Idea to fool the tire pressure sensors

May be a dumb question, but can one just remove the TPMS ECU all together? Why add a jumper and replace? Thanks for the info! My dealer wants $ 70.00 to program a new sensor installed on a wheel that a stupid tire changer lad broke after a flat, at a tire store.

 

Tell the place that broke the sensor, that you're going to have them invoiced for the programming. If they broke it, they get to pay to fix it. I'd fight up to the manager at that store, and if that doesn't work, go further with it.

Otherwise, I'd talk to the manager of the service department at the dealer. $70 for a 5 minute task really makes me angry. Especially if you already know which sensor ID broke and which is the new one (they can also find this out through the software as one won't be registering anything).

 

pEEf probably knows for sure which way it works. I suspect a signal from the ECU could either turn the light on or keep it off. Apparently this one keeps it off so you will have an alarm in the event the ECU fails. If so removing the ECU without using the jumper in the plug would give you an alarm.

 

Yes, it was a fiasco, the tire changer tried to tell me it was damaged when the tire was driven on while flat. It wasn't, the light was on in my garage and I found a nail, took the wheel to a Bridgestone dealer. So, it was not even flat yet, just low. Dealer wanted $105 for a new sensor, found a set of 4 OEM on Ebay for $50. Tire dealer replaced it but says only dealer can program! So yes, they did pay for all, but just the idea for $70 burns me. I always check my tires anyway, I don't need a light to tell me.

 

pEEf, I read your post a few months ago and it has been on my todo list for a long time. Today I tried it and it did not work. Here is a pic.



Did you do anything else? When I turn the car on the light blinks then goes solid after about 15 seconds. It is on pins 5 and 7.

 

Are you sure you don't have the pins backwards? Looks like you might have 2 and 12 jumpered instead. Effectively, The view is from the back of the connector where the wires are.

 

Talk to your congressman. TPMS is required by law.

Tom

 

I did have the pins backwards. I thought the view was from the front.



IT WORKS PERFECT!!!!! No more yellow light.

For anyone that wants to do this it takes about 30 seconds.

10 seconds to pop the glove box out.

10 seconds to pull the connector out and stick the wire in pins 5 and 7

10 seconds to put the glove box back in. Maybe 15 if you have not done it before.

Thanks pEEf

 

Hmmm...mine won't disable. Didn't get it backward, followed the pic's from the posters who got it to work. Used telephone wire (solid copper, maybe 28 ga.?). Anybody else have trouble?

UPDATED: Duh...got it! And so others don't do what I did with poor lighting, visualization and postition: the plug has 12 connections, but actually each connection has 2 holes. One is a rectangular slot within which you can see a metal clip; the other is a round, smaller hole. THAT is where the jumper wire goes. Round wire into round hole.

 

Glad to hear it is working!!!

 

there is another one Toyota EZ-sensor™ - Bartec USA - TECH 400 & EZ-sensor™ for Toyota
http://www.ez-sensor.com/toyota-camry-programmable-tpms.html

looks like they are programmable to emulate existing TPMS.

 

Looks like it should do the job if it works as advertised. They don't give a price and I suspect the software for different types of cars costs extra. It may be to expensive except for tire shops.

Might be a good thing if you could find a shop that uses their system. Once you get a set of sensors programed for your winter tires you should be OK. Then your winter and summer tires would have sensors with the same codes which would be great. I wonder what would happen if you had your other tires stored in your garage and got near them? You would have two sets of sensors with the same codes trying to answer the transceiver in the car? Should be OK once you started down the road though.

 

If you start the Prius with all four sensors near the car the light will not come on. After 15 min of driving it will start blinking.

You have to have all 4 sensors to stop the light from blinking. Using 2 will not work.

 

Yes I understand, but what would happen if you had two each of all four sensors with each pair programed with the same code? The Schrader sensors in Cyclopathic's link can be programed with the same codes as your other four so you wouldn't need to reprogram when you install winter tires.

My question was what would the TPMS system do if you had four stacked in the garage and drove in with four more that had identical codes. Probably just academic because I think it would be OK when you got out of range of the extra four.

 

All this just seems like one more thing you would be obligated to undo if you trade-in the car. We ran last winter on snows on steel rims, without TPM: a smallish orange light lights up on the dash, off in the right corner of the display. After a week or so you don't even notice it.

OTOH, I know how a technological challenge can get you going

 

When I trade the car in I am not undoing anything. I did a lot of mods, they come withe car.

 

If you needed to pass the state inspection with your winter tires on, without the TPMS sensors on the rims and the TPMS warning light lit up, would they pass your car? I think your car would fail inspection.

 

In Ohio they just check for certain OBDII codes. The TPMS does not give an error code over OBDII.