I don't believe the system differentiates the annunciator between wheels. The system monitors four wheels using four different signals which are received by antennas near the wheels. When a low tire pressure is sensed, an annunciator, in the form of a light on combination meter and chime are activated.

 

The tire sensors are $76.75 each at Sewell. Not $200.00.

 

Thanks Tensi,

I'll do the same. in my 9/10 years of driving don't remember that light ever coming on. if the pressure on one of the tires is low usually I feel it driving, its either pulling on one side or the car is sluggish, I always feel it......

 

Speaking of Discount Tire, I just purchased a 2002, and the TPMS light was on... no chime, no blinking, just on. I verified pressure all the way around but no change. :-( On the drive back from picking the car up, I noticed some shaking between 55-65mph, so I took it into Discount to have the wheels balanced. They did a great job... the shaking is gone. While they were at it, the guy noticed a small amount of cupping and asked if I wanted the tires rotated (F-to-B)... I said yes. While driving away, I noticed the TPMS light had gone out. :-o Any idea what caused this? Do you think Discount noticed and fixed whatever was amiss? I'm going to drop by on my way home tonight and ask but just thought I'd check with you guys first. Not that I'm complaining or anything. ;-)

 

Don't think they actually "fixed" anything. I would measure what pressure is in the tires now. The TPMS system is looking for a 25% drop ... BTW welcome to the forum, if you haven't done so, you should read about tire wear problems in the SCs... Two issue really, inside tire wear (tied to camber) and the rough ride of RF tires. ..

 

My TPM light was on steady yesterday, and I found the tire pressure normal on all four tires!
I decided maybe I could determine which one was bad by letting the air out to 10lbs to see if each TPM would send the blinking light and chime alarm then aired back to normal.. Each tire did give the major alarm and when I aired up the third tire the TPM light was out !! My thought was if the TPM battery is dead it would not give .the major alarm. Anyway it worked, and my wallet is feeling much better.

 

@VVTiBob Thanks, I've been lurking here for a while in anticipation of purchasing my first SC (used 2002 60k). When I picked the car up the light was on so I immediately checked the pressure in all four tires before driving back to Atlanta from Tampa. They were all sitting in the 30-35psi range... so I assumed one or more of the sensors had dead batteries. I stopped by DT on my way home last night and they said whenever they do work on cars with TPMS systems, they routinely check to make sure everything is working and if anything is amiss, fix it. I asked why no one mentioned it and they sort of looked perplexed and said, "It's just part of our service". Sweet. ;-) By the way, your SC is gorgeous! If you don't mind my asking, where did you get that tonneau cover and do they make it in Ecru? ;-)

 

That does sound suspiciously like lowering the air pressure and then raising it again rectified the alarm problem. However, it is also possible that the problem will return. If it does return, you most likely have a battery that is on the hairy edge of going out.

It is doubtful that Discount Tires did anything to fix the problem, unless the monitoring equipment has an alarm that can get stuck (software bug) and there is a way to reset it. (Maybe dislocating the power from the monitor will reset it.) The only way to fix the sensors in the tires (whether it is bad or just a battery gone bad) is to remove the tires. I suspect that you'd have known about that.

BTW, welcome to the forum.

 

DrawDog-welcome! I can confirm that DT does NOT have the TPMS reset tool. I'm a frequent visitor there (Dallas area) for the past 10+ years with over 20 cars and most recently three cars with all tires from there. I might as well have a name badge when I come!

Only way to eleviate problem is proper air, or if bigger problem replace battery, rebuild if faulty, etc.

Since you've been lurking on ClubLexus for a while you know that most topics have been discussed numerous times since nothing is new on our SC's, so more than likely SEARCH will provide a lot of great useful information for you especially on TPMS which is a very very common problem.

www.lexus.com/owners might provide some insight to your car's maint history (free of service, just register, put in your VIN and you can pull up all history on your car serviced at a lexus dealer) and you might see that your TPMS have been worked on before. If they have, you may have many more years of happy motoring. If not, beware that for a 2002 it's common for these to need a "rebuild" or at least a battery or two or four! Let's hope yours have had work. Like anything else on an aging luxury car, you can be proactive and "update" your car with appropriate maintenance and preventative maintenance or you can sit back enjoy and wait until something goes out. With the SC you will have smooth sailing, but when things do go out, it's not always $50. Enjoy and welcome again!

Post some pics when you have a chance.

 

Thanks again for the welcome, and yes, I have been doing research for quite a while, this is a fantastic resource! Harold was right, maybe just moving the tires around jostled the sensors because the light just came back on again and a quick check on the air pressure confirmed the tires are all correctly pressured. So... dead battery(s) is my guess.

No problem on paying for the repairs, I totally understand how luxury vehicles are, having owned an LX470 for years. I'm planning to put new tires/wheels/coilovers on next Spring and will probably limp through the winter here in ATL with the light on until then. I'm still doing my research on wheel fitment (great guide on here, btw) and trying to get my arms around the look I want. Again, thanks to this resource, I have plenty of examples, guides, recommendations, etc. to draw from. Will do on the pix... I tried to post one to my garage, but it keeps telling me I don't have the rights... prolly cuz I'm still too new here. ;-)

 

There has been so much written on this subject but in my opinion ---if the light is on and there is no beeping or warning sound -- PUT BLACK ELECTRICAL TAPE OVER THE WARNING LIGHT and get on with life.

 

Update: Turns out, I had a slow leak in one of the tires due to chrome flaking on the wheel. :-o The folks at DT took the tire off, cleaned up the flaking and paid special attention to that area when re-seating the tire... so far so good. Oddly enough, all the sensors are working as they should... pretty unbelievable considering they are almost ten years old. I'm going to "limp through" the winter on the existing wheels/tires, and then in the Spring, upgrade to some Pilots and aftermarket alloys. I like the retro look of the SC... kind of reminds me of the old 356s in an obtuse sort of way. ;-) I'm thinking about getting some 15 spoke, 19" wheels like the O.Z. Superturismo LMs or the Avarus AV6s... I really like the way they make the SC look "old school". ;-) I'll probably change my mind a hundred times before next Spring, but sure is fun exploring the possibilities. Thanks again to the CL forums, what a WEALTH of information!

 

Good news! I love these outcomes! My chrome is flaking too off one the backsides of one of my wheels that DT pointed out to me as well...I wonder how that causes it not to seal properly? The difference in space between the wheel with flaking versus smooth causes an air gap? Interesting...they say football is a game of inches, I guess wheel balancing and TPMS is a game of millimeters...better yet nanometers!

 

Well, that didn't work. I still have a slow leak. Perhaps DT just doesn't have the ability to diagnose the problem. I'm going to try another tire place to see if they have more luck figuring out where the leak is and hopefully plugging it. The tire loses about .5 to .75 lbs. per day... I'll report back.

 

..whats interesting about this,is that my light has been on for awhile. Thought I would unplug it,but never did because the bulb didn't bother me. I was coming home from work the other day and BEEP,BEEP,BEEP !!!..The audible alarm worked and i was actually getting a flat tire. The sensor looked like hell when they took the tire off,but the guy taped it up(since it was working) and put the new tire on...lights still on,but I guess that it's working...lol Ed