I recently got a new set of tires (Hankook Kinergy PT) that were sold to me as Prius recommended/approve (don't remember the exact phrasing). But they don't seem to work with the TPMS and I keep getting the low tire pressure light on the dash. I tried googling for this answer but I can't seem to find any verification that this tire works with TPMS. Does anyone know the specifics of the system and if it requires certain tires? I just want to have as much information as possible before I go back to the shop. Thanks!
I've never heard of tires that don't work with TPMS. There is a little transmitter in each wheel (at the valve stem) that transmits the pressure so the car can monitor it. Did the shop remove the transmitters for any reason, and forget to put them back? Or did they decide to install new transmitters in place of your old ones, and forget to tell the car what the new transmitter IDs are? When you start the car, does the tire light blink for a minute and then stay on solid, or does it just come on solid? You can get trouble codes from the tire warning ECU to tell you what it thinks is going on. If you have a laptop with Techstream, you can just tell it to retrieve the codes. They will come out as C21xx codes that can be found in the Repair Manual (more info). If you don't have Techstream, but you have a short piece of wire to connect the Tc and CG terminals at the diagnostic socket, you can count blinks of the tire light to get two digit codes, which happen to match the xx in C21xx. (Blink codes for other computers in the car don't always match their corresponding DTCs like that, but the TPMS codes do.)
That's good to know, maybe they just didn't install the sensors. That should be an easy enough fix. The light blinks for a minute or so and then goes solid. The Techstream and wires all sound a bit beyond my skill level though. Thank you for the thorough response!
Blinks for a minute then solid means it isn't getting signals from the transmitters. Edit: well, it means the system has failed for some reason (rather than just reporting low tire pressure). Not getting signals from the transmitters was my guess, but there could be other reasons. If it's not obvious, the codes are there to be read.
As noted previously, tires are completely indpendent from the pressure monitoring system. I would take the car back to the shop that installed the tires and invite them to redo the job so that your TPMS sensors are functional.
It's not unheard of for the tire guys to break a sensor when installing the tires. This happened the last time we put new tires on ours, though the tire guy told us he broke it and put a new one on. Maybe they broke one of your sensors and just hoped you wouldn't notice?
TPMS sensors are getting to be a real pain for tire shops. Costco (in Canada) charges an extra $3~4 per tire, ostensibly for "sensor rebuild", where they replace some gaskets and the valve stem. Seem more like a TPMS contingency fund, to cover expenses when sensor problems arise.
It's not the tires, it's tire guy who did wrong. If it is actually "low pressure", then most likely the installation was wrong. Bad seal or bad stem is most likely the cause. If the TPMS light is on and staying on solid, then TPMS sensor or sensors are bad. It is possible the sensor died on it's own, but most likely the installer did something to it. Yeah, take it back to were you got tires installed and complain.
The first step, I believe, would be to reset the TPMS setting in the vehicle. I believe there is a button under the dash somewhere near the OBDII outlet.
OP has already said the light flashes for one minute, then stays on solid. That is the sign of a TPMS system failure (which in this case could simply be that the transmitters aren't all there or working). The "reset" button under the dash has no purpose other than to tell the system that the current tire pressures are the pressures you want, when the system already is otherwise working.
Maybe not. If the "tire shop" took the sensors off, who is going to pay for the new ones ?? Seems like I remember that the retail price might be about $60 each.
The first tire replacement I did on my used 2011 at about 6 years and 103K miles they rebuilt my TPMS sensors with gaskets, a valve core, and new batteries all the way around. I remember they said the little battery in each sensor lasts about 5-6 years. I forget how much that particular item was, but I think when I had it done in my 2008 Prius each sensor rebuild was about $15. Never had any problem with them, and I did get a notification one time when something cut the sidewall of my right rear tire about a mile from work. Was able to get parked and put the jack up before it deflated fully.
knowledge is power How to Reset TPMs on a Prius | It Still Runs How to reset TPMS Warning Light at Home - Mechanic Base
Just noticed this: they were very likely snowing you, regarding new batteries; as far as I know the Toyota TPMS sensors have sealed-in batteries, not replaceable.
I have had an odd problem with my Dash light for the TPMS. Seems to only happen on my road trips and not anytime during my day to day around the house errands. The light will start by flashing at first then go solid. After a while it may go out or it might not be on after a stop. It started on my first trip after getting new tires. At first it made me nervous as I was in the middle of nowhere, but now I almost ignore it. Was thinking the tire shop might have put weak batteries in but Mendel's post is making me rethink about the problem. I did by the cable for techstream so maybe I should get the software and try it out?
Did you check the tire pressure? If they are all within spec, then it is most likely your TPMS sensor battery is going bad. When they no longer send strong enough signal to ECU, it takes about 20 min of driving to register that error that there is no signal. And it will show the solid TPMS light. If you are doing very short trips, it may not trigger this error. If you are going to change tire anytime soon, that would the time to check it. Otherwise, as long as you check your tire pressure frequently enough, you can safely ignore the TPMS light. OR like I did, you can purchase external TPMS system for about $30 at Amazon.
