TPMS stuff

LEAKYSEALS951 · 03:17 PM

Folks- school me on TPMS.

Our Mitsubishi had a dead sensor. I had it replaced at local tire place. They were not able to "program" their sensor to the car. Told me I had to see the dealer. 4 years later- I still haven't gotten around to fixing it.

Now- I've got my new 2022 pimped Volvo rims with the newer wheel speed sensor TPMS system. There is no sensor in the valve stem. It uses wheel speed sensors to determine the tire is flat. Get this- the 2022 is the old school valve stem we all know and love. My wife's car older 2015 and my 2014 volvo's are plug and play using TPMS stems. I was happy to see they would both talk to each other and play nice.

I would like to install older (real) TPMS sensors in my 2022 rims. Genuine volvo is pricey but plug and play. I see VDO 433 mhz sensors advertised as plug and play, although I see some mixed reviews. My local dude wants to "try" to program some even cheaper autel (or something even cheaper) sensors.

The dealer cost would be around $400. I could buy some VDO's for less and have local guy install them. I could have local guy try his bargain sensors for even less. His teenager would steal the car code, and try to program one of his sensors. I'm assuming if he was able to cut and paste the code, the car would then respond to the new sensor. Problem being one would need to install/program all 4 to drive the car 10 minutes to see if it works. That's a lot of work for all involved, even if he only breaks the bead to sneak in and change out the stem. I do not want to repeat the Mitsubishi non start.

What's your experience with TPMS?

stevej37 · 03:17 PM

My Fit started to signal a tpms problem. Instead of replacing the one...I did all four and it's been working fine. The price was $25 per wheel.
The battery life is about 10 years for each. I had it done at Walmart.
The Fit is a 2010...so it was right on schedule for new batteries.

LEAKYSEALS951 · 12-14-2021, 03:20 PM

And on that bombshell... I need to buy a fit and shop at Walmart*!

*Is their tire place open at 1:00 am? because that's the only time I feel safe stepping foot in one of those places

asphaltgambler · 12-14-2021, 03:25 PM

Have you checked ********? All you need is the correct tpm frequency for that manufacturer / year.

stevej37 · 12-14-2021, 03:26 PM

absolutely!

LEAKYSEALS951 · 12-14-2021, 03:36 PM

Just out of curiosity- Is the secret 'code' the frequency? (The secret tpms frat handshake?)

Also- I'm fortunate that at my point in car time 2014/2105 volvo, it was just a frequency. Later, it seems to have become individual wheel programming to say "right front at 12 lbs", or am I thinking too hard- perhaps the wheel speed sensor is saying that?

Really, I'm just trying to learn here. My personal favorite is the SC with the analog clock!

asphaltgambler · 12-14-2021, 06:14 PM

Yes, the sensors emit a specific frequency to the TPMS receiver. Not complicated at all. You can buy OE or OEM from other online sources.

rockfan4 · 12-14-2021, 06:31 PM

The frequency is the radio channel the sensors talk on. It has to match your car's receiver.
The 'secret code' is just the identifier, the radio handle of the sensor.
"Hi, I'm sensor xbd8348 and I'm reading 32psi!" That's all.
There's no reason for a kid to be messing with the sensors. From 5 minutes on the internet, it looks like there are two ways to teach the car about the new sensors. One involves a tool. The other doesn't. So do that.
Make sure the tires are at the right pressure.
Make sure there are no other tires nearby on the same frequency (Your wife's car).
Drive the car more than 10 minutes at a speed above 25mph.
Park the car 15 minutes, at least 10 feet away from any other sensors.
The article I read recommended no blue tooth or wifi sources during the learning procedure, so leave your phone at home or turn it off.

My Jetta had tpms through the abs sensors. You'd set the tire pressure on all 4, then start the car and drive it a bit. There's a reset button inside the glovebox, you'd press it and wait for the beep. That was it. It didn't know the pressures, it just knew when driving down the road at 25mph, the left front was usually at 400rpm, the right front was 402, left rear was 400 and the right rear was 398. Just making up the numbers. If one of the wheels rotated faster or slower than the others for a certain amount of time, it would light the light. No magic there.
Fun fact. If you don't check the tire pressure for a very long time and they all leak down equally, it won't light the light. I checked it one day before a trip and they were all about 22psi.

David · David's Garage

https://www.oewheelsllc.com/make/

WPOZZZ · 12-15-2021, 12:26 AM

I've bought pre-programmed ITM sensors for BMWs, Porsches and a Lexus. Had Sam's Club install at $5 per tire. No problems.

As for Autel, I am not too confident in them. I had Autel sensors installed on a 2014 328i, and they had to be reprogrammed after a while, The vendor sent me a through the tire programmer, but I had to program it using a different model BMW program. That actually worked for a month until I slammed on the brakes and it went tits up. Ordered the ITM sensors and no problems for the past 2 years.

Another place to go is Costco. If they carry the Dill brand sensor for your car, it will run $60 installed per tire.

LEAKYSEALS951 · 12-15-2021, 03:41 AM

Thanks all. I'm not too confident in the autel either. This 'might' have been what was installed on the mistibushi.

I was hoping that the process was as straightforward as described. Thanks.

WPOZZZ · 12-15-2021, 04:00 AM

This is where I got the TPMS for my 987. Titan TPMS Tire Pressure Sensors After that, I bought the ITM sensors off eBay.

Starless · 12-15-2021, 06:01 AM

Our 2010 Toyota Rav4 TPMS light lit up the other day. I checked all the tires and they were fine. Checked everything and found no issues. Was driving me nuts as I have very little to no knowledge on these things. Turns out that the spare tire was 15lbs low. I didn't realize that the spare was sending a signal too.

911 Rod · 911 Rod's Garage

My last BMW (2011 335) and our current 2013 Outback have the sensors built in with the ABS (I think). Makes it so easy to swap wheels which I like to do not having sensors inside the wheels.

Wetwork · Wetwork's Garage

TPMS wasn't important enough for me to keep it. On a Toyota FJ Cruiser there is a hack to disable it. I air up and air down enough it was a PITA so with one two minute wire splice job it was all done, never to be a factor again. The way I did it was just a temporary wire jump between two wires I can easily remove at any time. Don't know if this helps or not? But its a cheap option.-WW

LEAKYSEALS951 · 12-15-2021, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wetwork

TPMS wasn't important enough for me to keep it. On a Toyota FJ Cruiser there is a hack to disable it. I air up and air down enough it was a PITA so with one two minute wire splice job it was all done, never to be a factor again. The way I did it was just a temporary wire jump between two wires I can easily remove at any time. Don't know if this helps or not? But its a cheap option.-WW

I was thinking what a hassle tpms would be for people who drove jeeps on sand. I pulled the Mistubishi dash and there is supposed to be a way to rewire the TPMS alert into another light which will illuminate when started and shut off, but I never got around to it.

The volvo light? No way I could figure that out.

I did order some VDO 433 sensors this am and am going to just have them installed. Hopefully they should get recognized and be good to go.

My wife's 2015 volvo is weird that once a TPMS trips, it seems to need to be reset, even if the pressure is fixed, but on my 2014, it will reset itself once it receives a signal. Later models have a recalibrate function set right in the center display computer settings. My 2005 doesn't have any of this stuff. It's my favorite!

FPB111 · 12-15-2021, 08:11 AM

Get one of these. I have an ATEQ tool works fine.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fwZZzstVSoA

LEAKYSEALS951 · 12-15-2021, 09:05 AM

Well, I know what I want for christmas

Wetwork · Wetwork's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

I was thinking what a hassle tpms would be for people who drove jeeps on sand. I pulled the Mistubishi dash and there is supposed to be a way to rewire the TPMS alert into another light which will illuminate when started and shut off, but I never got around to it.

The volvo light? No way I could figure that out.

I did order some VDO 433 sensors this am and am going to just have them installed. Hopefully they should get recognized and be good to go.

My wife's 2015 volvo is weird that once a TPMS trips, it seems to need to be reset, even if the pressure is fixed, but on my 2014, it will reset itself once it receives a signal. Later models have a recalibrate function set right in the center display computer settings. My 2005 doesn't have any of this stuff. It's my favorite!

Another hack I've read about for off-roaders takes a bit more effort, but you basically make a PVC tube capped on both ends with a tire inflation nipple inserted on the side. You take your rig in get the monitors removed, throw them into the PVC tube, get it all tight, fill the tube up to the correct psi and throw the tube in the glove box. All done. Of course it now looks pretty questionable if it falls out in front of the cops while you are digging for your registration

-WW

fastfredracing · 04:10 PM

I wanted to chime in about Autel , but I had no personal experience with it till today . All the local shops seem to love the tool, and their sensors , plus , it is a great deal
I have been using a snap on tpms 3 for years and it is so so, I have had some sensors that I was not able to clone or program correctly
I bought the Autel about 6 months ago, but have not used it yet till today . I was able to replace and clone a sensor on a toyota without even reading the instructions right out of the box . Worked like a charm and was quick and easy . I would not be afraid to let them try it . I have not heard anything bad about the sensors myself yet, but time will tell