Ford Owner: Resetting a Tire Pressure Sensor in Different Ways

So you finally inflated your four tires including your spare one to the right pressure. You followed Ford Motor’s recommended PSI settings. Still, you keep seeing that warning light with that error message in your dash screen indicating that your tire pressures are low, leaving you scratching your head wondering what could probably wrong?

If you have ensured that your tires are on their default factory settings and still the fault sensor won’t turn off, we will help you with a step-by-step guide on how to reset a tire pressure sensor fault on a Ford. On top of that, we will also go over other methods on how to dismiss the warning light in some circumstances.

Read also related articles: How to use tire pressure gauge, Best portable air pump for car tires, Goodyear Viva 3 tire review, and best snow tire chains.

First things first, what is a tire pressure sensor?

For starters, a tire pressure sensor is a car’s safety feature that alerts the driver when any of the tires are under-inflated.  The way the system work is there could either be valve mounted tire pressure sensor or a banded tire pressure sensor on each wheel.

In most countries, there is a tire pressuring monitoring system (TPMS) legislation with vehicles as part of its safety features. The US federally mandated it on all passenger cars starting in 2008.  If the tire pressure is too low an amber light illuminates with a “Tire Pressure Sensor Fault” or “Tire Pressure Low” message on the dash screen. This warning light will automatically turn off once you’re tire pressure is properly inflated.

Ford Tire Pressure Sensor Fault Reset Guide

With newer tire-mounted models,  faults on the tire pressure sensor are starting to materialize. Many automobile owners report warning light keeps on reappearing despite servicing their tires with the default manufacturer tire pressure. Most cases of sensor fault just need resetting or retraining the TPMS sensors. The following steps show you how to do so.

1. Set the ignition of your ford to its off position.
2. Step on the brake pedal. Release the brake pedal.
3. From its off position, cycle the ignition to its run position. Do this procedure three times and end it with the run position. Do it promptly with no more than 2 minutes interval.  , The Smart Junction Box (SJB) will time out over the course of waiting for each key cycle, leaving you with no choice but to the steps all over again.
4. For the second time, press and release the brake pedal.
5. From its run position, switch the ignition to its off position.
6. Switch the ignition back to its run position and do it three times as you did in step 4. You should end it in the run position. By now, you should see the light on the TPMS illuminating accompanied by a horn beep. Then your dash will hit you with “Train Left Tire”. This procedure involves deflating each tire or making the necessary air adjustments. You may need an air compressor to re-inflate the tires.  Related Video:
7. Press and release the button on the TPMS tool. You will hear another honk from the horn indicating the sensor has been recognized by the module.
8. Wait within 2 minutes after the horn sounds. Then place the cap on the valve stem on the rear front tire pressure sensor.   Repeat this step for the other tires and do not leave out your spare tire.

Once the sensor training is complete, the horn will make a sound. You should also get a message on your dash saying “Tire Training Mode Complete”. It is worth notetaking that re-training tire pressure sensors differ with every car brand. This is to say that the above guideline only apply to Ford vehicles.

Additional Tips:

●     The resetting procedure should be done in an area with no to little radio frequency (RF) as it can interfere with the systems signal. Make sure your car is not carrying or within an appliance operation, cellular telephones, electrical motor as they can generate RF noise.

●     If your ride is not equipped with a message center, you can verify the successful completion by switching the ignition to its off position. If the horn did not make a sound, the training procedure was successful. Otherwise, the horn will make a sound twice indicating that somewhere in the steps you fall short and the training procedure is not complete.

●     The resetting or re-training guide is not applicable to a newly bought sensor as an activation process is required.

Troubleshooting Tire Pressure Sensor: Faulty Warning Light Explained

There are quite a few factors that may cause the tire pressure sensor fault to appear.  Apart from low tire pressures are damaged tires, worn-out or defective sensors, and temperature changes. If the above steps did not work, perhaps its time to look at other underlying causes.

There are some instances wherein some of the faults are not within the internal system itself, or if it does, it’s just quite unexplainable that many independent shops including Ford dealers may misdiagnose. The following are the factors that cause the troublesome tire pressure sensor fault and how to reset it.

●     The pressure sensor couldn’t just pick up the reading. The built-in direct system broadcasts the reading back to the module on an average of 30 to 120 seconds while your wheels are in motion. And if it is not getting the reading, it will throw a fault code for one or more tire pressure reading.

Reset Method: Let your car keep running for about at least 10 miles at a constant speed of 50 mph. Some vehicle models reset at higher speeds than others. The sensors are re-calibrated the next time you start it.

●     There is interference in the sensor signal. Your TPMS has a signal technology that is prone to interference. Sometimes the interference is too much that it overpowers or blocks the signal. This hinders the module from receiving a reading and hence, the false warning dash light.

Reset Method: The most common culprits for interference are transmitters and electrical accessories that your car may be carrying. The biggest offenders are power inverters, chargers (especially those that do not support the original equipment manufacturer) among many others so make sure your car is clear of these. 

●      The system suffers from a temporary glitch. Your vehicle consists of a built-in computer that performs self-diagnostics. And just like any computer, a  sudden error in the operating system may occur that causes an unexplainable malfunction

Reset Method: The quick fix is to reset your car’s battery by disconnecting and reconnecting it. Here’s a quick guide:

1.    Take the hood out of your vehicle’s car. Make sure your car is not on when doing this.

2.    Using a wrench, remove the positive battery cable.

3.    Honk the car for about 3 seconds. This should discharge any power that is left on the vehicle’s electrical system.

4.    Reconnect the battery. Once it is reconnected, the alert on your dash should be gone.

A word of advice before we let you go…

Many people associate Ford’s tire pressure sensor as a false alarm but it is there for a reason — to alert the driver of low air tire pressures. Getting your tire to their correct pressure can save you a lot of troubles, especially in warding off tire-related road accidents. Additional benefits include longer-lasting tires and better fuel economy consumption. 

So before you continuously dismiss that pressure sensor warning, make sure your tires are properly inflated and in accordance with Ford’s recommended pound-force per square inch (PSI) settings which are mostly written near your car’s door.  Note that it may take 20 minutes of driving over 20 mph for the light to turn off after you have filled your tires to the right PSI level. 

If you did the aforementioned and you still seeing that warning, you should still be fine for as long as your cars are properly inflated. The real issue is getting rid of that annoying false sensor alarm. If such is your trouble, reset yours by following the guidelines we laid out.  If, however,  you have exhausted all the other options and nothing still works, reach out to any nearby Ford dealers as they may hold the key to any of your car concerns.