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2007 Prius TPMS Woes

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by sdrocker, Feb 16, 2016.

  1. sdrocker

    sdrocker Member

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    Hi All,

    On my 2007 Prius, I had a TPMS light come on last summer but I ignored it. Resetting procedures never made the light go away.

    I finally took it to a tire shop today and they said the right front sensor battery was dead. I asked about replacing all four vs one due to the age and they recommended I just change that one. I waited for a really long time and then they told me there was a problem with the tpms computer syncing with all of the sensors. They said they fixed the first problem but there was a second problem.

    Great.. this cost me $92.

    Then they said I need to take it to a toyota dealer.

    Then I went next door to Discount tire and they connected their tool and said two codes came up
    C2176 (something about needing to drive the car before it can register)
    C2177 (something about the ECU needing to be reset)

    Discount said to drive it and give it a day or so and then go back to them if the light didn't go out.

    What should I do? Do I need to just go directly to a dealer, or just ignore the light altogether? I also thought about disconnecting the battery and connecting it back up.
     
  2. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Yes I have the TPS warning light on now (black tape over - fooled my wife for only 2 days but I could have done a better tape job)....seems about 9.5 years @150k miles will be approx life.
    Then you need new ones with new batteries. The batts are slightly miles dependent, so if you got more miles, you might get less life.

    My local shop wants like $150 per tire. If you are changing tires, get some TPS off Amazon and have them replaced.

    At least in Virginia, TPS light does not flunk inspection so the light is just annoying.

    I guess nobody before 2006 Prius has these, so we are just at the start of many posts on this topic.
     
  3. sdrocker

    sdrocker Member

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    Thanks, I shouldn't have spent the $92 to end up with a light still on.

    In the future if any more have a dead battery, I will buy 3 of them on amazon and then wait until the tires are replaced.
     
  4. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    $92 wouldn't be too bad if they fixed it, but I am confused if they can mix OEM and others. If OEM one would think they could get the light off. Anyways this is a weakness, better designs out there (eg; Volt apparently).
     
  5. sdrocker

    sdrocker Member

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    Yea I don't know, I thought the same. I thought mixing wouldn't work. I asked and they had said it's common for them to replace 1 at a time as they go.
     
  6. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    ...this issue should earn Prius Chat lots of future hits!
    Now we have 6 batteries that may die! 8 counting the Fobs!
     
  7. sdrocker

    sdrocker Member

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    I just called the dealer and they want to charge $125 just to do a diagnosis.

    Unbelievable. My stupid mini-Vci and tech stream wasn't able to communicate with the tpms controller.

    Not sure what to do now maybe I can disconnect the negative terminal for a few seconds and reconnect? Anyone have advice? Had I known this I wouldn't have spent the $92 today
     
  8. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    There is the TPS reset button under the steering wheel, right? Give it a try again.
     
  9. sdrocker

    sdrocker Member

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    Thanks I tried it twice again after they put a new tpms sensor but no luck.
     
  10. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Sounds like they didn't:
    1) program the vehicle TPMS ecu with the new replacement sensor.
    2) clone the old TPMS info onto the replacement TPMS. This type of cloneable TPMS sensors seem to be gaining popularity for obvious reasons: copy, paste, done.

    Or, during tire mounting, they may have accidentally busted the replacement TPMS.

    No matter what, youbneed to go back.
     
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Nine year old car, I'd be inclined to just let 'em die. Classic case of a solution that has eclipsed the problem.
     
  12. sdrocker

    sdrocker Member

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    Thank you. I called them and told them Toyota wanted $125 just to even start any diagnosis. The tire shop said they would get back to me after speaking with the manager.

    I doubt they cloned the old TPMS info onto the replacement one. Can this be done with all TPMS sensors or only special ones? The other tire store went around to each wheel and was able to verify they are all working. The issue is syncing it appears. As I said before the other tire shop said there were two codes C2176 (something about needing to drive the car before it can register)
    C2177 (something about the ECU needing to be reset)

    I'm not sure what to do. I have a mini vci firmware 1.4.1 that doesnt want to connect to the tpms and some other controllers (like the transmission control etc). I am installing different version techstream software (an older version) to see if maybe that will allow me to connect to it.

    96865_IMG_2489.jpg
     
  13. sdrocker

    sdrocker Member

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    Very true. I think when selling it (which I may do this year), it will make it a lot harder without dropping the price significantly.
     
  14. Hokie-Dave

    Hokie-Dave Member

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    They should be able to get it to work. I'd definitely pester the manager for a refund if they can't get your light off and the new TPMS synced up with the car. Sometime in the past year I had just one replaced on my 07 at a Sears Auto Shop and they were able to get the new one synced up without a problem.
     
  15. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Different TPMS makers are fighting for market share, as more & more TPMS are needing replacment due to battery death and tire install error. The cloneable ones make the most sense and have a strong selling point for the tire shops: copy/paste, done. No programing car's computer and less equipment they need to buy.

    Open this link to see the PDF. This might help.
    http://www.toyotapart.com/TIRE_PRESSURE_MONITORING_SYSTEM_(TPMS)_TIRE_REGISTRATION_LOST_COMMUNICATION_WITH_ECU_T-SB-0084-09.pdf

    Once Techstream is working, watch this YouTube video for programming TPMS.


    If they above two links help, buy PriusChat a beer, to help with ongoing funding.
     
    maverick1970 likes this.
  16. sdrocker

    sdrocker Member

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    Thanks the person working the front desk said there were two problems, 1 the bad sensor which they fixed, and the other them not being able to sync the sensor to the computer. They said they fixed the first problem but something was wrong with my computer and it needed to go to the dealer. Then I got mad and told him bulls*%T and he raised his voice and said I owed him $91, eventually I calmed down and he explained to take it somewhere else and see if they can program it and then he would reimburse me for that amount.. I paid and left then called toyota and they wanted $125 just to diagnose. I called back later this morning and told him how much Toyota wanted and he said he would talk to his manager. I still haven't heard back.
     
  17. sdrocker

    sdrocker Member

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    Thanks so much. Right now my mini vci connects to the prius with techstream but I can't connect to the tire pressure monitor controller. I will try an older version of the mvci driver and techstream to see if I can connect to it. I guess I need to do that before I can do anything in the video or the PDF
     
  18. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Looks like they are potentially having the same problem you have with Techstream communicating to the TPMS system of the car? I am not a Techstream user, but maybe I will purchase miniVCI and try to follow your footsteps.

    Did you save the old TMPS? I am thinking ways to fake out system eg; hack a new 3v into the old unit.
    Also if I got a new DENSO TMPS I could hook that to say spare and make light go off.
     
  19. sdrocker

    sdrocker Member

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    I asked for the old TPMS so I have it. When I went to discount tire next door, they were able to pull the two codes from the TPMS so I don't think it's related to my issue. With my mini vci I can't connect to some of the other ECUs like the transmission, etc.. so I think they are separate issues.
     
  20. sdrocker

    sdrocker Member

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    I just tried connecting to the tpms with the older techstream and driver version (v8.30.023) and no luck. I get the same "selected system is not responding or available" message. This is the case for all of them except for the Engine and ECT, Hybrid Control, HV Battery, and Cruise Control. Those ones worked. hmmmm. I wonder if the particulay mini vci I have is no good.

    IMG_3776.JPG