Okay, my light has been on in the dash for a few months now and adjusting the pressure doesn't help. I know the batteries are near their end of life(2002 model SC) but can't see paying what the dealer wants to replace them...Lexus is $1015 for 4 and Toyota is $600 for 4. Costco said they could do them so I took it there today and it was a deal at $253 for all 4..then I get a call and they tell me they have all 4 installed but can't bind them to the car so they had to pull them back off and reinstall my original ones. I asked him if he could tell me which one was failing because I was gonna try to replace the battery just to see if it could be done like I have seen people do but he said he can't read any of them...maybe he didn't try or maybe they are damaged now. I really don't want to disable the system and I don't think I want an aftermarket system either. Is Lexus and Toyota the only company that can replace my sensors?

 

It has to do with the frquency. The Lexus uses 325 MHz I think and you can purchase the sensors drom Tire Rack or ebay - Denso sensors are good. Just search on the car model and you can find a good price. Any tire installer should be able to do the install but then they have to use a OBD2 cable and software to set them up in the car.

Fogta v8.00.034 Mini-VCI J2534 Standard OBDII canle and software. It comes with a mini-CD and is supposed to work on Win '98 and Win 8. There was a recent thread here about that. I just purchased the inteface to use for a second set of wheels for the track but decided to go after market on those.

I read here good things about the system from Orange Electronics that won awards at SEMA. It has it's own display that show the pressure and temp of each tire like newer cars. You don't have to test all the tires. I will have them installed in a couple of weeks and let you know..

I purchased both items on e-bay.

Good luck

 

I have two sets of tires and had to have two different sets programmed for my car at the Lexus Dealership as none of the local tire shops (Firestone, OnlyTires, CoopersTires) had the proper programming equipment. I purchased four used TPMS off an SC430 in Canada so they were already programmed. They come in four colors that are specific to the car (Red, Gold, Blue, White). I believe each is programmed for a specific frequency. When I put my summer tires and rims with these new TPMS, they triggered the dash light. I took it to Lexus and they charged me to sync the sensors to the car. Then winter came around and I put my winter tires and rims on which had the OEM TPMS that came with my car and thus were already programmed and always working fine. The dash light returned. I took it back to Lexus and they reprogrammed them at no charge as they told me they accidentally cleared the OEM ones when I did the summer tires and rims. In short, I think only Lexus has the proper tools to program any of the TPMS to the SC430. When I return to Chicago, I will put my summer tires and rims back on and we will see if the dash light returns. Hopefully it shouldn't once I push the "tires set 2" button in the glove box.

 

Try searching on line using this part number.
4260724020EB
You need blue, white, red and gold sensors
They might be cheaper on line but you might still need to go to Lexus to program them in. About $100 for labor just for programming.

 

I have found eBay to be the best parts source, good luck bro!

 

oak
I took them out. i check my tire pressure about ones a week no big deal. I don't have to spend money on them no more. I don't think I need them to tell me the pressure is low. guys don't like what I am saying but that just me and my thinking. I keep a pump when low pump them back up again no big deal.

 

Thanks guys! Well, after looking at my options I took it to Toyota to have all 4 replaced. I figured if I picked them up for $400 off of Ebay or some other place that would only give me $200 to have them installed and programed. Probably come out about the same but right now I don't have the time to fool with it. I will let you all know how it goes. Thanks again, this site is awesome!....now on to my ML speaker repair.

 

Just tried to have the Lexus dealer tell me which sensor is bad in my car. They gave me a line about having to deflate all of my tires and reinflate them one at a time while hooked up to the diagnostic software. I had a super bad experience at my local Lexus dealer and slammed them pretty good in the survey.

 

This is actually the truth. Even in a car that shows the PSI for each tire in the display on the dash. They set them so they show the correct pressure for the correct tire, but as soon as you rotate the tires, they will all be showing info for the incorrect tire. Only way to figure out with pressure goes to which tire is to deflate them one at a time.

 

Good to know and I just figured out how I can find the bad sensor on my own. In addition to the warning light in the dash, you get a tone when the tire goes to an even lower pressure. I found that out by hitting a bad pothole and taking out 2 tires/rims. When they lost pressure (the light was already on) I got the pulsing tone. That's not the 1/2 of the problems I had at the dealer though.

 

I think it's a crappy system but I guess that's how they did it 13 years ago. I was afraid to only do one and then soon have another fail and then another. They called me today and will have mine ready tomorrow. I think he said the total was around $575 + tax. I guess Lexus must use special air for them to be $400 higher.

 

At 575+ I think you are doing OK - just a touch high but not crazy high like at the Lexus dealer. Online parts purchase would have been about $250 for the 4 sensors at best. Mount and balance would have been about $75-100 for all four tires. Programming would have been about $100 or so. The very best you could have done was probably about 450 all in. There's value in having everything done in one go at one shop and not having to hunt around for your own parts so I think you did OK. Good luck and hope the sensors last a long time. It may be my turn in a year or two cos my only new sensor is the blue one. My red, white and gold are all old.

 

I'm not sure I understand. I have an 06 and it has always been my understanding that if you get the correct colors for the sensors there is no programing needed. This came from the Lexus dealer in Greensboro NC. I think the system changed in 07. Not sure about that.

 

that is not my understanding. Yes they do come in 4 colors but they still must be programmed specific to the vehicle as those same TPMS sensors with the colors are used across many models of Lexus in the past. Additionally, if you were to find a used set off of an SC 430, then they should just be an easy plug and play as they were already programmed. This was my situation.

 

I just posted in the Customer Service forum this question of programming the 4 color sensors. I hope they are able to provide some insight. My sensors are almost 10 years old and must be getting to the end of their use life. My intent was to replace them on the next tire change. I would like to know this so I can make the proper arrangements to get them programmed if I need to.