thefisch

So my woes from a recent tire rotation continue. When I go to check the individual tire pressure reading (under Serv/Tire Pressure), I am no longer seeing each tire. Instead I am greeted with a Tire Pressure Monitor Active message. The first time I saw it was as I was driving off from the tire shop, the individual readings were there at first, but a moment later the message changed to just Active.

Each time I've gotten a tire rotation prior to this, the Tire Pressure screen will update on its own with the new locations without me having to reset the system. One time it took maybe 5 or 10 minutes of driving to recognize the front were on the rears and vice versa.

Resetting the system under the Tire Pressure settings hasn't made a difference (tried it at least 5 times so far)

So I thought driving some more might help - not so far. Since getting this message instead of the individual readings, I have driven over 100 miles with with intervals of 15 or more miles above 10 mph.

I thought maybe I could hard reset the system by pulling the fuse (#70 in the trunk). Doing that gave me the TPMS Inoperative message but after replacing the fuse and driving for a while (at least 15 minutes and 15 miles) the readings did not return (still only says Active).

So I thought maybe I have a bad sensor even though there is no warning on. Well I went back to the the tire shop and they checked each tire (twice) with their wireless reader and had no issues getting a reading on each sensor. They didn't have any other suggestions for me - since there is no warning light they don't think anything is wrong anyway.

According to the manual (on page 359 for my 2011):So it would seem a clear allocation is not possible so far in my case. Anyone have any ideas of what to try next?

PaulE550

Well I guess you could try a hard reset of the TPM system by disconnecting the battery for a few minutes and then see if the problem clears from the system reboot. Just a thought.

KEY08

That is a bummer, Fisch. I can only think that it is the antennae receiver at one of the wheel wells not functioning properly, if the sensors are all transmitting. May have to hook up to SDS to find the culprit.

thefisch

Thanks for the feedback. Probably will try the battery first as I don't have access to SDS without taking to shop.

konigstiger

You can also try pulling f70 @ rear SAM (trunk) to attempt reset. Check your email.

JT550

thefisch

Battery disconnect didn't make a difference unfortunately. Left it unhooked for about 15 minutes.

I was visiting my local dealer this evening for something else. Talked to the parts guy, one of the techs and an experienced service advisor (read about the first SA below). None of them had any clue. In fact, they questioned whether I had the feature to display the individual tire pressures. I showed them my manual and read them the reason for getting the Active message. They said all they could do is hook it up and run a diagnostic with an appointment.

The first service advisor that came out to my car noticed I had the 'replace key battery' message (hadn't gotten around to changing it yet since the key was still working and my multimeter showed 2.99V on a 3V battery - c'mon Mercedes). He suggested that the low battery in my keyfob could be related to the tire pressure issues The good news is he grabbed a spare battery and changed it for no charge. After I got my free battery, I asked to speak to someone else about it.

KEY08

Now I feel like making popcorn as well. You are a great story teller and too bad you had to run into the dealer team that was hired for the summer only. Lol

PaulE550

Wow!!! The SA actually thought changing the key fob battery would fix your TPMS issue? Scary stuff. Sounds like some dealership service personnel only know to recommend the computer diagnostic. So I guess that is your next step.

thefisch

So no resolution yet. I plan to address this the next time I take it in for service if not sooner so they can hook it up to SDS. Thanks konigstiger for the emails with all the workshop and parts info.

While I miss the convenience of being able to check the values, I wanted to be sure the system was 'active' and would alert me to a loss of pressure. So I ran a little test.

I reset the system with both rear tire pressures at 37 and then bled one rear tire down to 32psi which is when the system alerted me to the pressure drop. Attached is a picture of the warning I got on the center cluster and you see the yellow dash indicator lit up also:


To contrast, here is the warning message I got from a nail in my tire 2 years ago where it shows you which tire is low:


I can clear the message and it does not reappear unless you check messages under the service menu. The yellow dash indicator remains lit. I restarted the car to see if message would return, but it did not - only the yellow indicator stays lit. I drove around the neighborhood at about 15mph just so see if it come up again. Restarting tpms by resetting to new reference points cleared the yellow indicator light as you would expect.

I dropped the pressure to 32psi on the other rear tire (reference point of 37) and the warning message and dash indicator reappeared. Then I filled the same tire back up to 37 and the message and dash indicator went away.

So at least it appears the safety aspect of the tpms system is still working. Just missing the convenience...

Tump43

All I can tell you is what happened to me. I switched from stock wheels to IForged summer wheels with OE MB TPMS's installed and had the exact same problem -- "tire pressure monitoring system active" but no individual display of tire pressures. My super duper aftermarket wheel repair guy and TPMS expert (he rebuilt my IForged Seneca's 3 or 4 times so far over the last ten years), told me that if one of the TPMS's is either not functioning or its battery is weak, the system reset will not work. Testing my sensors with his wireless machine, he found two that did not display values quickly (he had to re-test them two or three times before getting a value) indicating that their batteries or transmitters were weak. We replaced those two TPMS's and within 30 minutes all four wheels displayed exact tire pressures on my instrument cluster. The phrase you quoted from the manual is stupendously unclear. I cannot be sure what it means and will surmise that neither will the dealer.

thefisch

Yes very unclear. I did suspect the sensors at first but maybe I was too quick to exonerate them. The guy who read them did not comment on battery strength but perhaps his reader does not give that information. From what I've read in other threads, some folks said that SDS can show the battery strength of the sensors. I though that if the wireless reader got a signal then so did the car, but perhaps if the battery is past a certain point then the system cannot specify its placement. They are 5.5 years old so it's not like they are new.

KEY08

I think the batteries are good for 8-10 years. I doubt that is your problem. There is no replacing batteries. The entire sensor must be replaced if the battery quits.

Tump43

True they are supposed to last 8-10 years. But, like any battery, the more you use them the faster the wear. So, in the case, the more miles you drive (i.e. time the TPMS transmits) the faster the battery loses its charge.

thefisch

Checking back in for an update. For several weeks after I posted this in mid-July, the issue persisted. After a while I gave up checking for readings and thought I would just raise the concern at my next service.

However just the other day, I checked the tire pressure in the serv menu for the first time in a few weeks and the individual tire reading are back.

No idea what changed. I haven't done anything but drive my normal routine since then. Just goes to show you that if you ignore your problems they do go away.

KEY08

Congrats. Wish that theory worked with the wife, but so far no go.

Biggreenogg

+1

Table It

This was helpful. I bought 4 new OEM sensors on Amazon for $15 each . Paid a tire guy $5 each to mount them. Problem solved. No reprogramming. I did nothing else.
Old sensors were 4-5 yrs old. So $80 every 4-5 yrs should keep the dash readout working.

belarus27

so i bought schrader 0009057200 to replace all 4 of my TPMS (got 150k miles on them and 3 out of 4 still work fine , 1 i had to replace about a year ago and it died today it was showing 23-28psi all the time)
got them installed yesterday , aaaaaand its been a day and i only get TPMS active for about 10-15 min and then i get TPMS inoperative. i went to midas , maybe i thought it needs to be relearned , so hour and a half later they finally were able to reset the TPMS light , but the cluster still showed TPMS ACTIVE , once i got home i got the TPMS light and the screen saying that its INOPERATIVE.
i came back.,,they tried a few more times and then said they can do anything so i left.

now after reading man threads about this , i see that it might take some time before i start seeing readings.
i wanted to confirm that 905 72 00 is the correct part number for my 2010 e550 and if there is anything im missing.
thanks

kajtek1

I am dealing with TPMS on my Sprinter as I put full size spare to work and it come with no sensor.
So for starters, MB is using system that each sensor sends the same signal and car has directional antennas that can figure location. So no sensor learning/programming/training in this system.
I did reset the system on my Sprinter and it took like 30 miles in 3 trips before the light come back, so sometimes the computer does take time to learn new setup, but on other hand when I want to check tire pressure on my sedan, the numbers in normal driving will come after about 1/2 mile.
Talking about Midas, years ago I had them replace belt on my W124 and observing 3 senior mechanic scratching their heads under my hood, - they could not figure out the routing. I had to DIY.

belarus27

Oh so you pretty much saying , that i dont need to relearn or anything , as long as i got the right sensors?
Well thats weird..because i did get the right ones , but nobody can do anything tire shop nor midas (yeah , they dont really know much)
already been a day and a half , i will let it be like this for a little before i spent another sum of money on that sh*t.

And this is exactly how mine used to work. Just needed like a 3-5 min drive and id be able to see the pressures in each wheel.

And yeah... no more midas.

Arrie

I posted about this under some other topic some time ago but can't remember which one.

I also have a 2010 E550 and had this weird episode happen with it when i had new wheels installed with another set of sensors. The tire shop first got new sensors from The MB dealer. They installed them but the tool the shop uses could not read signal from them. Without even driving the car they took the sensors out and went and got another new set of sensors. Their tool could read these sensors fine but the car did not recognize them. After long about 30 min drive the tire pressures did not show and the system showed malfunction message.

The shop took the car to the MB indy shop near by and they could not figure it out either.

The tire shop then went back to the MB dealer and got the first set of new sensors again and installed those. Again, their tool could not read the sensors and they told me to stop at the MB indy shop on my way to have them look at it with these sensors that they cannot read but are sensors from MB dealer that are selected by the VIN.

The system started working after less than two miles of driving just before I reached the indy shop so I did not need to stop.

I do not know what part number my sensors are but it seems MB used more than one frequency on 2010 E-class or perhaps just E550 class? I don't know, but when I need a sensor I will go to the MB dealer parts with my VIN to get the right part.

Where did you get yours from?

belarus27

Interesting story , i got mine off ebay and it said it would work i also messaged them to make sure prior buying.
so i went to an indy shop , and the guy used the computer but said the receiver dont see the sensors.
so im chatting with the seller to resend me the right ones with reinstallation cost included.
But doubt they will go for it.
Im just gonna buy different sensors and try them.
thanks for info man

Arrie

Go get them from the dealer.

belarus27

so apparently the Midas where i went to relearn my TPMS they messed up my receiver.
Bought OEM sensors , and had them installed at european shop , it worked for a day and then stopped working for 2 days and it would work again,..ever since i picked it up from the shop.
so i bought a used TPM Receiver and installed it.
and it looks like it did fix my issue.
took a while to find the location for the receiver , BUT , its done now. thanks everyone.