Principles of Operation

Principles of Operation
The tire pressure monitoring system (TPM's) monitors the air pressure of all 4 regular road tires. The wheel-mounted tire pressure sensors transmit via radio frequency (RF) signals, to the TPM's module (integral to the vehicle security module [VSM]), using the valve stem as an antenna. These transmissions are sent approximately every 60 seconds when the vehicle speed exceeds 32 km/h (20 mph). The TPM's module (integral to VSM), compares each tire pressure sensor transmission against a low-pressure limit. If the module determines that the tire pressure has fallen below this limit, the module communicates this on the controller area network (CAN) to the instrument cluster, illuminates the TPM's indicator and displays the appropriate message center message.
The system is not affected by wheel and tire rotation.