I have a 2004 freestar that we bought on sale in feb. On our first trip the Tire pressure monitor light came on. I check the tire pressures and all were correct. I took it into the dealer for a service. On the next service, the van came back with the tire pressure light on. We took it back and the dealer told us that they would order new sensors. We were also getting a sticking lift gate fixed as well. When we returned to the dealer, they fixed the lift gate, but the tire pressure light was still on. We complained to the service manager who said he had no knowlege of parts needing to be ordered. They took the van back in and it came back with the light off.

I think they just disconnected the sensor module to put this off as they can't be bothered to fix it.

Does anyone know where this sensor box is located. I have had a look around and can't see anything obvious. I have a service manual on order, but it will take a week to get here.

 

No one can just "Turn the light off" on this van without actually fixing the problem. Maybe you've heard of opening up a can of worms at some time in your life. The same holds true for TPMS. You can't unplug it and hope the problem goes away. It's tied into the ABS/Traction Control which is also tied into the PCM/FEM. They either fixed the problem or completely disabled your ABS and Traction system and found some way to make the PCM not recognize what they've done. That is a whole buttload of work that not just anyone can do... If the light is off... They fixed it.

 

I went to my Ford Dealer to have the second oil change and he suggested I get the tires rotated which I did. When I was paying and leaving he assured me the tire pressure was all checked. Half way home, (I live 20 miles away) my dashboard started deeping and a icon was lit up on the control panel that looked like a tire. I pulled over and got out my owners manual. It said when that icon comes on the tire pressure is dangerously low and could dammage your tires and driving and handling. I called the dealer and he told me to hit the reset button. He said to hold the reset button down until it blinks and then hit the reset button again and the light will go out. I tried doing all of that but the light did not go out. When I got home, I read the manuel again. You are suppose to hit the Setup button first. It will run through a menu. When it gets to Tire Pressure then you hit the reset button real fast. Mine went off. This is something the tech should have done at the dealer. The service manager told me that the Tire Pressure Monitor has to be reset every time they work on the tires.

 

I do not know what model and year you have, but I have not had to do any thing to reset tire pressure indicator other that have the wife make sure the tires are properly inflated 35psi. I have had my tires of several time. The sensor seam to activate around 28psi, so if you have say 32 psi in after having arrived home from an hour trip and park for the night and the outside temp drops to 30 or 35 degrees. More than likely you will set off the tire pressure sensor in the moring.

 

Have you looked in the owners manual yet? Most have some sort of complex reset procedure for the new TPMS systems, I have even heard of magnetic calibration needed for some systems. Owners manual should tell you this procedure. Some techs are just to lazy to go thru all this. Also you would be able to tell if it has been tampered with if the dash light that indicates your TPMS does not light when key is initially turned to on position.

 

I took my 2004 Freestar to the dealer twice because of the Low Tire Pressure light being on. He told me that it was associated with the wheel sensors and they would have to hook it to the diagnostic computer to find the trouble code, at a cost of $84. I knew that the tire pressure was OK so I was not willing to spend that kind of money to have the light go off.
I read the Lettergirl post on how to reset the light and it worked. I did find that I had to go through the reset sequence several times. You have to wait for a message that says IF TIRE PRESSURE IS OK PRESS RESET, then press reset and the light will blink several times and go out.
As I understand it now each time that you have a change such as a low tire or even have the tires rotated the light may come on, so be prepared to go through the sequence again.

Thanks Lettergirl.

 

Tire position is important with these systems. If tires are rotated the system has to be updated to reflect that, since when initially setup the tire position is entered at the sensor in the tire.

 

There are no sensors in the tires on my Freestar. The tires have all been replaced. I think that you are confusing the OE wheel speed sensors with after-market tire pressure monitors. These after-market sensors would not be monitored by the OE alert system.

 

Do you mean that you have had all 4 rims replaced or just the tires? If you had the rims replaced, then the new rims would have to have sensors in them be it the banded type or valve stem type as the Freestar would be looking for the response from 4 sensors.

All Freestars came with Tire Pressure Sensors in the tires. The Freestar/Monterey came with battery operated sensors mounted to each of the 4 rims (not the spare). These sensors are banded to the inside center of the rims. The batteries have a life span of about 10 years.

I won't go into my personal opinion about TPS systems.

 

I am finding out through this forum how ignorant I am about the Freestar. The information that Ford gives you is so minimal that it is almost useless.
I have a 2004 Freestar LTD with the 4.2 engine and most of the bells and whistles.When I had the tires replaced I asked the tire man to check for low air sensors. He assured me that there were none. How knowledgeable he might have been is anybody's guess. Do you know if the 2004 LTD was equipped with the banded sensors, or sensors in the valve stems? Some tire stores will always replace the valve stems when they replace the tires. Is it possible that this could have happened in my case? The Freestar had 64K on it when I bought it and I am sure that these were not the original tires. I did not replace the rims.
Could Ford find this information if I provide them with the VIN number or is there an easier way to find out. I realize that this paragraph contains a lot of questions but I need a lot of answers. I always appreciate your expertise in this area. As the old Buick commercials used to say, Ask the man who owns one.