A Lexus ES-350 Tire Pressure Monitoring Story
We are on a much deserved family vacation. Our 2011 Lexus ES 350 is purring like a kitten after a recent dealer visit. I had rechecked tire pressure all the way around. Tire pressure was correct on all four tires. The oil, water, and battery also checked okay. We are on the road having a great time but on the return trip home the dashboard tire warning indicator illuminates. We are out in the middle of nowhere (OR I-395 South.). I pulled over (at night) and pressure checked all four tires. Tire pressure checks okay. Hmmm could it be the spare? We spend Sunday night in Lakeview, Oregon. The next day is a holiday Monday so tire stores and service stations are closed so no dry nitrogen or even air available.
Now here is the rest of the story. We pull into Reno CA and proceed to pull a lot of vacation stuff out of the trunk at the third or fourth service(?) station, one that actually had air. This had to be done in order to gain access to the spare tire valve. The valve of course is at the very back away from you. I pressure checked the tire and found it down to 25 psi(!) Slow leak? Thorough check found the tire to be okay. What was the dealer doing during my regular service? They certainly overlooked checking the spare tire. Thanks guys.
My spare tire valve now has a short (male/female) truck tire air line extension (auto parts store) extending into the trunk compartment. I can now check my spare tire pressure without taking everything out of the trunk. I placed the original valve cap onto the extension when it’s not being used for a pressure test.
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