TPMS (tire pressure) malfunction (?) on 2015 Prius V

Odds are good one of the sensors is bad.

 

Agree. TPMS batteries have a finite time and cycle life.

 

On our 2006 we had one TPMS go bad at 9 years, the other three lasted several more years. In any case, sounds like one of the TPMS has died. In most cases no TPMS on the spare.

 

Maybe time for a new gauge too. Is this a cheap digital?

Too, if all your regular tires appear to be ok, and your gauge is says the spare's at 15 psi, definitely look into it. Has it ever been topped up?

 

The button under the dash is used for setting what tire pressure you want the system to check for. When you have all four tires inflated to the pressure you want, if that is different from the originally programmed pressures, you use that button to have the car remember your new pressures. It will then give the warning at a threshold some % lower than those.

If you haven't changed your mind about the pressures it's already programmed for, then what that button does isn't anything you care about.

Does the warning light on the dash come right on solid after the car is turned on? (After going out once, briefly, after the lamp test) Or does it come on blinking for a minute or so and then go solid?

The solid-from-the-start version is normally trying to tell you about an actual pressure issue. The blinks-then-solid version is telling you about a problem with the TPMS system.

Do you have a scan tool that can show you the TPMS trouble codes? If not, I believe you can blink them this way:

Blink (a/k/a Flash) Codes – How to. | PriusChat

 

Probably indicates the transmitter inside one of the tires has used up its battery.

Pretty much any tire place can dismount the tire and swap in a new transmitter and mate it to the car and send you on your way.

You face the question of whether to just replace the one that's conked out (the tire place should have a handy wand they can use to see which one that is), or all four because "if one battery went, how far behind can the other three be?".

Sort of a matter of taste. Some will go for all four. I just changed my first conked-out one a couple years ago and am still waiting for the next shoe to drop. If a deer jumps on my car in the meantime, I never need to buy the other three.

Also kind of depends on the tire place you use, and whether they'll give you some discount for doing all four, or if it's just four times the cost of doing one.

 

Or just leave ‘em be, at least until the next tire replacement.

 

This is where I'm at with this same issue.. All was good till it wasn't.. now I can't get it to quit blinking (then solid)
Needs tires.. but wanted to hold till early fall.. the light is just annoying.. Not sure if it's $800 annoying or not?

btw, I have a Bluedriver ODB2 scanner and it does not flag TPMS issues.. I believe the TPMS system is isolated from everything else.

 

Flashing first means at least one TPMS sensor has failed.

It is possible to have all four replaced for $100 total. Usually less than a new tire shop will charge.

You buy four compatible sensors from Amazon, write down their serial numbers (ids) and have a small tire repair shop install them.

First locate a shop that has an obd2 tool to write the serial numbers into the car ecu. The tool does not have to be Techstream; specialty tpms tools are available and many independent and all big tire shops have them.


These are the sensors I use

 

This is the serial number?

 

No it’s the larger seven digit code

 

Thank You for your note and the detailed information.. I need to call around to get some numbers from the local tire shops nearby.
The Costco Tire shop nearby (apparently) does not have the ability to do the programming needed. Said he can get me the sensors, but can't program them in.

Quick Question, I've seen some compatible sensors online. They're showing CR2450HR Batteries or similar..
Does anyone know if the batteries can be just changed out?
I did find this link, TPMS sensor battery replacement. Here's how, but is it worth it? which tends to indicate they could be, but it appears that the Toyota OEM TPMS are 'potted' and so, probably not worth the effort.

 

^wow I do not think you want to mess with battery replacement. By the time the battery dies you want to replace the whole unit. Not Toyota but I've had some TPMS breakdown physically and cause blow outs.

I see one rare exception for ripping apart and fixing battery if someone wanted to create a dummy reading to turn off the TPMS light, you could have a spare reading in the glove compartment. Then you still need to play with the TPMS to figure out how to add a fake pressure reading. I did a dummy TPMS on a Gen2 used a binder clip on it. That actually worked for several years until I replaced all.

 

Thanks for your notes.. I agree that it's probably not worth taking them apart to change the battery, but do think it's crazy that the batteries can't be replaced at the tire shops when they install new tires. I actually (and incorrectly) assumed that's what the Costco TPMS pack did when they put the tires on for me.. they recently explained they only replace the seals and refresh the valve pack.. not the batteries.

As for after market, vs: Toyota.. I see sets of 4 (Toyota) on eBay for ~$50... tho, I tend to wonder/question battery life as one would likely have no way to know how long they've been sitting around on some shelf.. or do the batteries not get 'used; until they install them? (lots of times you have to pull the plastic to active the battery in some products)

 

I think the battery is not used much when sitting on shelf. TPMS batt life seems a bit random, but should be somewhat related to miles driven. I do not know why it often seems like one battery goes bad a few years before the rest.

 

TPMS battery life is drained primarily proportional to tire rotation (miles driven), less so due to age, though industrial Li-ion battery shelf life tends to be around ten years, and still useful somewhat beyond that.

 

The sensors have rotation detection which turns them on when first installed and after the car has been started each time.

Costco does have the ability to program your ecu with their sensors. There is one high end sensor that can be programmed to clone your existing sensor ids.