Ford Kuga

 Service Manual

Wheels and Tires
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) (Overview).

Description of operation

The tire pressure monitoring system is able to detect loss of air in a tire at an early stage and warn the driver. Because it can only compare the behavior of the tires with each other, it is not possible to draw conclusions about the absolute tire pressure. It is also not possible to monitor the spare tire pressure. In order for the system to operate correctly, the tire pressures must be regularly checked and corrected and the system subsequently initialized (see below).

The tire pressure monitoring system used here, depending on the equipment level, is built into the anti-lock braking system (ABS) as an extra function and therefore does not have its own sensors.

The ABS module determines the loss of pressure in the tires by calculation using the wheel speed sensors of the ABS system. If a tire loses pressure, its diameter decreases and the speed of the wheel therefore increases. If the ABS module detects such a loss in pressure, it sends a signal to the instrument cluster via the CAN bus and a warning message is displayed in the driver information system. The warning threshold depends among other things on the dimension of the tires being used, the vehicle operating conditions and the status at the last initialization. Since neither the absolute tire pressure nor the position of the tire is known, after a tire pressure warning the pressure of all the tires must be checked and the system re-initialized. If necessary, the cause of the loss of pressure must be investigated.

Furthermore, regular pressure checks are necessary. The system must be initialized after a tire is changed, winter or summer tires fitted, the pressures corrected or adjusted to suit the vehicle load. This can be done by the driver using the driver information system. For further information, see: Owner's Manual.

Wheels and Tires (Overview)

Run-Flat Tires (Overview)

Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) (Overview).

Wheels and Tires

Wheel and Tire