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Is a faulty TPMS an MoT failure?

I have a Nissan Pulsar N-Tec Dig-T Xtronic 1.2 which has done 30,000 miles. In the last few weeks I have been getting a warning on screen saying “Maintenance Tyres”. This happens immediately on starting, although the sensors are not active until the car is moving. Also when the pressure sensors become effective they show correct pressures as indicated separately from the measured pressures. I can cancel this to restore the mph display I usually have and the warning does not return. There is a further display which shows all warnings, which actually says “No Warnings”. This seems to be just a computer glitch. Can you suggest any other cause? Would this be an MoT failure?

Asked on 23 April 2024 by Gordon Courcha

Answered by David Ross
A faulty TPMS system is an MoT failure, but only if the system itself is faulty - the system indicating that tyre pressures are low is not considered a fault. Tyre pressure monitoring systems can become confused between cold and warm tyre pressures, as tyres are usually at their lowest pressure when starting from cold overnight. We would suggest setting your tyres to your desired pressures when cold and resetting the system, so when starting from cold the pressures are correct.
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