tom33952

I started seeing the "Low Tire" warning icon and the "Check Engine" warning in the message box at the top of the dash. I checked the tire air pressure, of course, and went through the little reset procedure about a dozen times. After talking to a couple of dealers and repair shops and reading, here is what I found.

The TPMS is a safety system mandated by the federal TREAD act under Clinton in response to about 100 deaths in Explorers with improperly inflated tires. Within each tire is a combination valve stem with a little pressure sensor and a wifi transmitter mated to the back end inside the wheel that transmits info to the car computer about once per minute when the car is moving. The TPMS sensor is powered by a watch battery which will of course go dead in 5 - 6 years. The battery cannot be replaced so when it dies the entire TPMS sensor-transmitter must be replaced. You have to dismount the tire to replace it, and rebalance the tire afterwards, and you need new o-rings and a few little other moneymaking supplies and services to complete the job. Since it is a federally mandated safety device, no dealer will help you disable it. There are some aftermarket TPMS sensors that can be programmed to work with most cars wifi system, so you do not have to use original equipment.

As some other owners have discovered, it is possible to buy 4 sensors, install them inside a little utility tire and inflate it, and store it in the trunk to quiet the warning systems on the dash board. Another work around is to make a PVC pipe to hold the TPMS sensors instead of using a little utility tire. A few people stored four TPMS sensors in the spare to accomplish the same thing.

Finally, out of sight, out of mind. You can buy a piece of black Monokote Trim self-adhesive plastic sheet from Amazon for about $5 delivered, and neatly cut pieces to stick on your dashboard to conceal the annoying false warning lights. I'm leaning this way, since I am congenitally opposed to paying the dealer to replace the TPMS devices.

ISFWes

Welcome to 2007

Sffd103

iTrader: (16)

Welcome to CL Tom. This has been know for quite sometime. You can buy another set of TPMS sensors for about $125 for all of them on eBay. Then make the pipe bomb. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...pipe-bomb.html

jtsimaras

The system in these cars is lamo.... My 2013 Mazda CX5 has no sensors in wheels the TPMS works off rotational differences via the ABS wheel speed sensors ...which works flawlessly.

kornpeef

just had tpms sensor replaced out of 2008 scion tc which is the same one on the IS. american tire store did it for $70. when you reset the tire light it will set the tire pressure threshold to go off when tire pressure reaches 20% below the set tire pressure. example if you set the tire pressure to 35 psi, then reset the tire pressure light. the computer will set the threshold to about 29 psi. so if the tires gets to around 29 psi the light will go off. you will lose about 1 psi a month and tire pressures will fluctuate depending how hot or cold a tire is. Ive gone on test drives on cold tires and watched the tire pressure indicator increase from 29-33 psi as the tire got hotter from the test drive. people always miss the spare tire tpms sensor when adjusting tire pressures.

tom33952

My 2008 IS 250 now has perpetual false tire pressure warnings because the batteries in one or more sensors are dead. My question is, if I buy four sensors on eBay and put them in the pressurized PVC container, will that turn off the dash lights even though the original sensors are still in my wheels?


BTW, it was really annoying when I first went to the dealer about the warning light and they pretended to not know TPMS batteries were dead and offered to sell me a $50 computer diagnostic. There ought to be justice.

jtsimaras

They will have to be programmed for your car, I think most tire shops can do it--but I don't know for sure. I'm planning on a summer wheel set this spring so I probably will make a bomb as well.

alex_414

I also have a 2008 IS250 AWD, the TPMS Nag lights happened to turn on when I started my car last Monday morning (it was cold that morning). I also checked all 4 tires, and they did not seem to have any problem but I still went to gas station to check the air pressure and pump some air into it. And I started the car again, the signal went off. I guess my case was just the weather was too cold and cause the false tire pressure warnings...

kornpeef

american tire replaced one for my cousin for $70 thats including the program

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Problem with e-bay TPMS sensors is that most of them are used. So you don't know how old the batteries are.