2007 Saturn Aura: Tire Pressure Warning

Bad day for "tyres."
 
I wonder whether the influx of these monitoring systems in new cars will become an annoyance. I read one customer review of a car (don't remember which), and the person actually wanted the manufacture to disable the seat belt warning chime because "it annoys them."
 
How many different warning chimes are there in cars these days? Seat belts, check engine, low tire pressure, low washer fluid, door ajar, door/hatch opening/closing, look behind when backing up, DVD player....etc.
 
Do all these chimes going off contribute to road rage?

AUTHOR: benson2175
DATE: 09/12/2007 10:23:32 AM
EMAIL: rkepinski@hotmail.com

A host of TSBs'? Sounds like the usual "first year car blues" scenario for the Aura.
 
Wrt tire pressure, current indicator's not of much use. Hopefully in '08 it will tell you which tire is going low.

whats the host of tsb's?

I think some technologically inclined guy on your staff is messing with the TPMSs on all of your L/Ts just for giggles. Let the mole hunt begin! When found, maybe you could force him to drive around in a Matrix with a weight in the passenger seat and the passenger seatbelt removed. Hah!

I thought there was ONE TSB about the steering rack noise. I guess I missed the other ones.
 
You get a free year of Onstar with your car, if you sign up for the service you will get emails about your car's status. One item on that list is tire pressures for EACH tire.
 
I know the Lacrosse rental I had told you pressures for each tire but the Aura's display is not set up like that.
 
The 2008s have real time fuel economy but I didnt read anything about individual tire pressures.

As for all the warning beeps and flashing lights, thank the lawyers. What used to be an "accident" is nowadays surely somebody's fault and there's a TV commercial on every channel all day long promising to get you yours.
 
Carmakers are just playing CYA... And they'd be stupid not to.
 
Toyota does take it to a whole new level though.

I tend to think the the tire pressure warning is legit. I know the Goodyear Eagle LS2 that the XR comes with are not the highest rated tire out there.
 
The reviews on TireRack.com are very negative. This is one area where either Saturn or GM could have done better.
 
The TSP(s) they refer to are the steering one, and I have heard one for the trunk opening as well.
 
The reference to OnStar was correct. I get a report each month on a variety of things, ie, airbags, transmission, engine, and tire pressure in each tire.
 
Hopefully no blowout happened. Keep us informed.

langjie
 
ready for the showdown on Sunday? I sure am, hope the players are!
 
The Pats sure looked good against the Jets, although some may say it is easy to look good when you know what the defense is going to do!
 
The Chargers took care of business, one down 15 to go.

I think it'd be really cool if there was an indicator for each tire that would glow from green to red as tire pressure decreased (like in Gran Turismo). Yeah, it seems hookey but it'd be really functional.

These TPM systems, regardless of automaker, are nothing more than a nuisance. Now that the weather is getting cooler, these systems are going to be going bonkers as tire pressures fluctuate between the cool mornings and the more temperate afternoons/evenings.
  
I was taught from Day 1 of driving to always do a visual check for obvious low tires before driving off. I do this everytime I approach my car. A pressure drop of 5psi or more can usually be seen visually. I also check my tire pressures with a pressure gauge at least once a month.
  
The TPMS in our 2003 Impala LS was very rudimentary, but did alert us to a nearly flat tire on a trip. We had run over a nail and the tire lost pressure quickly. In that case the TPMS was a handy tool. My 2006 Impala LT does not have a TPMS and I couldn't care less.
  
GM needs to get away from Goodyear in general and start using a different OEM brand. BFGoodrich or even Continental would be a better choice. GM uses these brands on Pontiac, so there is no reason they couldn't work something out for the other brands. The Goodyear Integrity tires that came on my Impala are terrible.

"GM needs to get away from Goodyear in general and start using a different OEM brand. BFGoodrich or even Continental would be a better choice. GM uses these brands on Pontiac, so there is no reason they couldn't work something out for the other brands. The Goodyear Integrity tires that came on my Impala are terrible."
 
Gm uses a lot of brands including Michelin, Goodyear and Hankook for tires. They typically put cheap goodyears on base models.

"Gm uses a lot of brands including Michelin, Goodyear and Hankook for tires. They typically put cheap goodyears on base models."
  
On the Impala alone they use GY Integrity for 16" wheels, GY Eagle LS2 for 17" wheels, and GY Eagle RS-A for 18" wheels. All 3 tires are poorly rated, and the RS-A is not "cheap" (over $200/tire in the 18" size). Regardless of whether you buy an LS, LT, LTZ, or SS you should get a decent tire. I have experienced several Goodyear tire models over the years and none have been worth the price tag attached to them.
  
I would have gladly accepted Hankook tires as OEM on my Impala.
  
Incidentally, the 18" GY Eagle LS2 on the Aura XR is actually cheaper to replace than the 17" Hankook H725A on the Aura XE.

The new TPMS regulation, FMVSS 138, stipulates that a minimally-compliant system must warn when any of your four primary tires is low, but need not inform you which one is the culprit.
 
If they so desire and can justify the cost, manufacturers can offer upgraded systems in two levels. The first informs the driver which tire is low and the second displays the actual pressure in all 4 tires.
 
The Aura's system meets the minimum standards for 2008 and beyond. Other GM products go with the full pressure display upgrade. It's a cost-based decision that varies from model to model.
 
The systems must warn when any tire is 25% under-inflated - well before many tires look obviously low to the average motorist. Eyeballing the tires is not the best way to tell.
 
As for low temperature "false alarms" in snow country, they can happen. But the new generation of direct-measuring sensors can also measure temperature and use software to apply a correction. Still, if your tires are close to the 25% low threshold in your heated garage, driving outside into freezing temperatures can reduce the pressure enough to trigger an alarm - and rightly so, in many cases.
 
We'll do low-temperature TPMS tests during our upcoming winter tire test and report back.