TPMS What a Pain.

My 2011 just had new tires put on and they set them for free BUT, the recomemended air pressure is 30lbs front and rear when car has not been run for an hour or so.
I asked them to set @ 30lbs. and reset the TMPS.

Problem here is the temp outside was 65 degrees when they were installed. Now 2 months later it is 35 degrees when I start up in the morning. That puts the tires pressures at 28lbs. which sets off the Warning .. low tire.
They were filled with Nitrogen so that means a trip back to the dealer to pump them up 2 lbs. and recheck the TPMS.
Just a 2 pound drop sets off the system.
I dislike this YO YO system. Too many issues to deal with.

SF

SF- Just add the 2lbs. & don't sweat the small stuff.

I never reset the TPMS, if I get a warning, I'm checking all 4 tires anyhow..

I have seen 27 psi on a very cool morning. No warning, bells or whistles. So what psi sets off the warning?

@Silverfox, thank you for sharing what you go through with the TPMS. I have this on my 04 Tahoe and go through the same thing. It’s a very touchy system. I asked my mechanic to put a little more PSI in the tires which he did, but he told me that they have to be careful doing that as having too much PSI in the tires will also set it off.

Happy Holidays,
Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service

Michelle,

I really wonder about the high side as I had 40psi in the tires when I got the car with no alarms going off. I think some delivering dealers don't bother to check the door plate. They just look on the tire and see the Max pressure warning thinking that is what you should have in them.

Evidently it varies by valve sensor as I have owned 5 HHR's and this 2011 is the only one that is this sensitive.

Sleeper: .. I getcha but I hate someone or something constantly telling me what to do when I already did it.

I also monitor my tire pressures with a quality gauge just to make sure things are where they should be.

SF

The problem with the 2011 system, if you rotate your tires without re-setting the positions the TPMS light on the dash will come on! The ONLY solution is to have a $70 tool available.

I have a 2011 1lt and just put my new wheel and tire package on. There is a relearn procedure still listed in the owners manual. As follows
Put key in ignition
Turn key to on position without starting car
pull handbrake
Push both unlock and lock buttons simultaneously on key fob
Horn should sound twice to signal system ready to relearn
Must follow the following pattern drivers front, passengers front, drivers rear, passengers rear
Release or add air for 8 seconds continuously in above pattern, once a corner is learned the turn signal for that corner will flash
Move on to next tire
You only have 2 minutes to complete the procedure once started or system will not learn all new sensors
Once all four are set adjust pressure to recommended settings

This is straight from the owners manual from my 2011 hhr 1lt

Also my sensors did not register an error when I rotated my tires, nor did it need the tool to reprogram. Hope this helps :-)

Yours must be a different 2011 than mine. Mine says basically the same except you have to use the signal generator tool instead of the air release. I tried the old way just for kicks, didn't work. I guess maybe they changed mid stream.

Mine was a previous program car, wonder if that makes a difference? I even looked back at my book again to make sure they hadn't stuck a 2010 owners manual in mine. Nope it was 2011 owners manual and the above procedure worked for me. Maybe rentals or fleet cars were different to enable in house fixing without many trips for those with multiple hhrs in service.