Fixing the Ford F150 Tire Pressure Sensor Fault

So the morning is going great, you feel fantastic and ready to face a day of work or errands. You head outside, jump into your Ford F150 and she starts up beautifully. Then it happens - the “Tire Pressure Fault” pops up or you get a tire pressure warning.

Well heck, the proverbial you-know-what just hit the fan didn’t it, because this kind of message is certainly not one to be ignored. In this post we will look at the reasons you may receive this message and what you can do to fix the issue.

Why You Shouldn’t Ignore This Warning

We all know that from time to time we might overlook a warning light as something that we can deal with later. This should not be the case when it comes to the tires that help keep our truck moving forward in a straight line and keep us on the road safely.

Tire pressure sensor issues can be an indication of low pressure in the tires, a slow air leak or some other fault. The last thing we need to happen is for a tire to blow out on us or to go flat miles from home. This message may not actually mean that there are issues with the tires but we should never assume this is the case.

What Can Cause a Drop in Tire Pressure?

It is important to know a few things when it comes to tires and a legitimate case of decreased pressure in a tire. There are five main reasons why your tire may be losing pressure and knowing them may help you decide when it’s time for a replacement.

1. Nail or Foreign Object in the Tire

This is a common problem with tires and can be a reason to get a low tire pressure message. A nail or other sharp object may get lodged in and puncture your tire. If it is still in place then rather than deflating quickly the tire may gradually lose air decreasing the pressure in the tire.

Thankfully this may be an easy fix and may only require the tire to be patched which is something that you might even be able to do yourself. If you can do it yourself you might get this fix done for less than $30. The repair at a tire shop wouldn’t cost much more than that either.

2. Bent Wheels or Rims

If you have recently run over a curb or had some form of jolt occur near the tires there is a chance that you could have bent a wheel or rim. It would take a considerable hit to do this to a truck tire of course but it is certainly possible.

When a wheel or rim gets bent out of shape even a little you may experience handling issues and a slow loss of tire pressure. If this is the case you should get this fixed quickly as it can cause further damage to your wheel and even your truck.

You will probably need to go to an expert for this fix and as long as the damage is not too expensive they may be able to get the wheel back in shape. Worst case scenario you need a whole new wheel which isn’t cheap but it’s certainly safer than a bent one that is leaking air from the tire

3. It’s Time for a Refill

Over time as we drive or even as the car sits in the driveway air pressure escapes the tires. It’s unavoidable and just a fact of car ownership. This is why oil change places usually check our tire pressure and top them up for us as part of the service.

The oil change place may not even tell you that the pressure was low; they just go ahead and deal with that for you. This is another reason oil changes are important as are the topping up of other fluids that they often do as well.

So if you are getting low pressure but you only recently had an oil change then you may just want to check the tire pressure and just refill the tires to the right levels.

4. The Outside Temperature

Some people may notice when it starts to get colder outside that they get tire pressure warnings. This is because the outside temperature affects the density of the air in your tires. When it gets cold the air in the tires becomes less dense and the air pressure as a result drops.

In hotter conditions the air gets denser in the tires and can actually increase the pressure. This may mean that you need to add or release air as needed to maintain the correct tire pressure in the tires.

A sudden change in temperature can absolutely result in receiving tire pressure warnings and it does indicate you may need to adjust the pressures in the tires.

5. Old, Worn Tires

Tires do not last forever and they will wear out over time. Thousands of miles of driving on rough surfaces will wear out the tread and place strain on the structure of the tires. As they wear out they will start to lose tire pressure.

Worn out tires are pretty obvious as they may lack tread, have cracks or even exposed patches. You should replace your tires preferably before they become dangerously worn.

What if the Tires are Fine?

You may have fully inspected your tires and everything seems fine so what do you do if you are still faced with this same tire pressure error? Well in this case it may be an issue with the tire pressure sensor itself.

It may be as simple as a false fault warning which may only need a reset to fix. These resets are not too difficult if you have a scanner tool and know how to use the FORScan app. The process can be found in your Ford F150 manual but we also cover it here as well.

• Start by checking the air pressure in all four wheels, if it is correct for your specific truck you can now move on
• Use an OBD II adapter to connect your truck to your laptop or scanner tool. Refer to your user manual to help you locate the adapter port in your truck
• Use the FORScan software to search for any fault codes and once you find the tire pressure fault code click on it then press start to reprogram it
• You should receive a message to turn off your truck and then restart. This will complete the reset process

If all is well then the tire pressure warning or fault will disappear and you will be fine to get back on the road.

So What Should You Do When You Get The Error Messages or Warnings?

As mentioned, tire pressure is not something to mess around with so you should immediately investigate the situation. Your first step should not be to try a reset. This may seem the quickest option but it could be a mistake.

What you need to do first is to get out of the truck and check all four wheels for any sign of deflating. Check for nails or visible tire damage to rule our obvious reasons for the pressure warnings.

Invest in a handheld tire pressure checker and keep this in your truck at all times. With this you can confirm whether your tires are all fully inflated. Inside the driver's side door you should find the optimum tire pressures listed for your vehicle.

If and only if you can confirm your tire pressures are just fine then you can try and reset the error code. Should this fail you may need a new sensor or have loose wiring. If this is the case, get the truck to your dealership or a trusted mechanic to get this checked out.

Conclusion

Tire pressure integrity is important when it comes to your vehicle's tires. Always investigate what is happening when you get a tire pressure warning. You may or may not have the wheel repaired in some way or it could just be a glitch in the sensor.

As Ford F150 tire pressure sensors have their own batteries, they do wear out over time and may need to be replaced.

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