Mazda 3 Tire Pressure Light Keeps Coming On – Why?

Your Mazda 3 is likely to have the TPMS - Tire Pressure Monitoring System. This is the system that controls the pressure in your tires and warns you with the help of the special warning light on the dash if something is wrong. The TPMS light is the exclamation mark with the tire tread behind it and brackets on both sides.

Tire pressure light highlights

• Common reasons:low tire pressure, TPMS sensor issues, TPMS control module problems
• How to fix:check tire pressure, drive some time
• Possible consequences:low tire pressure may lead to accidents
• Priority level:Medium
• Can you drive?Carefully
• DIY repair:Possible
• Repair price range:$0-$250

Here's how the TPMS works in the Mazda 3

Like in all other Mazda cars, and also in the majority of other vehicles equipped with tire pressure sensors, the TPMS will have several important peculiarities that you need to know about.

The system constantly monitors the pressure in your tires and once it goes beyond the set borders, the TPMS light goes on the dash. After that, the following things happen:

• the light will stay on until you do something - for example, inflate the tire;
• but, in many cases, right after that the light won't go off, it will still stay on till the sensor adjusts to the new pressure;
• you will have to drive about 10-20 miles till the sensor resets;
• also, the TPMS light will go off only after you turn off and then turn on the engine again;
• you may need to use the TPMS reset button (I will later explain how);
• if nothing works, you may also need to cut the electricity supply to the system for several minutes;
• finally, something may be wrong with the TPMS and its components, so the light will still stay on.

As you see, there are numerous stages when the TPMS light may go on and off the dash. It doesn't mean that every time the situation will the same. TPMS is an unpredictable system that may act according to different scenarios and change its behavior according to the situation.

So, let's see how exactly you can make the TPMS light go off the dash in your Mazda 3.

Ways to solve the problem with the TPMS light on your dash

So, the blinking light may distract you from the road or just annoy you because you are sure that the tire pressure is absolutely normal now. But how can you solve the problem? There are several ways and I will describe them starting with the easiest one:

1. Just drive over 50 MPH for 10-20 minutes

Your TPMS sensors are not so fast and they usually won't turn off the TPMS light once you inflate the flat tire. The sensor needs some time to readjust and stop sending the code to the ECU. Usually, you will need to drive about 10-20 minutes at different speed levels including fast driving - over 50 MPH.

This will help you reset the sensor and the light will most likely go off the dash. But if it stays after that, you will need to take some other actions to deal with the problem.

2. Manual reset of the TPMS light in the Mazda 3

The majority of vehicles that have the TPMS, also have the TPMS reset button. In your Mazda 3, it may be located under the steering wheel, right on the steering column cover. But if you can't locate the reset button there, you should read the manual for your car and find out the location of the button because it's not always that clear.

Here's how you can manually reset the TPMS:

• inflate the flat tire and check all other tires;
• turn the engine off;
• turn on the ignition or the accessory mode;
• wait till the TPMS button blinks and stays on the dash;
• press the TPMS reset button and hold it till the TPMS light blinks 3 times;
• release the button and turn the engine off;
• turn the engine on and drive for about 5 miles at any speed;
• turn the engine off;
• turn the engine on and see if the problem disappeared.

In most cases, if the first step didn't work well, this method will turn off the TPMS light on your dash. It may seem a little complicated but once you do this one time, the second time will be just as simple as checking the oil level in your car.

But what should you do if this method didn't work either?

3. Reinflating all your tires

You can also use one of the officially recommended methods of resetting the TPMS. It's quite easy to do if you have a tire compressor in your hands.

So, here's how it should be done:

• turn on the ignition to activate the TPMS;
• inflate your tires 3 PSI more than recommended (don't forget the spare tire as it can also have the sensor in it);
• then deflate all the tires to zero;
• after that, inflate all the tires to the recommended pressure;
• turn off the ignition, then turn on the engine and see if the TPMS light is still on.

This method helps you recalibrate the TPMS sensors and make sure their readings are OK. Also, while you are doing this, you may also want to look at the tire pressure monitoring screen if you have one in your Mazda 3. It will show you the exact pressure in each tire and you will make sure that the readings of all sensors are correct.

4. Hard reset of the TPMS and the ECU

If you couldn't turn off the TPMS light with the TPMS reset button, things are getting quite complicated. But there is one more DIY method of what you can do.

Here's how you can reset the system:

• turn off the engine;
• open the hood and locate the battery;
• locate the positive battery terminal;
• unscrew the cable using the wrench;
• take off the cable from the positive battery terminal;
• try to turn on the ignition in the vehicle and turn on the light or honk to use the remaining power in the system;
• wait for 5 minutes;
• reconnect the positive terminal and tighten the cable;
• start the vehicle and see if the TPMS is still going on the dash.

If it's now OK, congratulations, you successfully reset the system and now can use it further without observing this annoying light on the dash. But if it still stays on, you have some more serious problems. I will tell you later in this article what you should do to solve the problem.

What if nothing helps and the TPMS light is still on?

You may go crazy seeing that annoying light still on the dahs. It may even blink and this annoys you even more.

First of all, you need to make sure that the tire pressure is actually OK on all wheels. Maybe, the tool you are using to measure the pressure is not OK. Change the tool and recheck everything or maybe go to the tire service shop and ask professionals to help you with this.

Also, the following reasons are worth checking:

• your TPMS sensors may be faulty - it means that the sensors will send wrong readings and the ECU will throw a code that turns on the TPMS light;
• the 12V battery may be faulty - the battery in your vehicle powers the system and it may malfunction because of the issues with the power supply;
• the TPMS control unit is faulty or the ECU is glitching - usually, this can be solved by hard reset (cutting the power supply for 5 minutes), but sometimes the problem is more serious.

While resetting the TPMS is kind of a DIY task and you shouldn't pay for this to the dealership or repair shop, diagnosing and repairing the tire pressure monitoring system is impossible without proper tools and knowledge.

If you experience problems with the tire pressure monitoring system light and can't get rid of it, you better go to the professionals and have the car inspected with a good scanner. Maybe, the problem is in a dying control module and you just need to replace it instead of spending hours of your time trying to reset the system.

Final words

I suppose, now you know for sure what to do when your Mazda 3 tells you that the tire pressure monitoring system is not working properly or the tire pressure in one of the wheels is bad. Never forget about the spare tire because it may also take part in the system.

But if you can't find the reason for the problem, it's always better to go to a good repair shop or to the Mazda dealership and have the vehicle inspected.