Lexus dealer quoted $370 for one sensor, yes, only one!! Are they crazzy? I bought OEM on ebay for $65, and having tire place install it for $25. Common, they are insane, its 3.7x markup, $80 part and 15min time to do it

 

The clock starts as soon as they get in the car and move it to the service bay. Ask them for the breakdown between parts and labor. They will also most likely charge you for programming the TPMS module which would be a separate cost. I would assume their hourly rate is around $120/hr. They are also most likely removing the tire and remounting and then balancing it.

 

I dont know what to make of it. I understand that dealer will be more expensive, but this is way off. MSRP of a sensor is $92, meaning its $280 for labor vs $25 for tire place.

 

Unless you see a breakdown of their costs you cannot guess what is in it. They have a large overhead costs to cover so it is built into all of their work. So unless you need to know this just explore getting your work done somewhere else. I recently sold my Jaguar XKR and would get an annual oil change at the dealer . They charged $190 for oil and filter change. Lexus is no different in what they charge so find a good shop or DIY.

 

Costco can install all 4 TPMS for under $250. I recently had it done on my 2011 HS250 and they are probably the same or similar sensors. It is worth joining Costco just to get this price. They also use nitrogen when refilling your tires.
This was after a local independent shop quoted $550 for the same work.

 

was it $250 including parts, or just labor?
I did not want to take chance with after market sensors, you can get OEM on ebay for $65 per sensor and then have reputable shop install and program them. The place I go charges $25 per sensor (plus tax) if you supply your own sensors.

 

Funny you posted this, I just had one of my sensors replaced. Jagtoes actually provided me with this sensor, when I bought my ES350 from him.

If you're interested in troubleshooting TPMS, I highly recommend getting Techstream software with a compatible OBD2 cable or getting one of those Autel TPMS scanners for about $150, they take a lot of the guesswork out of the job.
I went with Techstream and was able to visually see what the computer was seeing when the light would come on.
In addition, Techstream allows you to code new sensor IDs without having to clone them. With Autel, you clone existing IDs onto Autel sensors, so the ECU thinks it's the same TPMS that you had. Either option gets the job done.

Long story short, I had a new cloned Autel MX sensor installed, but the light kept coming back on. Connected to the car and noticed TPMS Sensor #1 kept switching between 34psi with a good battery and 0.7psi with a low battery. Figured out that because I still had the old sensor with an identical ID inside the car, the ECU was picking up both of them and switching back and forth, throwing a warning light. Moved the old sensor inside the house and the light is gone - problem fixed!

A new Denso sensor on Rockauto is about $40 (shipping included), Techsteam coding is free plus Labor.



New Autel MX sensor in the tire

Old original sensor in the cup holder, still being detected.

 

Three months ago I picked up a set of aftermarket rims to put my summer tires on. The tire shop supplied four Autel sensors for $240 Cdn....$180 US. They read the oem sensor ids on the oem rims and programmed them into the new sensors. The car read pressures perfectly within driving one block. My Carista OBDII was also able to read, and agreed with the id numbers and if I’d bought a one week subscription from Carista I could have programmed the new ones myself. Because I was getting the tires put on new rims, mounting and balancing were already included.

 

I saw some after market sensors for half price of oem. Did not want to take a chance, many stories of after market giving false signals or batteries going bad fairly quickly. I am sure there are good after market ones, but you need to know which one will be fully compatible with es350, there is simply not enough data about particular after market sensor and es350 07-2012 models to give me the confidence. The OEM can be bought on ebay for $65, made in japan. If they last another 8-10 years, its worth it IMHO.

 

The Costco price included programming the new sensors. What happened was they installed them and told me to drive around to see if it auto programmed. If it did not I was told to just pull up to the work area and tell them and someone would come out and program them while I wait. Which is exactly what happened.
I watched him program them with some handheld device he used to scan each tire then plug into the OBDII plug then scan them again and it all took less than 10 minutes in the rain.
These were brand name TPMS, Schrader I think.
OEM is probably Denso. I think they are all equal quality and use similar Lion batteries with similar lifespans.

 

Glad you guys brought this thread up. I'm in the market for new sensors myself. is this getting the spare replaced too ?

 

Not usually. Most spares don't have a sensor.
Does your spare have one? If it did you would have to pay about 25% more as you are doing 5 tires not 4.

 

mine came with a full size spare that has a sensor. Rare event, in new cars you are lucky if you have any spare, and I did not pay extra, was standard in the trim level

 

I wonder if the spare tire sensor is even registered with the car. I would replace the 4 you drive on and see what happens. You can always do the spare later,.

 

It is, all 5 wheels are registered and show up in the TPMS ECU in Techstream. They detect, temperature, air pressure, and battery condition. You can see what that looks like in my pictures above.

Out of curiosity I asked my mechanic to save the original TPMS sensor for me. Here is a comparison between OE Toyota TPMS and Denso TPMS from RockAuto. Both sensor appear to be manufactured by the same company. Pacific for OE and Pacific Industrial Co Ltd for Denso.



Please note I did not install the locking collar on the Denso sensor but it is included in the box.








The Autel MX I installed to replace the OE sensor.