TPMS questions

Here is the response I received a while back when seeking info on TPMS......

The TPMS sensors are NOT "programmed." They are "registered" into the ecu.

The "mini-vci" mongoose cable includes the Techstream program that the dealer uses to connect to the ecu through the OBDII port.

Connecting Techstream to the car will allow the technician to "read" the registration numbers that are already entered into the system. It will allow the technician to delete and add registration numbers.

The software does not "read" the TPMS registration numbers off of the transmitters in the tire.

Those must be read off of the TPMS transmitter and entered in manually into the Techstream program.

Most, if not nearly ALL, tire dealers and service centers do NOT have the Techstream software to delete or add TPMS sensor registration number.

 

My understanding is "programing ECU with TPMS sensor ID", "registering TPMS sensor ID to ECU" or "relearning TPMS sensor via OBDII" are used interchangeably when talking about installing a new set of TPMS sensors onto Toyota and many other Japanese vehicles that requires new sensor ID to be recognized by ECU.

That being said, I have never used the Techstream to do the TPMS switches. I use Autel TS508 TPMS tool for that. It is far easier than fiddling with Techstream, I believe. It literally takes less than a minute to finish the TPMS swapping job. If you are not willing to invest in this tool (can be had for less than $200 at eBay), my recommendation is to stop by at any reputable tire shop and ask them to do "OBD relearning" procedure on your car. Most tire places include this in the fee for installation of tires, but many will do it for free if you bought tire from them, or do this for a small fee like $5/tire. Whatever you do, do not take to a dealer for this procedure. They WILL charge you $$$$$.

 

Your statement maybe correct as far as using Techstream for TPMS sensor registration is concerned. However, if I may add to your statement, I found most of tire place including Walmart Auto center in my personal case, DO have the TPMS relearning tool, like Autel TS508 in my previous comment, that will allow deleting and adding TPMS sensor ID numbers via OBDII onto most if not all TOYOTA and other vehicles.

 

Yes, it should have worked. Only thing is that Techstream itself has no way to "wake-up" or "check status" of the TPMS sensors inside of your tires. You can not know if your TPMS sensors are correctly functioning unless you have one of those TPMS tools I mentioned. Those TPMS tools use radio frequency other than the one used for communication of psi, temp, battery data to ping the TPMS sensor from the sleep status to awake status, and check the sensor through the sidewall of the tire. That functionality is not provided by Techstream.

 

FWIW.... what was posted was a response by another member to a question I presented to the group about TPMS.
"Here is the response I received a while back when seeking info on TPMS...…"

 

Yeah, I think there is misconception by some that Techstream is required to do the TPMS sensor swap on Prius. Sure Techstream can do that and far more other tasks onto PRIUS, but that is not the only way. In fact, it maybe the hardest way to accomplish the TPMS swapping task. As I said I can swap TPMS sensors using TPMS tool in less than a minute without ever writing down or typing the sensor ID.

 

Okay... here's a scenario based question...

I score some used OEM wheels with OEM TPMS installed, tires are mounted. What's the best way for me to get these sensors talking to my car? I have techstream / mini-vci, but since I don't know the sensor IDs...

 

You will need TPMS scan tool that can activate sleeping sensors and read sensor ID inside of tires. Unfortunately, Techstream can not do that. Unless you spend ~$100 for a cheaper tool like Autel TS408 and DIY, your best bet would be to just visit a tire shop and ask them to install tires on your car. (They usually include TPMS relearn process in the fee.) Alternatively, you can ask them to use their TPMS scan tool to just activate and read ID, but I don't know what they would charge for the service.

 

Which Autel was that?

 

As another option, I think the aftermarket has produced TPMS transmitters with programmable IDs.

With those, you don't bother updating the car's TPMS ECU with the new IDs of your new transmitters. You just program the new transmitters themselves to have the same IDs as the old ones, and do nothing to the car's ECU, and it never knows the difference.

 

I have an ATEQ VT36 that can clone sensor IDs to programmable sensors. The only catch is that if your current sensor is completely DOA , you're SOL (at least as far as that particular sensor being cloned).

Not sure if other tools have the ability to manually program IDs (as long as you have it somewhere).

 

Once you have the old sensor out of the tire, you could read the ID off its printed label, even if the transmitter is dead.

 

Also, if you haven't yet overwritten the IDs programmed into the TPMS system, you can read them out to see what IDs you should have. What IDs the car is listening for.

 

With the VT36, you need to scan the old sensor in order to program the new sensor - there is no way to manually input the ID for programming.

 

I was replying to the "as long as you have it somewhere" part of: