Subaru TPMS Nonsense
 

The BRZ would be my first Subaru with TPMS ( My '05 LGT didn't have it). I read this section in the Owner's Manual:

With a little bit of sleuthing, I have determined that this is a common thing with Subarus. Every time you change TPMS sensors (such as having 2 sets of wheels/tires) you have to re-register the TPMS sensors with the car.

I plan of having 2 to 3 sets of wheels and tires for the car (Winter/ Summer/ stock), and I really don't want to have to go back to the dealer twice a year just to get the TPMS recoded ( and I really don't like blinky lights in my instrument panel).

Is there someone here with a more current Subaru that has dealt with this issue? Is there a tool I can buy to re-encode the TPMS in the comfort of my own garage? I saw someone who bought a spare TPMS computer to go with a second set of whhels on legacygt.com. Is that the only solution?

There are some TPMS programming devices out there. The good thing about the TPMS system in Subarus is that it can be programmed via the OBD-II port.

That said, if you're ok with maintaining your tire pressures the old fashioned way, you can just put up with the little light on your dash.

ATEQ Quickset tool is an affordable solution for programming TPMS sensors. Some people report having problems with it but mine works great.

I would rather not have TPMS at all. It is really for general public who don't have a clue what tire pressure is....
I check my tire pressures routinely, and never run TPMS in the wheels anyways. Light is annoying though.

What bothers me the most is the fact that they have TPMS but don't show the actual pressures in each tire on the dash in 99% of the cars, even though the info is basically there.... Would have been so useful on the track!
I was blown away when Impala rental had those pressures right on the dash. Great - very useful in THAT car!

I have owned a recent Subaru and I don't find it to be a big deal. I run a set of winters and the only thing that happens is that you see a light on your dash. That's about it. If you can live with that, problem solved.

One solution is to buy a second set of sensors. A PITA but it's cheaper than having the tires unmounted, sensors removed and installed on new wheels, programmed, and tires remounted, balanced, etc.

But unless you have the tool you still need to have someone reprogram the sensors on many cars. Some have a way you can do it without a tool, but not many.

I can't live with the blinking light on the dashboard. To me, it's like a smack in the face every time I drive the car. If you can live with it, it saves a lot of aggravation.



Having a second set of sensors is fine, but you still will need to get those sensors programmed to the car somehow, or the car won't even know they are there. That's the problem.

It's not a blinking light. It's just a light that is on. It blinks when you first start your car and then it just becomes a steady lit light. It really isn't too bad.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...0130091505.jpg

That little light there is all it is. You can also dim it just like you dim your dash lights.

Hope this helps!

I see what you're saying. Then I believe the best solution would be to buy a device that allows you to set the frequency of the sensors each time, as mentioned earlier. I'm not sure how the BRZ will work, but my friend's G37 sedan only recognizes 1 set of frequencies at a time. My suggestion to buy a second or third set of sensors would only solve the issue of having to mount and remount a tire/wheel combo.

Remember when you could mount wheels and tires without having to worry about a dash light coming on?

Nonsense indeed! But 2012 is 2012 so we will just have to live with it. Some of the consumer products can cure this issue fortunately. Another thing the car could have done without in my opinion.

Strange that they need to be reprogrammed for Subaru. The TPMS in my Speed3 picks up any TPMS sensors in a 30 foot radius, it seems. It's amusing, since my wheels don't have TPMS if I'm driving on the highway next to someone who does, the light on my dash turns off until they go out of range :P

EDIT:

It's a government mandated safety feature, wasn't Subaru or Toyota's choice to put it in.

That's probably the precise reason Subaru requires a unique ID; so your car doesn't falsely display TPMS data transmitted from other cars.

BTW, how much does the stealership charge to reprogram the TPMS sensor anyway? Is it nominal? If it is, then it shouldn't be something that's a HUGE pita. No?

A guy from this said (in 2009) that it was $57.
http://legacygt.com/forums/showthrea...t-108338.html?

Also, the first post of this thread is very helpful:

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthrea...ed-156248.html

I think my dealership mentioned it was ~$75? I'm not 100% sure, but that is what I remember.

So basically the stealership rips you off for something that probably takes 5 minutes with a small computer. That was expected though...

Or if you are runing summer + winter wheels, you can have both sets programed?

IIRC, you can't have two sets of codes paired to a sensor at one time. Meaning you have to have the sensor paired with the reader every time you get a new set. :(

It depends, I called around before I decided it was worth it to buy the tool given that I do it twice a year on two cars. I was quoted between $20 and $60. $20 was a local tire shop.

The dealerships didn't seem to want to think out of the box and were just quoting me their price for tire rotation from what I could tell. A service manager got pissed at me when I told her it's a 5 minute job and shouldn't cost that much. She said it's very technical and requires hooking the car up to a computer. I said "Yeah hooking it up to the computer for 5 minutes".

I say give it some time. The aftermarket tunners will surely come out with something that either allows multiple sensors to be paired or, at least, provide sensors that allow more info to be read.

That very well could be the case. I really haven't looked into it that well. Maybe someone else has.

I think a tire shop like Discount Tire will offer a better price than the dealer.

I've done this twice in the past few years, but when I replaced and sold my stock tires/wheels to a 3rd party and purchased new tires/wheels. I also purchased new TPMS sensors (cost something like $60 per wheel/sensor IIRC) and had them paired to the car. Yeah, I'm one of those guys that can't stand that squeeshed ass (TPMS sensor light) on my instrument panel.

Put some black tape over it.

My wife calls it "The angry Fish bowl". As in "A light came on and it looks like and angry fish bowl. Do I need to be worried"

Ugh, getting it reprogrammed every time when switching from summer to winter tires? I'll probably end up just pulling the bulb when I have the dash apart (it is inevitable, I'm sure). Too bad there isn't a dedicated fuse for it.

It really isn't too bad. I'm pretty sure some of you guys have had worse lights pop up on your dash before. Better to see that light than a CEL or Oil temp light.

Honestly the TPMS light does nothing to the car. All it does is provide the "average" consumer a way to let them know that their tires are flat. For most of us, you probably check your tire pressure anyway with weather changes, at autox or track, etc.

I understand how some people rather have no lights pop up, but would you rather pay money every time you switch your wheels or live with the light? I know I will get a set of wheels and tires for autocross and I sure as hell know I am not going to changing sensors before and after every event.

Just my .02 cents

+1

That's how I see it too.

Yeah, I don't see myself buying new sensors/pairing them the next time around.

+1. f%#* that noise!

For me, having any warning light on the dash constantly lit is akin to having a dent in the driver's door of my brand-new car. I'll see it every day. It'll be a reminder that something is wrong. It won't affect how the car drives, but I'll look at it and sigh. It'll be a constant nag. If you knew how I keep my cars, you'd understand how much of an issue that light would be for me.

I'd rather pay than have the light on all the time. But that's why I'm looking for a solution that doesn't involve the dealership. If I could get a tool that'll work well, then I'll buy that. At least then I could re-sell it if necessary.

If I had dedicated autocross tires that I swapped on and off within a day or so, I wouldn't bother. But I usually run Summer tires all season long, and then the winter wheels for a few months.

In your specific case, I'd just buy the winter wheels and swap them out for the 3 or so months you say you use them. Then when winter fades you can just pop back your stock wheels (with the TPMS sensor) and be back to normal.

So just put up with the light for the 3 months during winter and fuggeddabbouddid during the fair weather months. :party0030:

I'm not sure if it's the case with the BRZ, but some cars like my CRZ won't let you disable traction control if the TMPS shows an problem. This is even more annoying since getting stuck in the snow would be when I most need to be able traction control.

I hope that's not the case but maybe someone who's read all the way through the manual knows.

I hear ya. If that's the case, I would say pay the dealer and have them switch it for you.

In regards to the tool, I think this should work. I have not tried it though. Not sure what the price is but I guess it is $150.
http://www.tpms-tool.com/TPMS-tool-ATEQ-quickset.php

Or you could just cover the light:
http://www.3gwrx.com/forum/index.php?topic=19811.0

We'll see when the car comes out. When you turn off TCS, another light on the dash turns on. :bellyroll:

I've read that that tool works well and would do the job, but it seems like it is deprecated now. The official documentation has model years up to 2009 or 2010, and some people have confirmed it working with 2011 model cars.

Granted, I see no reason why Subaru would change the sensors or the interface to the car in the meantime, but I'd like a tool with a bit more active support from the manufacturer.

I don't think I'd mind paying up to $200 for a decent (resellable) tool, but obviously a cheaper tool that does the job would be be great. I hate going to the dealer for stuff like this because it turns into a 2 hour proposition for something that would take me 2 minutes to do in my own garage.

Honda must have changed something since my 09' Si has the TPMS light on and I'm still able to disable traction control.

[QUOTE=Grimlock;156734]I've read that that tool works well and would do the job, but it seems like it is deprecated now. The official documentation has model years up to 2009 or 2010, and some people have confirmed it working with 2011 model cars.

Granted, I see no reason why Subaru would change the sensors or the interface to the car in the meantime, but I'd like a tool with a bit more active support from the manufacturer.

I don't think I'd mind paying up to $200 for a decent (resellable) tool, but obviously a cheaper tool that does the job would be be great. I hate going to the dealer for stuff like this because it turns into a 2 hour proposition for something that would take me 2 minutes to do in my own garage.[/QUOTE]

Isn't that the unfortunately case most of the time you visit the stealership?

True, but the only times I usually go to the dealership is to get stuff done under warranty (or free maintenance, like VW has been giving me).

I have the ATEQ Quickset. It was a little tricky getting the software to work with Windows 7 but once I did it worked great. It works just fine on my 2011 CR-Z and my wife's 2010 Fit.