Re: 2016 Outback 3.6 dashboard

<[email protected]> wrote:

> On Tue, 11 Aug 2020 08:12:54 -0500, VanguardLH <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> I have had this Outback since new, and have not seen this dash warning
>>> before.  Nor can I find it in my user manuals.  Nor on the web.
>>> 
>>> It is a yellow possible lower case 'i' within brackets appearing in
>>> the small transmission drive window on the left side of 'D'.  
>>> Possibly lil
>>> 
>>> The too distant dealer I bought it from is OOB.
>>
>>Found on the web searching for "outback 2016 dash indicators":
>>
>>https://www.subaru.com/service-parts-accessories/auto/dashboard-indicator-warning-lights-indicators.html
>>
>>Maybe the parking brake is still on and your brake pads are getting
>>worn?  If it is not one of those shown, take a pic of your dashboard to
>>show the indicator, and upload the photo to online storage (e.g., imgur,
>>tinypic) to provide a URL to the photo, so we can see what you see.
> 
> I inflated the low tire and both dash indicators went out'.  Still
> wonder why the second one is not in the book.

The low pressure indicator looks like a cutout view of a tire (sidewalls
and tread) with an exclamation mark inside.  There are transmitters in
each tire.  If they get replaced, like the tire valve went bad, the new
ones have to get paired up to the car.  Any shop that replaces the
transmitters have to link new ones to the car's TPMS (Tire Pressure
Monitoring System).  They have a battery because they are wireless
transmitters, so the battery might've gone dead.  Don't know how long
the batteries last, so maybe 4 years, the age of your car, is about when
they get too weak or die.  Take it to a car shop to have them check the
batteries in each tire's TPMS transmitter and re-sync it to the car's
TPMS.

If the battery has gone weak or dead, they are not replaceable.  The
sensor is sealed with the battery inside.  You have to replace the TPMS
sensor in the car.  That means removing the tire, replacing the sensor,
put the tire back on the wheel and balance it, and sync the new sensor's
ID to the car.  The lithium batteries inside newer TPMS sensor last
anywhere from 5 to 10 years, but some stuff breaks early, and old models
die after 5-6 years.  The sensor only broadcasts when the car is in
motion (maybe they have an internal g-force switch that activates when
the wheel spins).  Someone who drives little will incur a longer battery
life than someone that is driving continuously during their work hours.
TPMS sensors were available since early '90s, but became legislated in
2008 as mandatory on new cars.  While new cars since 2008 must have
TPMS, there is no legal requirement to replace a sensor that later goes
defective which causes the dash light to come on.  The type that have a
metal nut to hold the valve stem and sensor in the wheel are subject to
corrosion hence failure.  The snap-in or rubber molded ones don't rust.
If the valve stem fails due to corrosion (water, salt) and a replacement
stem core won't work, the valve leaks, have to get replaced, and the
TPMS sensor is integral to the valve stem.  Any use of leak sealer
inside the tire can cause sensor problems, along with screwing up the
balance of the wheel.  All batteries are chemical hence they don't last
forever, or even for that many years when in use.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire-pressure_monitoring_system
https://www.subaru-tpms.com/subaru-tpms.html

I suppose the TPMS sensor in the car could get out of calibration, and
report a tire as having low or high pressure when not true.  

If you swap tires, like having a set for summer and another set for
winter, you have to sync the TPMS transmitters in the tires to the car
each time you swap the tire set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwZZzstVSoA

Figure a shop will charge about $5 to $10 per wheel to sync the TPMS
sensor inside the wheel, along with some hourly charge and shop costs.
If they're not replacing the sensors, it's just their labor to use their
electronic gear to scan and sync the sensors to the car.  You could buy
the same tools ($10 to $180).  There are cheap tools, but you have to
enter the sensor ID which means you have to know what is the sensor's ID
by taking the tire off the wheel, or record the IDs when the TPMS
sensor(s) get replaced, both of which require rebalancing the wheel..
The more expensive TPMS tools can scan for the radio transmission of the
sensors.  They can read the sensor ID to then sync it to the car.

If they have to replace the battery, that means removing the tire from
the wheel, and might incur having to rebalance after putting the tire
back on the wheel.

https://www.schradertpms.com/en/driver-education/tpms-replacement


Don't know what you mean by "second one".  I see only 1 indicator for
low tire pressure listed in the mentioned article.