My car is Lexus RX350 2009. My tire pressure sensor was on one year ago. I went a auto repairing shop and paid them 25$ for diagnostic. They told me the left rear side sensor battery is low. They gave a quote of 200$ to fix it. Fortunately I didn't get it done there. I went to this forum and found there is a software called Tech stream. Last week I used this software check TPMS sensor by deflating each tire one by one and found it's left front tire pressure sensor has no battery. The repairing store was totally giving wrong diagnostic result. I was shocking when I got different diagnostic result. BTW, the auto repairing store is nearby my home. What can I say! This is the way they're doing business. The following materials are needed for battery changing:
a. silicone sealant glue of electronic grade
b. CR2450 battery with tabs (Actually the battery is BR2450A, But I couldn't found it in US market)
c. soldering iron
d. sharp knife, screw driver, wire cutter and other tool.
f. Jack and tire tools with the car
Note: You can use the jack to push the tire from the rim. You don't need wood piece.

Please see my pictures.
a. TPMS sensor top.
b. TPMS sensor bottom.
c. Take the cover of sensor bottom.
d. Voltage test with load. That's pretty low.
e. Voltage test without load. Very low too.
f. Techstream test without glue sealing. You can see the reading is 1.8PSI out side of tire.
g. Picture of my soldering result. It's very hard to finish it.
When the glue was dry and I installed everything back and filled air, the TPMS warning light was gone.

 

Sorry to hear that your local auto repair shop was wrong and high priced. You did a good job fixing your sensor.

In my area we have a group od tire repair stores called Discount Tire. They will use their tester while you stand there and tell you which tire sensor is bad. They do not charge any money to do this. If you want them to fix it, it will cost $61 with all taxes included. They do not use a sensor from Lexus. In California, they use the name of America's Tire.

When you are old like me, this is a very good deal instead of doing it myself.

 

I'm old too, and don't possess any automotive repair skills that the OP has. The closest Discount Tire store is about 200 miles from my home, but there are other options I'm checking out. The tire pressure indicator for my 2007 RX-350 (relatively low miles at 81K) has been on for about three months. A mechanic who owns a Lexus and works on many of them advised me to install new pressure sensors (5 of them) at one time when I buy a new set of tires. Because I have only about 26K on my current tire set, I certainly don't plan to do that. But I do want to get diagnostics done now to see how many and which sensors are bad and get them fixed. In my area, I doubt I'll get any good deal on diagnostics and repairs like the deals you get at your local Discount Tire in CA, but I still want to get this fixed. I'm putting my car up for private sale this August or September and want to make sure that sensor light is not on when I'm trying to sell it!

By the way, I've been driving SUVs the past 25 years, and I'm ready to buy an 'old man's' sedan 😎 It's a big change because of less roominess, sitting low in the vehicle, and perceived sense of less safety, but I'll adjust after a few weeks. I'm staying with Lexus, and I'll be shopping for a pre-owned cert 2016 GS-350 or ES-350. I'll be seeking advice on this forum.

 

Have you checked that you (or someone) didn't move the switch and select the other set of tires?

But chances are the batteries are dying. Batteries only last so long and 10 plus years seems pretty good. But if the government had never forced TPMS on us, I would be even happier.

 

America's Tire is really expensive now in CA because of the trade war. No good deal any more. Nobody switched the tires for me. My front tires were newer and from firestone. My rear tires are different brand.

 

The TPMS warning light should be there when it detected no signal or abnormal tire pressure. 81K is pretty low. You can still drive a lot with this car. Do you think the space of GS-350 or ES-350 is a little bit small?

 

I wasn't referring to changing the tires, I was referring to the switch under the dash above the driver's right knee that selects which of 2 sets of tires are on the car, i.e., summer tires or snow tires.


The brand of tire does not make any difference. It is all about air pressure

 

Guys, I have my rims off for refinishing so I removerd my TPMS and walked into my local Costco. The guy there double checked them in front of me in 5 minutes. Obviously faster than on the car, but free. He handed me back one dead one, but again he double checked each for false readings. You can buy these online ( Rock Auoto, etc.) or through your tire retailer but a CR2024 battery install should be a quick job if you can solder. I dismantled my deffective one in 5 min wth the hooked tip of a nail clipper. Willorder batteries * with solder tabs* this week.

 

I am also planning to change the battery of one of my tpms sensor. Mine said ID 1 no signal recieved. Now I wasnt sure in which tyre ID 1 sensor was fixed as tyre rotations messes up the positions. I also didnt want to open all tyres and check the ID's. The easier way to find out was deflating the tyre 1 by one and then cheking the pressure in the instrument panel in the car. Then once it could be read I filled it up again to normal pressure and then moved on to the next one until I found the culprit sensor which did not show the deflated pressure. The spare tyre also counts for the LS 460 dont know about other models.
Anyways my main concern is that I have read the datasheets of both CR2045 and Br2045a. CR2045 has a high discharge rate and the max operating temperature is much lower than br2450a. Some datasheets suggest that the latest technology manufactured CR2045 is actually interchangeable with Br2045a in-terms of long life. Did your CR2045 battery last? Or it discharged at the high temperature it was operating at? Will really appreciate a reply. Thank you

 

The CR2045 doesn't fit well but still works since 04/05/2019. I believe it will last more than 5 years. For later tires, I replaced with Maxell CR2450HR, which has wider temperature range. But I think CR2045 works good in California.

 

For Costco members who use the Tire Center, you can be assured that there are no overcharging going on. They will not try to sell you something you do not need as they do not go by commission.

 

Thanks for the reply, I actually ordered the CR2450 because both BR2450 and CR2450HR are not available. And if I order from Ali Express its going to take a month or so. Yes CR2450 of Maxell has a working condition temperature of around 100°c which is great, but it is also very expensive thus not reasonable. I can just pitch a few more dollars and get a new Autel Tpms sensor and program it. CR2450's are very nicely priced.

 

btw, Don't forget about the spare as well........

 

Really - the spare tire? I've had to use my spare only once with an RX300 and an RX350 in approx 12 years of driving. Changed the tire, drove less than 100 miles and had all 4 tires replaced due to catastrophic failure of the tire that had gone flat and the AWD aspect requiring changing all 4 at the same time. I think I can rely on my tire pressure gauge for any limited time I'd be driving on a spare and instead use the $40 or so savings for gas.

Just had a new set of Michelins put on last month at BJs. The tire pressure sensor came on after a couple of weeks. I checked all 4 tires for a few days with my gauge to see if one was different from the others. All were consistently at 30 PSI. Went back to BJs and they inflated all 4 to 35 PSI and told me the tire sensor light may go off after 30 miles. No surprise it hasn't. No surprise issues are occurring with 12-year-old tire pressure sensors. Wondering if others have had this occur right after changing tires on an older RX350? Thinking about buying the sensors, going back to BJs and asking them to install for free since a) with their tire warranty program they are incentivized to have me keep the tires inflated properly, and b) have used the same service center for a decade and they don't work on commission.

 

If you buy new sensors, the shop needs reprogram it for your car.