Tire Light Warning After New Tires Installed

The TPMS doesn't have an effect on the operation of the car other than turning on the "low pressure" light. So that $74 sensor can be replaced with a $5 pressure gauge, a piece of electrical tape over the light, and a few minutes every couple weeks to check the pressure. TPMS is a handy system, but its too expensive for what it does, in my opinion.

 

^^^
Disagree.
Was in northern Yukon on poor gravel road (Top of World Highway) yesterday and heard loud BANG from rear. Wasn't sure what had happened until the tire pressure warning light came on and I knew immediately I had a blow out and could still maneuver enough to pull over to the side to give myself enough room to safely change the spare. The system works and is one way to catch under inflation situations that are the cause of many tire failures.

 

The tire pressure sensor represents a safety feature that is worth while having. Not everyone is going to go the cheap way out and then have the discipline to check tire pressure on a regular basis. Having said that, I seem to recall that the tire pressure sensor comes on when the system sees a difference from what it expects? I recall that the car wants a differential between the front and rear tires. 35lbs and 32lbs comes to mind. There is a reset button under the steering wheel that you can reset the system. It may be that one of the sensors is bad. If that is the case you kind of have no choice but to replace it. The price for replacing it at $75 seems good since the guy will have to remove the wheel then take the tire off and then remount and balance (unless he can replace the part and the tire on the wheel in the identical place) That takes time. Check out the manual and see what it says. You could go to your Toyota dealer and ask.

 

I would search for the TPMS sensor on ebay- I recently got them (brand new) for $15 each for my Volt's winter rims....

 

Maybe I'm just biased because I've never had a car with TPMS and my current tires hold air great. If you have the system and are unlikely to stay on top or checking the pressure yourself, you're better off keeping it in working condition. I would go with the ebay sensors like ny_rob said, though. But if you're one who checks the pressures regularly, it might be worth it to you to just live without it.

 

FWIW, nobody mentioned this one fact. If the TPMS light was OFF before the tires were changed, there is a good possibility that the attendant who changed the tires DAMAGED the sensor inside the tire that is mounted on the rim. If I were the OP I would tell the place that did the work on my tires that the light was OFF before I came in, and was ON when I left. Since the place DOES say that a sensor is BAD, it WOULD be logical to believe that the offending sensor was indeed DAMAGED by the tire technician. These sensors can be easily damaged if the technician does not handle the work properly.

Standard procedure is to release the air in the tire, break the outer bead, loosen and remove the nut on the sensor and push the sensor unit towards the inside of the tire. Then reach inside and remove the sensor. Then break the other bead and dismount the tire. While the sensor is off of the rim, it is standard procedure to rebuild each sensor and replace the grommets on the rim. Then you mount the tire normally. After that, you push the top bead down, reinsert the sensor unit, and tighten the nut on the sensor unit to the specified torque. After that you seat both beads on the rim, and then continue to air up the tire to the correct pressure. If this procedure is followed step by step, NO damage should be done to the sensor.

What happens is that when the tire tech is dismounting the beads of the tires, occasionally the lip of the tool used to remove the tire will strike the sensor and damage it. The sensors are not cheap. And anytime you replace a sensor, you must register the sensor with the vehicle. Otherwise the TPMS system will not function properly.

Ron (dorunron)