This may be a dumb ? (TPMS battery)
10-08-07, 10:19 AM
#2
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Here's what I found somewhere...
"when I had my OEM rims replaced by aftermarket ones, a damaged TPM sensor was found and I have to replace it. When a sensor was missing, the car beeps 5 times for every 2 and a half minutes and tire pressure warnning light keeps flashing.
I called up a lexus dealer to check on the price. It costs about $200 before tax for one sensor. I did not like dealer's price and luckly enought I found the parts from Internet and it costs about $100. After sensor was installed back to my car, the beeping and flashing wont go away. I went back to dealer and thought that must be a simple setup thing, but it turned out that they have to unmount all four tires in order to have the code for each sensor so that they could reprogram the controller. They need 4 hour to do that. The labor cost is $85-$150 per hour so it's running at $340-$600 to get controller reprogrammed. I still could not understand why they need to reprogram 4 instead of 1 since I only have one new sensor.
I did ask them few more questions reagrding to the sensor itself and here are what I learned
The sensor is not a passive part, it have a battery built-in. The battery can only last 4 years! Flat battery can not be changed since it's built-in, meaning that when battery is run out, the sensor has to be replaced!"
...hope that helps. This was for a Lexus SC430. Don't know what exact TPM system the Tahoe uses, but I assume the technology isn't significantly different.
"when I had my OEM rims replaced by aftermarket ones, a damaged TPM sensor was found and I have to replace it. When a sensor was missing, the car beeps 5 times for every 2 and a half minutes and tire pressure warnning light keeps flashing.
I called up a lexus dealer to check on the price. It costs about $200 before tax for one sensor. I did not like dealer's price and luckly enought I found the parts from Internet and it costs about $100. After sensor was installed back to my car, the beeping and flashing wont go away. I went back to dealer and thought that must be a simple setup thing, but it turned out that they have to unmount all four tires in order to have the code for each sensor so that they could reprogram the controller. They need 4 hour to do that. The labor cost is $85-$150 per hour so it's running at $340-$600 to get controller reprogrammed. I still could not understand why they need to reprogram 4 instead of 1 since I only have one new sensor.
I did ask them few more questions reagrding to the sensor itself and here are what I learned
The sensor is not a passive part, it have a battery built-in. The battery can only last 4 years! Flat battery can not be changed since it's built-in, meaning that when battery is run out, the sensor has to be replaced!"
...hope that helps. This was for a Lexus SC430. Don't know what exact TPM system the Tahoe uses, but I assume the technology isn't significantly different.
10-08-07, 12:59 PM
#4
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10-08-07, 02:44 PM
#6
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I went back to dealer and thought that must be a simple setup thing, but it turned out that they have to unmount all four tires in order to have the code for each sensor so that they could reprogram the controller. They need 4 hour to do that. The labor cost is $85-$150 per hour so it's running at $340-$600 to get controller reprogrammed. I still could not understand why they need to reprogram 4 instead of 1 since I only have one new sensor.
Even if they had to dismount all four tires, that labor quote is ridiculous. Dismounting and remounting and balancing four tires is an hour job at most; plus another half hour to reprogram with the scan tool
The sensor is not a passive part, it have a battery built-in. The battery can only last 4 years!
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10-08-07, 04:59 PM
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^ LOL. Sure, can you imagine how much it'd cost to replace THAT if you had a major flat or nailed a big pothole/curb ? (Think Rolex vs Seiko)
I'd rather Lexus figure out how to show which sensor is low on the MDS. That and sync the clock to the Nav . . .
I'd rather Lexus figure out how to show which sensor is low on the MDS. That and sync the clock to the Nav . . .
10-08-07, 05:18 PM
#9
I've never had a watch that cost more than 2 TPMS sensors, and several of them were self winding. On the other hand, I wasn't suggesting that the self charging sensor would be mechanical. I figured it would be a coil that used induction from the moving iron (relative to the sensor) to create a charge.
10-08-07, 05:46 PM
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The battery in the TPMS sensors for Lexus is a lithium type rated to last 10 years.
10-08-07, 06:04 PM
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Sad to say, but the FSM says 5 years for the grommet, so after 5 years it's coming off no matter what. They say nothing about the battery except that it cannot be replaced. I would suspect one could start a business buying old pressure sensors with dead batteries and replacing them though.
10-08-07, 06:16 PM
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If you had saved the broken sensor, they only would have had to dismount the one tire with the new sensor to get its number. If you didn't save the old sensor, they'd need to dismount all four because they wouldn't know which of the four numbers in the TPMS controller was for the sensor that was replaced.
Even if they had to dismount all four tires, that labor quote is ridiculous. Dismounting and remounting and balancing four tires is an hour job at most; plus another half hour to reprogram with the scan tool.
Even if they had to dismount all four tires, that labor quote is ridiculous. Dismounting and remounting and balancing four tires is an hour job at most; plus another half hour to reprogram with the scan tool.
there you go.
Last edited by dan206; 10-09-07 at 10:46 AM.
10-08-07, 07:09 PM
#13
Sad to say, but the FSM says 5 years for the grommet, so after 5 years it's coming off no matter what. They say nothing about the battery except that it cannot be replaced. I would suspect one could start a business buying old pressure sensors with dead batteries and replacing them though.
10-09-07, 06:14 AM
#14
... This is the way how they found which one is broken The computer reads the amount of pressure in each tire in real time. They deflate and inflate them one at a time to see which one each sensor is reading. Then by process of elimination figure out which ones is damaged from which one does not work. ...
10-09-07, 06:27 AM
#15
Here's what I found somewhere...
"when I had my OEM rims replaced by aftermarket ones, a damaged TPM sensor was found and I have to replace it. When a sensor was missing, the car beeps 5 times for every 2 and a half minutes and tire pressure warnning light keeps flashing.
I called up a lexus dealer to check on the price. It costs about $200 before tax for one sensor. I did not like dealer's price and luckly enought I found the parts from Internet and it costs about $100. After sensor was installed back to my car, the beeping and flashing wont go away. I went back to dealer and thought that must be a simple setup thing, but it turned out that they have to unmount all four tires in order to have the code for each sensor so that they could reprogram the controller. They need 4 hour to do that. The labor cost is $85-$150 per hour so it's running at $340-$600 to get controller reprogrammed. I still could not understand why they need to reprogram 4 instead of 1 since I only have one new sensor.
I did ask them few more questions reagrding to the sensor itself and here are what I learned
The sensor is not a passive part, it have a battery built-in. The battery can only last 4 years! Flat battery can not be changed since it's built-in, meaning that when battery is run out, the sensor has to be replaced!"
...hope that helps. This was for a Lexus SC430. Don't know what exact TPM system the Tahoe uses, but I assume the technology isn't significantly different.
"when I had my OEM rims replaced by aftermarket ones, a damaged TPM sensor was found and I have to replace it. When a sensor was missing, the car beeps 5 times for every 2 and a half minutes and tire pressure warnning light keeps flashing.
I called up a lexus dealer to check on the price. It costs about $200 before tax for one sensor. I did not like dealer's price and luckly enought I found the parts from Internet and it costs about $100. After sensor was installed back to my car, the beeping and flashing wont go away. I went back to dealer and thought that must be a simple setup thing, but it turned out that they have to unmount all four tires in order to have the code for each sensor so that they could reprogram the controller. They need 4 hour to do that. The labor cost is $85-$150 per hour so it's running at $340-$600 to get controller reprogrammed. I still could not understand why they need to reprogram 4 instead of 1 since I only have one new sensor.
I did ask them few more questions reagrding to the sensor itself and here are what I learned
The sensor is not a passive part, it have a battery built-in. The battery can only last 4 years! Flat battery can not be changed since it's built-in, meaning that when battery is run out, the sensor has to be replaced!"
...hope that helps. This was for a Lexus SC430. Don't know what exact TPM system the Tahoe uses, but I assume the technology isn't significantly different.
More and more I'm thinking of going with a discounted Lexus best 7/100 warranty from a Toyota dealer in MA.
Around $1100 no sales tax for my 250AWD.
Probably go with the 7/75 for a couple hundred less.
