TPMS Summary Thread

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dorf @ Oct 31 2007, 05:27 AM) [snapback]532843[/snapback]</div>

Please read this post -

http://priuschat.com/index.php?s=&show...st&p=530284

 

OK--Excellent---I went and looked- not your regular valve stems---Let them be.
Thanks !!!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GeoDosch @ Jul 8 2007, 05:47 PM) [snapback]475200[/snapback]</div>

Yes, that step is necessary. What it is doing is collecting the sensor data from each sensor and that could take up to 3 minutes.

If the initialization doesn't complete, DTC's will be stored. This can be checked with a scanner that supports the TPWS module.

No-Start.

 

Just wanted to add something to make this thread a little more complete:

Do NOT use Fix-A-Flat or similar tire hole aerosol sealants on your wheels with TPMS. It gunks up and damages the TPMS.

Current cans of Fix-A-Flat now state this warning on the can, as does the Prius Owners Manual.

 

Update:

Fix-A-Flat has just been reformulated to be purportedly safe for TPMS.

If you pick up a can, make sure it says that it's "Tire Sensor Safe". Look how happy this family is:

[imglink]http://www.fixaflat.com/Images/HMPHT/FF_HMphoto3.jpg[/imglink]

Fix-A-Flat - Car Care Products- A easy way to fix a flat tire

 

Ok, so I am finally going to replace my stock tires on my 2006 Prius, just shy of 40K on them.

I am going to get some Michelen Hydroedge tires for them, and they place I am looking at going, Discount Tires, want to put 4 TPMS rebuild kits on them, is this necessary? They want like $12/tire, so like almost another $50 for this.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

thanks,
PHil

 

I am about to order a set of snow tires and wheels for my 2008 Prius. If I elect not to use TPMS sensors on them, what is the worst thing that can happen? The warning light (or buzzer, whatever it is) stays on forever? The car is immobilized?
If I check my tire pressures once a week, are TPMS sensors necessary. How did Prius owners prior to 2006 get along without TPMS sensors?

Thanks

 

Galaxee, they stated to me it was some kind of rebuild kit, here is a link from their site:

TPMS Rebuild Kits

I think it is a bunch of crap, but just wanted to make sure, this was the first time I had seen or heard of this.

Phil

 

Their image shows them replacing the stem cover, cap, and core, not the TPMS sensor or even the stem body.

Probably best if they don't mess with it as it is an opportunity for them to break something expensive (the sensor) while charging out $48 plus tax.

 

Yea, I was thinking the same thing, but just wanted to verify. This was the first time I had ever seen this, so I was surprised.

thanks,
Phil

 

Well their argument was that they could break the sensor if they didn't replace them. I told them that they better be careful then as they would have to pay for the total cost of me getting a new sensor(s). They did it without any problems, but I could tell they weren't happy.

Phil

 

For Taxachusetts. I installed Snow tires and steel rims without sensors. When the warning light came on, I covered it with black electric tape. I drove for 50 years without these things so figure I can live without them for 5 months a year. Come spring, I will reinstall the original tires and rims and reset the sensors. Changing tires twice a year on 1 set of rims risks damaging the sensors and costs more. We asked our dealer why these things became mandatory in the USA. He thought it was in response to the legal lawsuits arising from the Ford explorer rollover problems.

 

Bump since my fiancee's TPMS is broken!

I have been trying to troubleshoot it myself before taking it back to the tire shop tomorrow (they broke it last weekend). The manual states that the TPMS light will flash if there is a problem with the system. Our light is not flashing, but does not go out when the system is reset. This tells me that the system must still see all four TPMS sensors. My educated guess is that one or more sensors is reading off-scale due to damage, causing the light to present.

 

I am in the process of adding winter tires to my 2009 Prius, mounted on dedicated Prius rims that haveTPMS sensors.

If I do not register the sensors with the ECU at the dealer, will this be a cause for Massachusetts inspection failure as the light will be on and I assume a code registered in the ECU

I plan to store my summer tires more that 60 feet from my car durring the winter. When I am ready for inspection, can I just bring ONE tire from my shed and put it next to my car with winter tires for an hour or moe so my ECU can pick up the RF from my summer tire and turn the light off. Then I would get the car inspected within an hour?

Is there a relatively inexpensive tool to register the codes myself with my Prius ECU. Will a code scanner work that is compatible with my Prius. The kind the can scan and reset the Engine warning light

thank you

 

It should not fail inspection due to a tire light. They should only be failing you for a check engine light.

 

Is there anyway I can deactivate the TPMS? I got aftermarket rims on the prius and the (!) is annoying me.

 

Officially, no. But since Toyota sells the same cars internationally without TPMS, there is obviously a way for them to set the car up without it. It may be as simple as unplugging the TPMS ECU.

I've added a pressure sensor to my spare tire, and configured the TPMS ECU to watch all 5 tires. The used sensor cost about $25 off eBay, and my local TireRack installer installed it in the spare tire for free.

Apparently the ECU used in the Prius is capable of scanning either 4 or 5 sensors, and it is initialized at the factory for just 4. Actually, a WAG is that it may be designed to scan 0 through 5 sensors, but I haven't checked that out.

Given that the Prius TPMS ECU has the undocumented capability of supporting the spare tire, it is not that much of a stretch to expect it to also support a second set of sensors. It's probably just a connection on the ECU that goes to a switch similar to the EV switch. Since I don't use different tires in winter, I don't plan to pursue it, but if someone else would like to check the pinouts on Lexus TPMS ECUs, the same pin may be present on the Prius.

It's not currently practical for most people to enable a spare tire sensor, but I'll mention the details here anyway. The normal 4 tire configuration is reported on the OBDII diagnostic port with a reply from a "82 2a f0 21 06" query. The standard reply is "84 f0 2a 61 06 80 80". If you send "84 2a f0 a5 06 a0 a0", the ECU is set to handle 5 sensors. Once the new configuration has been established, Techstream can be used to register 5 sensors. Note that the high order 3 bits of "80" and "A0" are respectively 4 and 5, the number of active sensors. Perhaps "60" would specify 3 sensors. The first byte is the standard set of sensors, and the second is probably the alternate set selected by the switch on vehicles with multiple set capability.