TPMS sensors can't be programmed at America's Tire

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by metro750, Sep 9, 2023.

  1. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    Were these the Toyota sensors?
     
  2. metro750

    metro750 Junior Member

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    Not sure if these were Toyota sensors because I never saw them. They were the ones Tire Rack said fit my vehicle and were described as "315MHZ TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR".
     
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  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    That "could" be the issue. Dealership could figure it out.
     
  4. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    This is not rocket science, it’s not even hybrid specific.

    The issue is you need the four individual ids (like serial numbers) and then they have to be written into the car ecu.

    These are the sensors I bought. $37 total. Not Denso. Wrote down the ids, used Techstream to write them into the ecu, had then installed and drove about 100 feet so they transmit.

    IMG_2853.jpeg
     
    #24 rjparker, Sep 11, 2023
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2023
  5. metro750

    metro750 Junior Member

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    Got this reply from Tire Rack:

    Good afternoon,Thank you for reaching out to us. The sensors that were sent to you on your order are Pacific 315MHZ. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the ID numbers for the sensors. I do apologize.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  7. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Just call around to small tire shops to find one with the rf reader and ecu “relearn” tool. Almost every Toyota through 2018 used the same process.
     
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  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    Which means they don’t have to extract them?
     
  9. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    That’s right
     
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  10. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    If the installer was TireRack-approved, one might think the installer would be versed in that TPMS

    But yes, If they have been programmed, it should be possible to read the ID's and insert into Techstream.
    If they have not been programmed, then that is poss different story..
     
    #30 wjtracy, Sep 12, 2023
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2023
  11. black_jmyntrn

    black_jmyntrn Senior Member

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    no.. not at all... and if I am not mistaken you have to pay for extra features.
    I sent the Carista back to Amazon and got a MX+ device...

    Openport is the fastest for techstream I've used and the Mongoose Red device is a close second.

    I have a handful of OBD2 articles on my blog, but the one I tell people about the most has a video...

    DO NOT BUY A LOW COST OBD2 DONGLE FOR YOUR PRIUS

    I was easily able to program my PIP Prius Denzo TPMS sensors using techstream and so was America's Tire. These days I have 5 full size wheels and tires on my car.
     
  12. metro750

    metro750 Junior Member

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    Thanks for this. I was under the impression that America's Tire will only program tpms sensors that they sell. Did you buy your Denzo sensors from them?
     
  13. black_jmyntrn

    black_jmyntrn Senior Member

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    nope, all Amazon baby!
     
  14. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    One guy here figured out how to reprogram the Prius computer to take 5 tires (incl spare) but strictly advanced topic. Don't know if a dealer can do that for you.
     
  15. black_jmyntrn

    black_jmyntrn Senior Member

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    I was able to with techstream but I dont recall what I did to not make it be so now when I rotate tires I just know the TPMS ID to circle into the 4 and the one tor emove.
     
  16. metro750

    metro750 Junior Member

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    I'll follow up when I've finally solved the problem. Thanks for everyone's suggestions.
     
  17. black_jmyntrn

    black_jmyntrn Senior Member

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    on topic but off... I would love a Bluetooth obd2 device that's on wifi as well to then be able to use tech stream without needing a cable.
    heh.. all it is as a Bluetooth driver profile compiled into whatever VIM needs to communicate with techstreasm/device. I just know that techstream connection to the car needs to handle a high baud rate and most obd2 bluetooth devices dont even have the power to handle that. heh.. typing this out, is now my realization why no one has done it!

    thinking more, the MX+ is the only obd2 dongle that I've observed having the highest baud rate of a wireless obd2 device while connected to it on my laptop! hmm. thanks for listening to me vent.
     
  18. black_jmyntrn

    black_jmyntrn Senior Member

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    separately this is how I try to explain to people why using Dr Prius with a quality device I highly encourage... the signal rates and loss of data received from the car in ms I don't think people know a quality device, you communicate with the car better... which means the calculations an app makes based on clean data would give you a more accurate view.
     
  19. metro750

    metro750 Junior Member

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    Here's one more piece of my adventure that makes me even more cynical about auto mechanics (if that's possible).

    The day I got the new tires and sensors and America's Tire told me they couldn't program them I drove to an independent shop that specializes in Toyotas. He couldn't fix the problem because he apparently didn't have the tool that reads the sensor IDs w/o dismounting the tire. But here's the conversation I had with him.

    Mechanic: What's the problem?
    Me: I just had new tires and tpms sensors installed at America's Tire and they told me they couldn't program the sensors into the car so now I have a tire pressure dash light light that won't go off.
    Mechanic: Well you need the sensor IDs to program them into the ECU.
    Me: I know. I never saw the sensors before they installed them so I don't know the IDs.
    Mechanic: Why did you replace the tpms sensors?
    Me: The car is almost 11 years old, they've never been replaced, and I was replacing the tires so I figured this was a good time to replace them.
    Mechanic: Well it doesn't work like that.
    Me: What do you mean.
    Mechanic: You shouldn't replace the sensors until they go bad.

    (What I imply from this is that this shop would prefer that you bring your car to them 4 times as each sensor goes bad so they can charge you for dismounting the tire, installing a new sensor, rebalancing the tire, reinstalling the wheel, and reprogramming the ECU four times.)
     
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  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    there's a lot of nitwits out there
     
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