isosunrise91

I changed the wheels on my new to me 2012 E350 convertible. I went with aftermarket wheels. During the process I decided to just go with a new set of TPMS sensors.

Immediately after driving the car away from the tire shop I noticed my TPMS was not working as I thought it would. Constant yellow tire light and “tire pressure system inoperative”.

TPMS I purchased was Autel MX1 from Advance Auto Parts for about $150 (set of 4).

You’ll need to purchase a TPMS programmer, I got mine from Autel and it covers almost all sensors including OEM.

For reference TPMS out of the box are not programmed at all and need this In order for a vehicle to recognize it.

Here are the steps that worked with no problem.

1. Deflate tires completely flat.
2. Get your Autel MaxiTPMS TS401 and turn it on.
3. Find your make, model, year, sub model.
4. Press and hold Y
5. Select auto create
6. Press and hold Y again and go to the front right wheel, hold the device near the stem, and within seconds you’ll here a chime on the device meaning it’s been recognized.
7. Press and hold Y again and do the remaining 3 wheels.
8. Once you complete this process back out to where you original chose car.
9. Press and hold center button that looks like a wifi but symbol.
10. Machine promotes you which wheel to start with.
11. Again, once machine finds TPMS when held near stem the device chimes. Press and hold the symbol again and repeat until complete.
12. Once officially complete you’ll have a list of all 4 sensors you scanned and activated.
13. Re-Inflate tires.
14. Go for a ride. TPMS may still say inoperative. After driving for a few miles and nothing happens, pull over, turnoff car. Restart and drive again, tire light should start flashing and within minutes your pressures should appear on the screen.

Anyone who says you need OEM Sensors is totally wrong. These work great I would do it again, no questions asked.

Car with tires deflated.

bmwpowere36m3

You can also buy 433MHz sensors like hUf that don’t need programming. It takes the car up to 30 minutes of driving to learn the position of the sensors.