Autosport7

I apologize up front, but I don't take my car to the dealership service for anything I cant handle myself, If I can not handle this issue I will take it in... maybe lol.


Issue:
When I start the car, the TPMS light is sometimes either solid, or blinking. As I am driving down the road I get a message telling me my TPMS is inoperable. I typically just press ok on the steering wheel and forget about it. More recently it happens every time I get in the car. Starting to feel like I should probably look into it.


It has come on in the past, but if I put air in the tires, and reset my pressure ratings in my car, everything is fine for a while, but eventually always comes back on.


Any thoughts?


Could it be I just have a bad sensor, or worse? If it is just a sensor, is there on board data that tells me which one it is?


Thanks guys.

I am Jeff

TPMS have a shelf life. Your sensor battery might be going out and you will need to replace the sensor, or you hit a large enough bump that dislodged and damaged your sensor. Either way, you will need to unmount your tires to investigate. A tell tale sign of damaged and dislodged sensor is when you roll your car slowly, you will hear it rattle.

Kriston

Pretty much what Jeff Said. don't foresee it being too hard to rectify. Its either the battery is dead / the sensor is loose or just broken.

glennhl

By chance, did you just add aftermarket HID's? I got this message until I grounded the ballasts.

Autosport7

No HID's, thanks for your post though.

What do guys mean a battery...? There is a separate battery for the tpms?

JPetros2008

Each little tpms sensor has a battery in it. If you have one of the older cars that doesn't tell you the individual tires tire pressure on the screen, you'd have to figure out which sensor it is that isn't working.

I had a similar issue. They told me it was one sensor so I replaced it, but still had the message. They then told me it was actually a different sensor so I ended up just buying 3 more new ones and getting them all replaced. Not sure it you can just buy the batteries and replace those, but a little battery would be a lot cheaper than a new sensor.

Autosport7

I have wondered how they transmitted data, a friggen battery huh?
Well my best bet is to buy all 4 and replace them then.

Thanks guys.

JPetros2008

I believe I ended up buying a set of 4 OEM sensors off eBay from a seller in Germany for about $150. They came within 5 days.

I think you can get 4 non OEM sensors domestically for around the same price or maybe a little cheaper.

glennhl

Most Discount Tire stores also carry TPMS sensors plus they have the proper tools to activate them.

Autosport7

Awesome thanks guys.