DEAR SGT. AL: KICK THE TIRE ON MY BENTLEY PLEASE!

HEY SERGEANT AL:  I see you’re into English cars so I was thinking maybe you could help me: my tire pressure light keeps coming on for me to try everything under the sun to make it shut off. I've inspected the tires; nothing. Sometimes the light stays on at start-up, and sometimes it goes off while driving. Sometimes it usually goes off after driving for a while, but if I'm driving on the highway, sometimes it comes back on again. Could something be wrong with the light itself? I was thinking about taking it back to the dealer and have them trace the wires to see what’s going wrong, even though I prefer not to. I drive a 2006 Bentley Flying Spur. —FLICKERING LIGHT YET IT’S NOT GETTING BETTER.

This is the Continental Flying Spur saloon by Bentley Motors Ltd., of Cheshire, Crewe, UK. It has a 6.0 litre W12 engine (essentially two mini V6 engines welded together) with two bi-twin turbochargers slapped on each side. This configuration yields at least 562 horsepower, more ponies than most Porches produce. The 2013 model MSRP starts at $202,600. This car is definitely in the crosshairs of my radar gun . . .

DEAR FLYING “B”: I don’t mind at all going slightly off subject even though questions like these are about cars anyway, so yes, I do love the English car questions, thank you (smile), and keep them coming! After I retired from the police force on the east coast, I had clients who owned bespoke cars, some of which I was responsible to drive and maintain, so I amassed a lot of knowledge with these kinds of cars. I might have a question later this or next week, depending how much research I get done, from a reader about whether to restore an old Bentley T series saloon if you’re interested, so stay tuned . . .

A Bentley Arnage being hand assembled at Bentley's plant in Crewe, UK. They finished assembling the chassis and body, as well as priming the car, now they are about to paint the car by hand before adding the suspension, engine, and interior (not necessarily in that order).

Bespoke cars, which usually consist of brands like Rolls Royce, Bentley, or Aston Martin, are all cars that are handcrafted by professional engineers and tradesmen, customized to the customer's taste, and assembled like yachts by hand as opposed to by a machine (thus the term “land yacht”), like your Flying Spur. I often used to tell my former clients that when it comes to these kind of cars, that you never know when a problem is really a problem. When a mechanical condition on these kind of cars presents itself,  you usually have to wait and further investigate to see if the condition at hand is either a serious or just a minor problem. Although vast improvements have been made in the assembly process over the past some thirty years to make these cars better built and more reliable than years past, bespoke cars are still mostly assembled by hand, and in that, the margin for error and mistakes increase several fold before they can be found and repaired, as opposed to a car that is mass assembled strictly by machine. Because exotic carmakers usually assemble less than 1000 units a model for any given year, it’s much harder to spot an item for recall or to recognize if a car really has a mechanical problem at all. Although they now use robotic welders for assembly of the body and chassis, most of the engines are assembled usually by either a very few or just one mechanic, and by hand. This is why after assembly is completed, car manufacturers like Bentley and Rolls Royce, which after more than 60 years together are now separate car makers again, keep their completely assembled cars at the plant for a few weeks to constantly test drive the cars over and over, to return them to the plant for tweaking and re-testing repeatedly before shipping the car to their customers. Once the car arrives here they like to further test the car again to insure all the bugs have been fixed before delivery. This is another reason why the quality control, especially for a hand made product, has improved tremendously over recent years; why bespoke car makers usually warranty their cars beginning at the odometer miles at delivery as opposed to mile zero, and why a new Rolls Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, or whatever exotic bespoke car you’re purchasing, never has usually less than 75 miles or so on the speedometer at delivery. In my opinion, if the car has less than 40 or so miles on it, then the car hasn’t been tested thoroughly enough, if not for automatic transmission issues alone.

For the first four years ALL maintenance and repairs are covered for FREE under warranty by Bentley, and that's if you  didn't extend coverage, so why take chances? Call your Bentley dealer and have them pick up the car at your office or at home to have it properly serviced.

First let me cover myself: you are driving a Bentley, a powerful car that has high performance tires and rims. You can get into a serious accident if you don’t resolve this issue soon, properly, and carefully. Even if you don’t drive like Mario Andretti in your Bentley, and even if you can afford to buy AND drive this car with its gas mileage, then you shouldn’t take chances by not going to the repair shop to have them look at it, even if the car is out of warranty. SO that is my bottom line advice: have a mechanic look at it anyway. With that in mind, these are some of the issues you should be focusing on as you go there . . .

There are two major issues you need to examine when it comes to the tire pressure light of your car: first is the tire, which I suspect may have a very slow leak. Secondly is the light itself and all the problems that might be causing it other than the tire. To my other readers: regardless of what kind of car you drive, expensive or economy, everyone here should pay attention, because all cars are now acquiring tire pressure sensor technology, including your Kia or Hyundai or whatever. So let’s all read on and take a look at the first issue, which is:

1.   The tire itself: If I had to bet, my wager would be most likely this is where the problem lies if not the sensor. If you haven’t changed the tires yet since you’ve purchased it, your Bentley is probably equipped with 275/40ZR19 Pirelli PZero Rosso tires, about $500 each, cheaper if you shop around online. By the way, WARNING: your rims cost about $6000 each, so don’t rub them against the curb as you will not only easily damage the rims, but also compromise your tire sensors and ruin the tires. WATCH FOR THOSE POTHOLES as I’ve had clients who had to replace their rims because of this. Also, never replace the valve caps unless the replacement caps are specifically made for your car: you might compromise the tire sensors. There’s a good chance there’s a slow leak in that tire which is making the tire inflate with air when hot and under friction, and cool down when you slow down or stop, and the tire gets cold. Your car’s computer is responding in kind, and doesn’t know what to do, so it probably tries to keep the light on. Mind you, this is a Bentley, so with the traction control, all wheel drive, stability control, and antilock brakes, there’s a good chance you will not feel the difference in tire pressure at all, front or rear. I once drove  the same car like yours for hours on a trip to upstate from New York City on a tire unknowingly and completely empty of air. The car drove perfectly fine with no steering or handling issues, except for the tire pressure light. I inflated the tire to proper specs at the gas station and had no further problems at all with either the light, the tire, or the computer system. Go to a tire shop and have them take the tire off the rim for a more thorough examination. If it is not the tire the next place to look is in the rims at the tire sensors themselves, since the tire will be already off the rim. At several hundred dollars a piece, the sensor(s) may need to be replaced. When finished, I suggest replacing the air on ALL the tires with nitrogen: it’s an extra expense yes, but the car will handle better, you'll get a bit better gas mileage than the 10 mpg you're getting now, and the tires should last a bit longer. If none of this helps move onto the next issue:

2.   The tire pressure light: When you approach or start your Bentley with the smart key, you are activating the car’s computer to start and boot up. It runs a diagnostic of all systems, as your car is greeting you by activating things like the courtesy lights, and getting ready to start and go. The tire pressure light might be recycling itself, thinking that there might be a problem with the air pressure, believing you might need more air. The computer recycles the diagnostic to retest and reset, thus leaving the light on, possibly because of system failure. This is where I state with bespoke cars you never know when a problem is really a problem. Now, you can take your car back and have the boys from Bentley strip your electrical system down to its core nervous system to see if anything is wrong, which is why it is important to rule out the tire and sensor(s) before moving on to the electrical system.

The tires on this Bentley cost around $500 a piece WITHOUT the run flat feature, which costs much more, and the rims are at least $6000 a wheel new, so it helps not to ruin or rub the rims against anything or run over potholes. If you need to replace the valve caps make sure you do so only with OEM replacement parts approved by the car maker. I suggest refilling the air with nitrogen, as the tires will drive cooler, save a little gas, and also last a bit longer. Just because we're talking about a Bentley doesn't mean YOUR CAR is exempt from these costs: tire replacements, even for run flat tires which are replacing many tires as we lose the spare in the trunk is becoming the norm for ALL cars.

Let me know what happens FLYING “B,” otherwise you are WARNED: with bespoke cars you have to be careful, as you can see they need just a bit more tender care to discern when a problem might be about something routine like a leaky tire or a prelude to a major electrical apocalypse which I’ve witnessed in more than one incident where more than one  car (not Bentleys) had to be replaced under warranty for major electrical issues, no kidding. Don’t let this sway you, however, because quality control has vastly improved with bespoke cars over the years for these cars to have way less problems than they did many years ago. Especially if the car is under warranty, it probably won’t cost you anything to make an appointment, and have them pick the car up from your home or office to service it for you. Good luck and safe driving!