handled fine, and I drove home via the freeway doing 100K for much of the trip. Nothing particular to report except for the slightly louder road noise, and in hindsight, some slight feeling of wandering.
I inspected the tyre when I got home and it was dead flat, and I now suspect that this happened immediately after the hit.
Short story - the next morning, I put the spare on and further inspected the tyre. The bead had separated from the rim at least partly, but there was no obvious mechanical damage to the tyre. I’ve since had the two rear tyres replaced, as, in any case, replacement was due.
My question is that the deflation warning did not occur at any time after the collision. Id be interested in any thoughts. Since I’ve replaced the two tyres and fiddled with pressures a bit, the deflation warning has worked as it should. Just didn’t work when there was an obvious massive pressure change.
any thoughts?