igzy

Due to popular demand.............

Use at your own risk!

Disclaimer:
This is a how to disable the light on the dash. The code will still be present in the ECU but you will not get a warning. So if your tire(s) are low in pressure, have a leak, sensor or ECU malfunctions you will not get a warning on the dash - this is again your choice to make the warning disappear.

In USA, this is a must-have for all cars in order to be sold, in Canada the law is not in place yet...

It took me about 15 minutes to do and it was based on my research on Yaris (found on toyotanation forum). I adapted it for ES350 and performed it on my 2007 model (US vehicle that I bought in Canada).



How to:
1) Turn the car off completely. Remove the kick panel on passenger side. This is under the glove box and knee air bag. It removes by simply pulling on the cover and disengaging the clips. I worked from left to right and clip by clip. Do it slowly so that the clips don't break. You may need to remove the small light from the panel once removed if the harness on it is too short to work around.



2) Locate the TPMS ECU under the dash. It is an orange box with one wire harness going to it and it says something like tire pressure ECU on it. Disconnect the connector, the lock is on the top side.





3) On the top side of the harness, i.e. same side where the locking clip is, locate the blue wire. It is the second one from right in the photo above, and cut it further away from the connector (in case you want to reconnect it). Strip some insulation off from the end that is on harness (not the connector)

4) Next, remove some insulation from the orange wire (don't cut it). It is the left most wire in the connector per photo. Attach the blue to the exposed wire and insulate. I used a short piece of wire to make the connection. So blue connects to orange



4a) You can be creative here and install a 3-way switch, instead of a jump-wire, that you can toggle when using winter tires, etc. so to keep the light off and when you put the wheels with sensors back on to enable the light. The switch would toggle between the blue and orange and open/close circuit that way. I had no time to do it this time, but may be will come back to it before winter...

5) Connect the harness back into the ECU. Make sure the connector is locked in. Reinstall the kick panel (clips just snap in). Start your car and observe no light

GCL

iTrader: (1)

Thanks! This is great. I have been searching all over the internet looking for a way to disable it on the ES350.

dman00001

This may seem like a dumb question but why are people looking to disable a safety feature like this? Wouldn't it be better to just get the tires checked and corrected when the warning is displayed?

igzy

Let me start off by stating that in Canada this system is not mandatory and that most cars come without it. My car is a US model and came with the system.

My reasons for disabling the light:
1) I checked the tire pressures and they were all OK. I did the system reset and pressure set and the light stayed on. So I suspect a faulty sensor and a trip to the dealer to tell me that and to replace the sensor would cost a couple hundred $$. I am sure those that took this route can confirm the amount.
2) I install winter tires and have them on the car for about half the year. I don't have a second set of sensors for winter tires and to have the light on for 6 months for no reason would plainly annoy me.
3) And yes, I am that cheap and don't want to spend $2-300 to have it diagnosed and fixed properly and don't want to spend $4-500 on a second set of sensors. In Canada dealer labor and parts costs much more than in US...

GCL

iTrader: (1)

I also live in Canada and I can relate to the reasons for disabling TPMS.

I check my tire pressures manually about every 2 weeks anyways and I look at my tires constantly. I've been doing this all my driving life prior to TPMS.

By looking at all the sticky items at the top of this forum where people are enabling functions that are normally turned off when the car is in motion, I feel other people are also choosing what they feel comfortable with modifying, with respect to "safety".

mspearl95

I'd like to see a post for the actual fix for when the TPMS light comes on.

jkeller

Not trying to be snarky here, but you did also check the pressure for the spare in the trunk right? Twice over the years on my 07 it's been the spare that set off the warning light. I wish the system would tell me exactly which tire is low, instead of a one light for all system.

LexBob2

If the car has a full size spare it's sometimes overlooked when checking the tire pressures.

igzy

That's a good tip and spare was actually the first tire I checked...

@mspearl95 - I heard that there is a diagnostics tool you can buy just for TPMS system debugging, but if you have a defective sensor, you will then need a tire removal machine too

And like GCL noted above, it is interesting how many people are against this because it is disabling a safety feature, whereas 3 out of 6 stickies in ES forum alone are doing just that. I've done this consciously and am aware of its pro's and con's. I am simply sharing my experience and anyone can choose whether to use it or not...

igzy

Found the tool on eBay, I'm sure there are some cheaper ones out there: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Autel-MaxiTPMS-TS401-TPMS-Diagnostic-and-Service-Tool-New-Generation-/261198389318?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item3cd0a32046&vxp=mtr

GCL

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Igzy!

I put on new tires/wheels without TPMS sensors a few of weeks ago. For the first couple of weeks, the TPMS light did not appear. Then I made a longer trip and at 36km, the light flashed and then remained light thereafter.

No problem, I did the modification you'd suggested and the light is now disabled.

I'd soldered on longer leads to the affected wires to allow me to hook up a switch later.

igzy

My pleasure

For the older TPMS systems, I believe that the light gets triggered after a certain # of km/miles, so if you did very short trips then the code would not get triggered...

carart21

thanks a million igzy. it took me forever to find this. Why in the heck would they put sensors in the wheels that need so much attention and cost so much???? i can monitor and check my own tires. good job.

carart21

igzy. this did not work on my 2006 s300. i have the orange box, but it has many more wires than the one pictured. i did use the blue/orange, but no effect. suggestions???

GCL

iTrader: (1)

In your research, can you find the wiring diagram for your 2006 S300's TPMS box? If you can find and post it, we can help you to match the wiring colors.