2011 Corolla - Why 35 PSI for Low Tire Pressure?

[Sythos]

Greetings all,

I bought a Corolla S a couple of years ago and have all sorts of great things to say about it. Good gas mileage (as long as you don't load it down with 800 pounds of humans as I tried once), rides fairly smooth, quiet, decent acceleration .. and on and on. All that being said, one simple little thing is pushing me away from ever buying another Toyota.

EDIT - 2011 Corolla S - Stock with OEM tires.

Why did they set the low tire pressure monitor to such a high pressure?

The light started coming on within weeks of my purchase and when I first took it to the dealership they told me .. are you ready for this .. that every tire had to be at 35 PSI at cold temp. Now, I have seen a few posts on these forums and others where everyone tells people how to reset this, inflate that, and so on, but the REAL problem here is that 35 PSI is just ridiculous.

1) The door frame states 32 @ cold.
2) The OEM tires state right on them 'Inflate to a MAX of 32 PSI'
3) The owner's manual states 32 PSI max in multiple places.

So every time I take it to Toyota for the free oil change they inflate the tires to 35 PSI. Even though I knew I should not stand for that I let it go since the light does go off.

Here is the problem. I now have two OEM tires going flat on a near continual basis at only 15k miles. I took them both off today and did the old soapy water test. They are leaking major air around the valve stems. BIG SHOCK given that they have been over-inflated for two straight years.

Now, I know how to 'reset' the system, but will that allow me to set it to a more realistic 'number'. In other words, if I set them all to say .. 30 .. and then use the reset, does it actually 'relearn' to use that as the pressure to trigger the warning or does it simply reset the light?

I am interested because I am going to have to either get Toyota to replace these using 'Liability Language' or buy new tires myself. There is not a single light passenger tire on the market that I could find that does not state 32 PSI max, so I fear I will just keep having problems.

The light is a great tool when it is working correctly and setup correctly, but 35 PSI is just stupid. I have been told by two different tire dealerships that it is a known problem with Toyota across multiple models. The second dealership didn't even know I had a Toyota when I called, and they asked 'is it a Toyota?' Wow! He stated they do it to increase gas mileage. I know that over-inflating can help to increase gas mileage, but is an extra MPG or two worth ruining tires far before their time?

Sorry for the length of the post, but I am very frustrated with this as it is absolutely ruining my confidence in Toyota. If I don't get any good responses I will just go back to the old way by disabling that warning and keeping the tires at 32 PSI. I border on near OCD when it comes to checking my tires anyway so it would not be a big thing .. but I would really like my cars features to work correctly. More to the point, I want someone at Toyota to acknowledge that if every printed label and book says 32 PSI and the gauge is not set correctly.

I need help.

Thanks in advance to all who read this and any who have any ideas. 35 PSI is just .. wrong.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

What year is the Corolla?

 

[Corolla Boy]

I've a 03 corolla, I supposed u have a corolla S 2009+, not sure, but 32psi is too low for stock. Need more info about car/tires.

 

[Corolla Boy]

Or maybe low pressure monitor has problem...

 

[Sythos]

Thank you for the replies so far. Sorry for leaving out the year.

2011 Corolla S - Stock, still with OEM tires that specifically state 32 max PSI.

The part I don't get is why the tire, door jam, and manual all state 32 clearly, but on three trips to service department three different people and the service manager have told me 35 minimum for the monitor to clear. And I have tested it and they are right. It only shuts off at 35.

Was hoping there was a way to set it to 32 (or more realistically 30 since it should only come on when tires are low enough to be a concern). I would guess there is a way to do it with a computer change of some sort, but I was hoping there might be a way without spending a bunch of money.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

What kind of tires are on the car and what size are they?

Is the size P205/55R-16 and is the tire the Goodyear Eagle RS-A, or the Bridgestone Turanza EL400-2?

 

[Ted]

I don't understand the problem and this business of clearing the monitor. You can set the tire monitor at any pressure you like. If you want 32 psi, put 32 in the tires, turn the ignition key to one of the on positions, hold the tire monitor button (under the dash) until the tire indicator light blinks 3 times, and you're all set. Now the indicator light will come on when a tire's pressure drops to an unsafe level.

 

[corolla_mike]

Dunno, mate, but 35psi cold is ridiculous.

Matter of fact, just this morning I went out in 5°F weather to find out why my low pressure light has been on. Max tire pressure for my set of Cooper Lifeliners is 40 psi. When I checked them with my brand-new gauge, left front and rear read 26 psi, right rear 20, and right front 24. So, figuring the indication was due to an imbalance of pressures, I pumped the low tires to 26 psi in really, really, really freezing weather. I mean, it was COOOOLD!!!

The light came on again at start, but knowing the temp was so cold, I reasoned that by the time the tires warmed up, so would their air pressure. And I've read that the indicator needed to be reset by pressing a button located somewhere either in the glove compartment or under the steering wheel. Didn't worry about that, though, and decided to take care of resetting the system when I returned home.

After only a few miles of driving, and to my surprise, the TPMS light went out on its own.

I say that if you diligently check your tires' air pressures, and find they are consistently at their proper level day after day, your troubles are with the car's monitoring system.

P.S. For all the attempts by various members from forums far and wide to accurately and with precision explain just where an indicator light reset switch is located, NONE has provided a picture of where it is. Couldn't find one anywhere I looked, but everyone says it's either in the glove compartment or under the steering wheel--SOMEWHERE. Good luck in finding your car's reset switch, if it exists at all. Sure couldn't locate mine. As it happened, I didn't need to find it.

 

[corolla_mike]

Thank you for the replies so far. Sorry for leaving out the year.

2011 Corolla S - Stock, still with OEM tires that specifically state 32 max PSI.

The part I don't get is why the tire, door jam, and manual all state 32 clearly, but on three trips to service department three different people and the service manager have told me 35 minimum for the monitor to clear. And I have tested it and they are right. It only shuts off at 35.

Was hoping there was a way to set it to 32 (or more realistically 30 since it should only come on when tires are low enough to be a concern). I would guess there is a way to do it with a computer change of some sort, but I was hoping there might be a way without spending a bunch of money.

Written data supercedes oral data all the time, every time. My advice: stick to what you read in print; the rest is hearsay.

 

[Sythos]

Ted, that is what I was asking. Does using that reset simply turn the switch off temporaril, aka reset it, or does that effectively reprogram it to use the current tire pressures as the new limit?

Seems I have gotten various answers from a couple of boards, so I just don't know.

 

[Sythos]

Mike, I think the gauge is working, but the tires just don't like 35psi. In fact, I think it has caused two relatively new OEM tires to basically become useless.

I really want to be able to leave the tires at 32psi and not have the light come on, which is does. Hopefully the reset you and Ted spoke of is actually a 're-program' as well. I am going to try it once the weather stabilizes in the spring.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

What kind of tires are on your Corolla and what size are they?

 

[Sythos]

Update

After finally deciding to give up on getting any dealer satisfaction I did some research and then got back in touch with the dealer.

Apparently, the 2011 Corolla S is supposed to come with Eagle GT of some sort as OEM tires. Per some quick research those tires do allow for a max pressure above 35psi. For some reason, my car had Bridgestone Turanza OEM's on it that did not. The only indirect answer I got from the dealer is that OEM tires are subject to availability.

So, to summarize for everyone:
1) System was set to 35psi at factory according to dealer based on the standard Eagle OEM tire that would handle that psi.
2) The car had Bridgestone Turanza OEM's that stated on the tire itself a maximum PSI below the TPMS mark, which was NOT reset by the dealership.
3) The dealer was inflating the tires to 35psi per standard spec, as well as telling me I had to keep them that inflated and to ignore the sidewall of the tire.
4) Two tires had massive air leakage (cold psi would go from 35 to mid 20's in less than a few days), with no obvious leak points.
5) The old soap and water trick confirmed valve stem leakage.
6) The Goodyear dealership I called (just to confirm the psi specs for the Eagle and the Turanza) was actually more helpful and sympathetic and even offered me a very good discount (15% off final cost of tires including other discounts). Sad that they had no stake in the whole thing yet they knew how to treat customers.

My take aways:
1) Toyota is not really at fault, but some QC might help.
2) The dealer was less than helpful and will probably not get my business in the future. It was one thing for the sales rep to give me bad info, but for the service department to give bad info is unacceptable.
3) I also have no idea why that particular set of tires would only allow for 28psi. Did they make them for a riding lawnmower of something? Kinda low, even for a performance tire.

Anyway, I got tired of having to inflate my tires every day and since they were permanently damaged I just replaced them. I put some Toyo's on it and haven't looked back.

This isn't a tire forum, but for a quick review on the Toyo Extenza's is that they are a decent touring tire, and for the money are very solid. Good traction and handling characteristics though road noise is a little bit more pronounced than the Turanza OEM's. I actually really like those Turanza's and if the tire shop had them in stock I probably would have stuck to them. I went with Toyo simply because I used Proxes in the past and loved them. I decided to go away from performance tires this time simply because the Turanza's rode so well and quite frankly that Corolla really wouldn't benefit much from performance.

Thank you for the helpful responses and as a learning lesson .. trust your own intelligence because dealerships number one goal is apparently to sell cars right now rather than win customers for life. Had I just trusted my instincts I would have kept those tires at 26-28 and reset the TPMS to match. Instead, I burned thru two tires in under 15k miles by listening to the 'experts' that I thought cared about their customers.

 

[CurtIV]

Sure the tire monitor light coming on is a pain, & you have 2 leaks.
I've had great results with the Michelin Defender 90,000 mi tire.

 

[appiusforum]

Greetings all,

I bought a Corolla S a couple of years ago and have all sorts of great things to say about it. Good gas mileage (as long as you don't load it down with 800 pounds of humans as I tried once), rides fairly smooth, quiet, decent acceleration .. and on and on. All that being said, one simple little thing is pushing me away from ever buying another Toyota.

EDIT - 2011 Corolla S - Stock with OEM tires.

Why did they set the low tire pressure monitor to such a high pressure?

The light started coming on within weeks of my purchase and when I first took it to the dealership they told me .. are you ready for this .. that every tire had to be at 35 PSI at cold temp. Now, I have seen a few posts on these forums and others where everyone tells people how to reset this, inflate that, and so on, but the REAL problem here is that 35 PSI is just ridiculous.

1) The door frame states 32 @ cold.
2) The OEM tires state right on them 'Inflate to a MAX of 32 PSI'
3) The owner's manual states 32 PSI max in multiple places.

So every time I take it to Toyota for the free oil change they inflate the tires to 35 PSI. Even though I knew I should not stand for that I let it go since the light does go off.

Here is the problem. I now have two OEM tires going flat on a near continual basis at only 15k miles. I took them both off today and did the old soapy water test. They are leaking major air around the valve stems. BIG SHOCK given that they have been over-inflated for two straight years.

Now, I know how to 'reset' the system, but will that allow me to set it to a more realistic 'number'. In other words, if I set them all to say .. 30 .. and then use the reset, does it actually 'relearn' to use that as the pressure to trigger the warning or does it simply reset the light?

I am interested because I am going to have to either get Toyota to replace these using 'Liability Language' or buy new tires myself. There is not a single light passenger tire on the market that I could find that does not state 32 PSI max, so I fear I will just keep having problems.

The light is a great tool when it is working correctly and setup correctly, but 35 PSI is just stupid. I have been told by two different tire dealerships that it is a known problem with Toyota across multiple models. The second dealership didn't even know I had a Toyota when I called, and they asked 'is it a Toyota?' Wow! He stated they do it to increase gas mileage. I know that over-inflating can help to increase gas mileage, but is an extra MPG or two worth ruining tires far before their time?

Sorry for the length of the post, but I am very frustrated with this as it is absolutely ruining my confidence in Toyota. If I don't get any good responses I will just go back to the old way by disabling that warning and keeping the tires at 32 PSI. I border on near OCD when it comes to checking my tires anyway so it would not be a big thing .. but I would really like my cars features to work correctly. More to the point, I want someone at Toyota to acknowledge that if every printed label and book says 32 PSI and the gauge is not set correctly.

I need help.

Thanks in advance to all who read this and any who have any ideas. 35 PSI is just .. wrong.

Thanks for your post since it prevented NOHO Toyota on 7/26 from charging me ~$60 just to inflate my tires to 35 PSI to make the tire pressure monitor light to turn off!!!

I had this post printout in my hand while listening to their 'explanation' that the light was on due to low unbalanced pressure. As indicated I had inflated to 32 PSI, but the light was still on.

On showing this post they were quick to drop the charge.

Alex

 

[Ted]

Ted, that is what I was asking. Does using that reset simply turn the switch off temporaril, aka reset it, or does that effectively reprogram it to use the current tire pressures as the new limit?

There is not a factory preset pressure for the tire pressure warning system. You set it to whatever tire pressure you use. It doesn't matter what brand tires you use or what pressure you like to have in your tires. If you use 30#s, 32#s, 35#s, or whatever, you set your pressure warning system to that. All this is in the Owner's Manual. For the 2012 it's on page 369 and I quote one sentence from it: "When the tire pressure warning system is initialized, the current tire inflation pressure is set as the pressure benchmark."

The manual continues to give the steps to set the pressure benchmark as I mentioned in a previous post.

 

[jackbower6864]

that size is for the stock tires when you get new ones it will say the tire pressure on them

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

That pressure on the tire is the maximum pressure, NOT the recommended pressure.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

that size is for the stock tires when you get new ones it will say the tire pressure on them

Be careful, as over-inflating tires will cause premature tire wear in the center of the tread, can cause adverse handling characteristics and can also cause a very stiff ride.

The recommended tire pressure for a vehicle will be found in the owners manual and also the vehicles tire placard sticker, which is usually located on the end of one of the doors, but it can also be found on the back side of the gas cap filler door.

What is listed on the sidewall of a tire is the maximum recommended inflation pressure, not the recommended pressure, which varies from vehicle to vehicle.

-- B.F.Goodrich TA Certified Tire Specialist

 

[fishycomics]

Door sill, is the first place I notice, and Owner's manual if I ever load up with weight. adjusting the pressure to spec, and you will have to adjust your computer sensor as well., but again you'll have to regulate after the load.

If you go about on Sand you best have an air pressure system to refill. it is important to have a air pressure set up, with a tire patch kit for an emergency.

Always in my car.

 

[gazelle]

tire pressure

yea my 2014 say 32 for psi too. Tried to fill it up last night and couldn't get them much past 25psi... frustrating cause the stupid idot light is still on and if you say that it has to be 35 to turn off thats insane... good thing it has to go to the dealership this week for its scheduled maintenance.. they better fix it, the car and tires only a yr old. You said you knew how to reset the light..can you share.

 

[little rebel]

When I take my truck or the wifes car for TOYOTA CARE service, I tell them three things, DONT TOUCH THE TIRE PRESSURE, DONT TOUCH THE FILTERS , AND TORQUE THE LUG NUTS. As long as I am able, I will do my own maintanance and if someone does it for me I will check behind them.

 

[corolla_mike]

yea my 2014 say 32 for psi too. Tried to fill it up last night and couldn't get them much past 25psi... frustrating cause the stupid idot light is still on and if you say that it has to be 35 to turn off thats insane... good thing it has to go to the dealership this week for its scheduled maintenance.. they better fix it, the car and tires only a yr old. You said you knew how to reset the light..can you share.

TPMS light came on last year, and all I did was fill all tires to equal pressure, and the light went off on its own. I think the monitoring is a balance of pressures, so when one tire pressure is down, the light will go on. Once the balance is within some sort of range, it will satisfy the monitoring programming. It's a balance of pressure thing, I think.

 

[corolla_mike]

When I take my truck or the wifes car for TOYOTA CARE service, I tell them three things, DONT TOUCH THE TIRE PRESSURE, DONT TOUCH THE FILTERS , AND TORQUE THE LUG NUTS. As long as I am able, I will do my own maintanance and if someone does it for me I will check behind them.

A good protocol to follow, in my opinion. "Trust, but verify" is always the best advice. Well done.

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

yea my 2014 say 32 for psi too. Tried to fill it up last night and couldn't get them much past 25psi... frustrating cause the stupid idot light is still on and if you say that it has to be 35 to turn off thats insane... good thing it has to go to the dealership this week for its scheduled maintenance.. they better fix it, the car and tires only a yr old. You said you knew how to reset the light..can you share.

You couldn't get the tires past 25 psi?

For a 2014, the TPMS button accessible when you open the glove box door, to the left of the compartment itself.

Set cold psi, turn on car (do NOT start it), then hold the TPMS button until the TPMS light blinks three times, then release. Wait a full minute, then start the car.

That is how you set the new baseline pressure in the system.

For 2009 - 2013 owners (that use this section of the forum), same procedure as above, but your TPMS button is underneath the dashboard slightly right to the steering wheel. You may have to look from the footwell to see it.

 

[Sunamer]

Just yesterday had the same story. I brought in my Corolla 2011 LE for a multi-point inspection (that cost me $0).
Label on the side of the door in my 2011 Corolla says - 30 PSI / 210 kPa for F as well as for R tires.

Toyota Dealership noticed that all tires were 30/30 PSI, marked that during multi-point inspection and inflated them to 35.
When I proceeded to verify (same day, evening), it turns out that all tires were inflated to something like 37.7 - 36.7 PSI.
(tires say that the max pressure they can be inflated to is 40 PSI).
Woman at Toyota explained (after I pointed out that Toyota recommends 30PSI), that the tire pressure monitor system shows "low" pressure at 29, that is why they use 35(!).

WTF?
I am not sure if I followed her "logic", though.
Anyway, I simply just adjusted that myself to what it should be per Toyota specs.

 

[taco'rolla]

My TPM's/syst. does not give notification (warning)
unless a tire leaked down below 24 - 25(ish) psi.

Purdy sure this is the factory setting.
As my tires are the original factory size (195)

I normally run them at 32 psi max

My TPM's are not calibrated/programmed for their max (peak) psi...
but instead are set for a lower psi ( 25 psi ) warning.
This ensures I'm not driving around on slow leaking tires
that have a tire psi that is too low /or unsafe for driving.

35 psi is to high IMO
And if a proprietor says that's OK
I'd be taking my business elsewhere.

32/25 works for me (195 tire).

Remember TPM's have a consumable life
and need new batteries or full replacements over time.
They do not function forever.

How long will the batteries last.. I do not know.
Probably good idea to replace and recalibrate
every 3rd set of replacement tires.

They will require recalibration (PC/programming)
when the valve stem(s) battery dies or requires replacement.

The dealership or any reputable tire shop
should be able to offer this service when changing tires.

I'm not 100% sure...
but thought that TPM's needed be recalibrated individually...
and are not recalibrated by the vehicles onboard TPM or 'puter.

At least for the low deflation settings.