Your Ford F-150 is most likely equipped with a system that monitors the tire pressure. It helps you understand when the tire pressure is lower than needed and add some pressure before bad things happen. Sometimes, it can even save your life because unnoticed low tire pressure can easily lead to accidents on the road, especially at high speed.
If you see the “Tire Pressure Monitor Fault” error message and the TPMS light on then off, your TPMS system in the Ford F-150 is malfunctioning. It may be because of faulty sensors, bad TPMS monitor, loss of connection, poor batteries or 12V battery, or interfered signals from tire pressure sensors.
Here’s what I’m going to cover here:
- What can “Tire Pressure Monitor Fault” mean in your F-150?
- Most common reasons for the problem and explanations.
- How to fix the issue with the malfunctioning TPMS monitor?
- Is it OK to drive with the “Tire Pressure Monitor Fault” message?
What does it mean when you see the “Tire Pressure Monitor Fault” message?
First of all, you need to understand how the TPMS system works and what exactly it does in your vehicle.
The system consists of the sensors that are mounted in each wheel, and also the monitor or a small computer that gets the readings of the sensors and sends the needed signals to the dash of your truck. The sensors are wireless and work with small batteries in them.
The signal from the sensors to the TPMS monitor is sent through the radio channel, so there are no wires between them, and the connection may be broken easily just by some equipment. This is important to understand.
The monitor itself has several scenarios of how it can act. In most cases, it launches the initial check when you start the engine and immediately shows the tire pressure in all wheels of the F-150 before you start driving.
But if there is a problem, the following things may happen:
- you can see the readings of sensors in only some wheels while other wheels will show zero or some other bad readings;
- the system may light up the TPMS light on the dash and also show several different messages;
- if the problem is not with just one sensor, the most common message to see is “Tire Pressure Monitor Fault”;
- the message may disappear quickly or may stay on the dash depending on the type of problem;
- your truck will still be able to drive, this error message will not trigger anything like limp mode.
So, the problem will most often show up once you turn on the engine. The “Tire Pressure Monitor Fault” message doesn’t mean that there is a problem with tire pressure. It indicates that the problem is with one or several units of the system.
In most cases, you will not be able to use the system and see the tire pressure at all. But sometimes, after the message goes off the screen, you can still use the system and get the information about the tire pressure. But very often, this information will show zero in every tire.
What are the most common reasons for TPMS Fault in the F-150?
To solve this problem, you will need to find the actual reason. Unfortunately, locating a problem that triggers the “Tire Pressure Monitor Fault” error message is not that easy. But anyway, the problem should be hidden somewhere between the main units of this system – the sensors and the control unit.
Here are the most common reasons I can think of:
1. Tire pressure monitor control unit is faulty
This may happen with cars that were flooded or had some other water damage. The control unit may be located in different places according to the generation of the vehicle, but it’s quite often placed in the lower part of the car. Even if you just spill a cup of water in your truck’s interior, chances are high that it may affect the control unit of the TPMS system.
Also, the TPMS computer may have lost connection with the dash or with some other units of the system. It will mean that it can’t get or send the signals and you need to find the problem with electrical connections. This is the task for professionals because locating the issue with wiring and connections is not easy at all.
2. There are no sensors in the wheels
It can sound quite weird but I’ve seen this situation. A person comes to the shop with their F-150 showing zero pressure in all wheels. When the mechanic takes off the tire, they can’t find the tire pressure monitor sensor under it.
But why?
There are several possible ways how this could happen. First of all, these wheels may not be from this car. They may have been bought in a scrapyard or on eBay and such wheels usually come without TPMS sensors.
Also, the TPMS sensors may have been taken out because they were faulty. Maybe, the previous owner of the truck didn’t have the money or didn’t see the reason why they should invest in new sensors.
The exotic version is that the TPMS sensors may have been stolen the last time you were in the tire center. Everything can happen, so you can come up with your ideas.
3. Small batteries in sensors are low or dead
Each TPMS sensor has its own battery. Usually, these batteries will live at least 5-7 years in the Ford F-150, but their lifespan depends very much on the climate, driving conditions, and other factors. So, the batteries may die earlier than that.
They usually don’t die all in one day, so you will notice the sensors dying one by one. But if your truck has been sitting for a couple of months, and now you start it and find the “Tire Pressure Monitor Fault” error message, chances are that all sensors have dead batteries.
It’s not that hard to check it in the Ford dealership or in almost any repair shop. I don’t recommend taking the tires off the wheels on your own because it may cause lots of problems. So, have the batteries changed in one sensor and you will see if this is the reason for the issue, in your case.
4. 12V battery problems
Your TPMS system in the Ford F-150 relies on the sensors and the control unit. While the sensors have their own batteries, the control unit relies on the power supply from the 12V battery in your truck.
If the 12V battery is low or dying, it will not provide the system with the needed voltage. Once you try to start the car, you may see random error messages and warning lights coming on the dash. TPMS fault is one of them.
But if your car starts and the engine works, the error may go off because now the alternator powers the vehicle and the TPMS system has enough power to work properly.
5. Other electronics interfere with the signal
As I said above, the sensors of the TPMS are wireless, so they transfer their signals on air with radio waves directly to the control unit. But this way of sending signals is not the most reliable. For example, if you charge your phone using one of the USB or other 12V chargers in the interior of your truck, it may be that the phone interrupts the signal that is sent from all or several wheel sensors.
Usually, this happens when you plug in something to charge the truck. Of course, the system won’t react on all gadgets this way, but it obviously will glitch because of some types of electronic units.
Can you fix the issue with TPMS in Ford F-150 on your own?
You can solve the problem if it’s connected with a bad 12V battery or with some charging devices. Other than that, you won’t be able to do anything because, for repairs and inspection, you will have to take off the tires, find the control unit, know how to check wiring and connections, etc.
I recommend checking the battery first, then using the OBD2 scanner to find possible hidden codes that may help you in your inspection, and then turning off all the charging devices in your truck to check the possible reasons.
If this doesn’t help, the best thing you can do is to find a good mechanic who will provide your F-150 with proper inspection and will help you find the actual reason for the TPMS fault.
Can you drive with the “Tire Pressure Monitor Fault” message?
Your F-150 will not fall into limp mode or stall because of the TPMS failure. So, yes, you can drive. But since you can’t monitor the actual tire pressure now, I highly recommend at least visually checking the tires.
If you are going to drive on a highway, it’s important to get to the nearest tire service or repair shop and ask them to check the tire pressure with a special tool. This will help you make sure that the driving is safe and your car won’t sway on the road unexpectedly.
Final thoughts
I believe now you know everything about the tire pressure monitoring system in your Ford F-150. Also, you know what to do when you see the TPMS Fault message on the dash of the truck. Don’t ignore this problem. It’s extremely important to know the actual tire pressure in your vehicle, so repair the system as soon as possible.
But you still can drive if you make sure that the wheels look OK. Also, you may use a special tool to manually check the tire pressure and ensure it’s OK to drive further. You can borrow such a tool from any repair shop or tire service center.
By the way, I recently told you about the “Steering Assist Fault” in F-150 – check this article if you ever got this message.