Just for some background, I'm in the Northern Hemisphere, on the East Coast of the US. I own a 2010 Fit.

We had a slight temperature drop (90s to the 80s) a couple of weeks ago. TPMS light goes off. I don't think this is a big deal because the "low tire pressure" light generally comes on when the temperature starts falling. So I figure the tire pressure is low, and yes, a couple of them were down, one as low as 29. I told my dad it was supposed to be 32 psi so he could handle it for me while I was at work, turns out it needed to be 33, according the specs on the driver's side door. So I do another fill, get them up to about 33-34. I'm afraid to overfill, so I left it at that. Light still hasn't gone off. That was about two weeks ago.

I checked the tires again yesterday to make sure I didn't have a nail or something in them. Nope, tires are fine, pressure is still good at the levels I had them at.

This boils down to "is there something actually wrong with my tires" that needs looking at, or is this a simple "take it to my local mechanic have them reset the light for me."

The tires haven't been replaced in the three years that I've had the car, simply because I don't drive that much. I drive up to my bus stop M-F, run errands around town on the weekends, and occasionally I'll go out on the highway to visit friends in other cities. The furthest I've ever driven it was actually this past weekend to go to the beach, a little over 188 miles round trip.

Thanks for any help!

 

there are two indicators for the TPMS system, one is the low pressure indicator and it looks like the cross section of a tire with an exclamation mark (funky looking U) and the other is the letters TPMS.

For the low pressure (U with an !) indicator it may take several miles for the light to go off after pressure is increased to normal.

If the TPMS indicator comes on there is probably an issue with one or more of the sensors that need replacing.

Either way if the actual pressure is OK there's no real problem driving. Just an annoying light.

 

Yeah, the low pressure light has gone off generally in the early fall when the temperature really drops. I just refill the tires and it goes off after I start driving it. This is the first time I've had the actual TPMS (the letters) light come on, which led me to to my two previous conclusions.

How do I find out if it's a sensor issue or a real tire issue? IF it's just a sensor malfunction, do I have to take it to Honda, or can I just take it to my normal mechanic?

 

If the tire has over 30PSI checked with a hand-gauge then it's not a tire issue.

If it's under warranty Honda should look at it. If not your mechanic is probably less expensive.

 

If its the actual letters "TPMS" then there is a fault with the system that needs to be checked out to get the light turned off. If you are still within the 3 year/36k mile range, take it into Honda to get diagnosed.