is there a way to see the tire pressure?

I once-in-a-while fill mine to about +5 the rating, but after that I "see the tire pressure" by just doing a walk-around and visually looking at the "puffyness" of the tires head-on. I even have a digital version of one of those "magic tools", but i'm too lazy to use it, except after an oil change where someone else may've messed with it.

 

Checking tire pressures is one of my PM activities - usually weekly. The HyHi that I drove previous to the Prius had a TPMS screen that showed the tire pressure of all 5 tires. Since there was no designation for LR,RF,RR,LR, spare - when the warning indicated a low pressure in one of the tires, I still had to check each tire until I found the offender and corrected the condition. Both times it illuminated, it was the (full size) spare - and the last one that I chcked.

I agree that if the TPMS is providing the data that it would be a short code sequence to add it in the cycle of information screens that are currently available, but it's more likely a consideration of cost.

 

Bingo! If the Prius had half the features that have been requested on this board alone, it would be called a LEXUS. As it is, lots of posts about how expensive the higher level cars are already.

 

Wow. This thread has gotten a little "catty".
First, my tires are rotated by a "full service" tire dealer (their term). Last time they were rotated the tech carefully wrote down the tire pressures on a little cardboard tag and hung it on the rear-view mirror. He/she wrote down the pressures on the door plaque. Didn't bother to actually -check- the tires. How do I know? Because I don't trust them/anybody else with something as important as tire pressure, and I checked it after the rotation. The rear had 40 and front had 38 PSI (I keep 40 in the front and 38 in the rear).
Second, you can use the tire pressure monitor system to give you a warning at any pressure you choose. It will alarm about 20% below whatever pressure you set it to (set the tires to the pressure you want, then press the set button). So you could put a higher pressure in, press the set button, then lower the pressure to some other value closer to what you want it to alarm at.

Anyway, no there is no way to actually get a readout of the tire pressures with the monitor system.

 

I for one (of many) am annoyed that the car won't tell you what it knows about tire pressure. I care enough to have bought an after-market device that transmits tire pressure to a dashboard readout. I wish it weren't necessary (or, alternatively, free) but you can't have anything. The company that makes it is Advantage Pressure Pro and I wrote a review of their product.

RIKLBLOG - RIKLReview - Tire Pressure Sensor

You have to add sensors to each valve stem to use it.

Richard

 

The cost would be approximately $zero per car. A more likely difference is product differentiation. If Toyota includes something as a no-cost feature in a Prius, that makes it harder to justify the price of a Lexus that has the same feature.

 

Of course. They can add all sorts of extra features for virtually no cost and they are only keeping them off the car so they can justify the panache and prestige of their other lines.

Good call.

 

For the record some of that does go on. Mostly small convenience items. Since every Prius does have a tire pressure monitor system, not reporting the pressure to the owner qualifies as one of those small items.

 

So what you are essentially saying is that the techs at my local Toyota dealership are too stupid to check tire pressures or how to read a tire gauge. When I have the tires rotated and they hand me the service write up and it states what is in the tires I guess I expect them to actually have done the work. A month later they all should not be under 30 pounds in each. I guess that when you take the car in for an oil change it is probably too much to assume that they actually put oil in the car? You and I have a big difference in opinion in what we expect from a dealership I guess. After reading this board I think some of you could literally have the tires fall off the car and the motor implode and you would still make excuses for mediocre build quality and shotty service from Toyota.

 

No, I didn't say they were too stupid to check tire pressures, I was saying you were not realistic to have expected them to take the effort to do it correctly, if at all. There is a big difference.

I check the oil level before I leave the dealership. You don't?

I don't believe in Santa Claus either. Your expectations didn't get your tires filled properly, so much for that. What else that you don't know about might they have done incorrectly?

If you think we like the all to often low level of dealer service you have a reading comprehension problem. Grasping reality and being an apologist for poor service are two completely different things.

To paraphrase what a wise old country boy sergeant I knew in the Air Force used to say, Expect in one hand and crap in the other and see which fills up first.

 

You have just, succinctly and accurately, answered the equivalent question, "...why does a dog lick his balls?"

 

Which is it?

Because it doesn't have an opposable thumb

or

Because no one else will.

 

FWIW, some automakers put in TPMS w/pressure readings on earlier model years only to remove them later. My coworker's 03 (first model year) 350Z was a trim level higher than mine and would show you the pressure in all 4 tires. IIRC, in later years, on models w/TPMS, they removed any means of viewing them and would only warn you if a tire was low.

I'm guessing that perhaps cost had something to do with it along w/the accuracy of these sensors. Perhaps they just aren't that accurate and might not even be accurate the # of significant figures shown.

 

Because the majority of the population either doesn't care what the actual pressure is or is too stupid to understand what the numbers mean. The fact that you are on this board talking about these things puts you in about .5% of the overall Prius ownership. Therefore, it is most useful to simply display an indicator on the dashboard when something is wrong. They call them "idiot lights" for a reason.

 

You know, by keeping a guy in a cage you don't help to promote the mainstream-ism of owning a Prius. Although if he's been naughty maybe he deserved it.

 

Actually sounds like something that every car owner would like. Yes, it's easy to check, but the vast majority of people let this slide unless they have a reason to check.

 

Originally Posted by timo27
You have just, succinctly and accurately, answered the equivalent question, "...why does a dog lick his balls?"

Actually it's more simple than that. The answer:It's because he can.

 

The Highlander Hybrid shows the actual pressures, but not tire specific. I found that useful, especially if one is interested in keeping the pressures at a specific, possibly higher level than recommended, pressure.