TSHong

I'm a retail dealer for the Goodyear, Dunlop & Kelly Group as well as Michelin and Continental. Tires are just as susceptible to nails and road hazards now than previous years. Infact with UHP tires coming on so many vehicles, punctures can happen more easily with smaller sidewalls.

Although you have to maintain it, TPMS is a good thing for the masses.

richard-tx

The Firestone recall in the late 1990s (which was linked to more than 100 deaths from rollovers following tire tread-separation), pushed the United States Congress to legislate the TREAD Act. The Act mandated the use of a suitable TPMS technology for all light motor vehicles (under 10,000 pounds), to help alert drivers of under-inflation events. This act affects all light motor vehicles sold after September 1, 2007. Audi was preemptive and introduced it before the deadline.

The defense that Firestone came up with went something like this: "Firestone tires are safe provided the tires are inflated properly. In all of the cases where an accident occurred, the tires were under inflated which caused the tires to overhead and fail." That is why not only tire pressure is monitored but temperature is as well.

TPMS is actually nothing new. TPMS was introduced by General Motors for the 1991 model year for the Corvette in conjunction with Goodyear run-flat tires. The system uses sensors in the wheels and a driver display which can show tire pressure at any wheel, plus warnings for both high and low pressure. It has been standard on Corvettes ever since.

There are fewer cars on the shoulder changing tires because of the mandated addition of a TPMS and not the tires.

Tires are more susceptible to damage than ever due to the lower profile. As a matter of fact, many tire stores will not even offer road hazard on tires that have a profile less than 45, that is how susceptible they can be. The lower profile tires also give little to no feedback to the driver when they are completely flat. Sure lower profile tires eliminate tire sidewall flex and tire squirm thus improving handling but that great handling comes at a cost. The cost is not knowing when a tire or tires are dangerously under inflated.

Personally I think the TPMS is a great idea. If I pick up a nail, I will know about it before it is flat and I can likely make it to the nearest tire shop to have it fixed instead of having to pull over, pull out the spare, jack it up, etc etc.

So you can disable or leave the TPMS disabled if desired. I fail to see any logical reason to do so and as such, I just don't think it is a wise decision.

Another way to look at it is like this: If you want to kill yourself, that is fine with me but who else are you going to take out with you when you flip the car on the highway?

On the plus side, no one has ever been jailed for successfully committing suicide. They have been jailed for manslaughter and if the TPMS is disabled and something happens, your life will be forever changed...and not for the better.

mishar

Was it MMI Not Working or TPMS Not Working ?

P.S. I agree that TPMS is very useful.

05A8W12

I think the TPMS kinda took over this thread .. Anywho... Last night I drove over to my folks and when I tried to leave car would not start. Put key in ignition - nothing. Could not pull key out of ignition. Turned the key each way several times. I could put the car in neutral but wheels remained locked. I did in hook battery to see if that would reset anything - that did not solve it. I did not have my computer in the car so I could not run a scan. Kinda concerned about having it towed with the wheels locked up. I'll try to send a scan later today.

Mister Bally

There is a simple procedure cited in the Owner's Manual to place the car in Neutral even if the ignition interlock fails/won't unlock.

05A8W12

I did not see it in the manual last night but I will look again.

mishar

When you turn the key does your starter work or nothing happens?

Locked wheels even when you shift in neutral is very strange since it is all mechanical. Are you sure your park brake is not on?

To take your key out you need to open the little cover next to the key and push in something like a paper clip.

You can tow it in park (locked wheels) just the rear wheels have to be on a dolly. No flatbed.

05A8W12

Nothing happens when I turn the key.

I am sure the parking park is not on.

At this point I can no longer get the car in neutral at all. I was able to remove the key. I called Audi roadside assistance and all they could offer was a tow.

In the manual it does show something under the ashtray to manually get the shifter to neutral but epithet I am doing it wrong or it is not working.

MP4.2+6.0

Several things:

Yes you can get the key out from the little area near key. Sounds like you found that.

Yes you can put in neutral from area under ashtray. Manual not great on subject IIRC but that is where it is. And...you have to do it there because only other disconnect is inside the pan area.

If you have had any internal tranny work done or valve body (Mechatronics) removed, suspect that internal connection. But so few people ever get in there--reliable D3 tranny--seems low probability.

Higher probability is to suspect battery. How old is it?--forget about chargers, how old? If > about 3 years, I would preemptively change when seeing issues like this. Also high probability is to suspect brake switch. Battery is known to make systems flaky, and brake switch is known issue back to year 1. Run scan again to see. On a 2005 you may also want to change preemptively--issue was acute in 2004 and continuing thru 2005 IIRC. But meantime you do have the fault in control module from back at "start" of thread.

Mister Bally

A lesson here for others: Practice both the key removal procedure as well as the emergency transmission into neutral procedure. When I bought my D3 over ten years ago, I read about it in the manual and then practiced it.
I also have stored in the trunk a paper clip and small screwdriver for this which is not part of the tool kit