tpms sensor
 

Is it really needed? Ive always hand checked my tire pressure and never owned a car with a tpms in it. Just wondering because i got new wheels and they're mounted without me knowing the car has a tpms in it lol, so i would prefer to just throw em on without removing a tire and installing it.

Uhh it isn't needed but do you want that light on your dash?

No. You can clear the light.

I was just worried since some cars wont let you cancel traction. But if that doesn't matter in our cars than fuck it ima keep em off.

How do you disable it?

+1

Id like to know, too

Left for work today and noticed the car was having difficulty staying in a straight line when I accelerated. Then I noticed my TPMS light a moment later. When I got to the gas station, I checked my tires, but they looked fine. Then I checked again when I got to work, and the left rear tire was a little low. These tires don't show underinflation like I'm used to. :) Thankfully I have a little emergency air compressor that plugs into the 12V outlet... I was able to fill it back up so I could get home. But I'm going into the dealer tomorrow to have them fix it.

I am never going to turn off that TPMS indicator. I know some folks have changed wheels and either didn't want them in the new ones(for weight reduction purposes, ha) or just didn't want to pay to have them installed. But I think they are a valuable thing to have.

I wonder if the dealer will fix my tire under warranty... (3700 miles) Going in first thing tomorrow

You cannot ever disable your tire pressure warning light/indication system. There are certain situations where your tpm system will warn you of another problem not only to do with tire pressure such as a faulty wheel speed sensor or wheel bearing. I think having this system is a luxury, low end models will not have this. Especially if your not rocking run flats you'll save the cost of a brand new tire if you ever puncture it.

The TPMS system on these cars won't warn you about a wheel speed sensor or bearing, they have actual pressure sensors inside the tire and don't rely on wheel speed readings, etc.

As for disabling TC/etc, not having TPMS' doesn't effect anything at all except the light on the dash. I run my snows without sensors and I can still totally disable TC/VSC anytime just like usual.

Like I said.. In certain situations a wheel speed sensor will be reading a normal rpm value rating but the abnormal frequency of the broken WSS will actually disturb the tpm sensor and illuminate the warning light. Obviously there is "actual" pressure sensors.. This is common sense via the thread title.. Tire pressure monitoring system sensor. My point is that this system serves a purpose so use it, takes 5 minutes to swap 4 sensors to a new set of rims

No, a faulty wheel speed sensor will never illuminate the TPMS lamp. The ABS lamp; yes.

Anything creating interference with the signal (frequency) in between the sensor and ECM will illuminate the tpms lamp. By the way I love lamp, No.. It's Malfunction Indicating Light, MIL. Disprove my statement than, I demand an explanation.

MIL=Malfunction Indicator Lamp, or more commonly called the "check engine light". The TPMS lamp is turned on or off by the door control receiver, which is located under the package tray. It's also the module that receives RKE commands. It's an RF receiver. The TPMS sensors transmit to this module. Wheel speed sensors have nothing to do with TPMS in reference to the FR-S/BRZ. Now if we were discussing VW Jetta/Passat/etc., then yes; the wheel speed sensors in those cars are responsible for turning on the TPMS lamp. That system works by detecting a tire that is deflated below threshold by measuring how many revs per time unit each wheel is rotating. A more deflated tire has a smaller diameter and will therefore have more revolutions per time unit and thus signal the appropriate module to illuminate the TPMS lamp.

Lots of german cars run TPMS systems without pressure sensors, they use wheel speed readings to determine if a tire is low.

I kinda figured the TPMS sensor would have to be a radio frequency transceiver... how else could it work? When I had the damaged tire off, and it was in my trunk on the way to the dealer, the TPMS light stayed off(I had recently put air in it)... then came on when I left the dealer without it. I wonder what the range is... and if random false reads might be caused by other vehicles going by at close range. Oh well. $30 to patch it. Here's hoping it lasts. I once patched a tire myself on my Yaris and it's still there... didn't have to put air in it for a long while. But what a pain it was. I feel better knowing it was done by a "professional."

well i got my new wheels/tires on. Idk if they installed the tpms because i mentioned about it but i said fuck it, dont install it. But my light hasn't come on and it's been like 4 days. Maybe they did install it idk.

The light comes on instantly if the sensors aren't picked up, or if the pressure is low.

As for the range/picking up other sensors, the ECU in the car is programmed with the sensor ID's in the wheels (each sensor has a unique ID, the ECU knows all four). If we traded wheels both our cars would have the light on unless the ECU was re-programmed with the new ID's.

The wheel shop said after installing the tpms then the car need to take to dealer to calibrate. This will be 1/2 hr work labor cost.

Not if you're reusing your stock sensors.

^^ This, as long as the sensors are the same ones the car was using before you won't have to do anything but put them back in the wheels going on the car.

^, I'm going to have the shop to transfer the tpms from the stock to the new wheel and there won't be an issue with the light to come on or flashing, right ?

I left the sensors on my stock (now winter) wheels and I didn't bother with new sensors for the summer wheels because of the reprogramming bit. Haven't had any issues other than the light on the dash which isn't even that annoying.

Latest update. I have the shop move the tpms sensor from stock to the new wheel and it works great w/o any problem or issue. No light on the dash, like nothing happen. Sweet ! :)

Anyone happen to know what the pressure is that makes the light come on? My light is on, don't know why. Is there a sensor in the spare?

I don't know for sure, the dealer could hook the scan tool up to give you an exact number, but usually it is around 26-28 psi. Just check all your tires air pressures to be sure. I actually haven't looked at the spare in our cars yet, but to answer your question, some (not all) toyotas have a sensor in the spare as well. Very handy.

Note: if the light comes on solid after you start the car, you have a low tire light, BUT if it FLASHES for about a minute and then goes solid, you have another issue (I.e. broke sensor or a sensor that isn't programmed correctly) it's important to look at the light when you first start the car, otherwise it will look solid and you may think you have a low tire and get confused when you can never find it ;)

Well that helps, the tires are all around 28psi now. Set by the dealer. I'll add some air tonight at work. See if that makes a difference.

I dont have the tpms and the light comes on and off, most of the time it's off lol.

When experimenting with tire pressures at track days (lowering in 2 psi increments from 34 psi), the TPMS dash light first illuminated @ 28 psi.

Question: On other Toyota and Lexus vehicles I've owned there was a button somewhere on the dash or glove box area that you could press once desired pressures were set even if those were outside factory spec to establish a new baseline pressure. Does FR-S have one? I hope so, my RE-11A's perform best @ 28 psi and I'd like to set that as the new reference without having to go to the dealership. They might not agree to do it anyway fearing potential liability. I checked the Owner's Manual and searched here but couldn't find an answer. TIA.

I think the only way to set the base pressure is through techstream. You can get cheap copies on ebay, or go to the dealership.

Well now..... I have a question to be answered. If I get a set of summer wheels with TPMS sensors installed and I get the sensors programmed into my car by the dealer will my stock wheels' sensors still work when I swap the wheel sets out for the winter or will I have to get the sensors of the stock wheels reprogrammed into my car?

Second question: If I get a set of summer wheels with out TPMS sensors installed is there a way for me to disable the system so that the light doesn't keep coming on? It seems that it has been mentioned on this thread that the system can be disabled, but no instructions have been offered as to how to do so.

1 square piece of black electrical tape, clears that right up ;)

+1 on tape method.

Har-har hardee-har-har! :lol:

+2 on the tape method. I actually pulled out the instrument cluster and taped between the gauge overlay and the led for the TPMS.

SCREW TPMS systems!

The short answer is that the ECU needs to be changed each time the sensors change.

If you get a second set of wheels with sensors, (which I have done), you can buy a device called the ATEQ Quickset (see Amazon) which will store both sets of TPMS ID codes. Once set up with those codes on your PC, when you change tires, you connect it to the Diagnostic port and push a single button (either summer or winter) and it sets the ECU in the car for the correct codes for those wheels. You can then swap back and forth with that single button push from there in w/o connecting the device to a PC again.

Depending on where you buy your new sensors they may have to be initialized (turned on) which is a one time only thing that can be done by either the tire dealer, car dealer or there is a separate tool to do that.

If you second set has no sensors, I am not aware of a method to disable the light. It was mentioned earlier, but there was no detail, and I am not sure it can be done for this car.

we need someone to take tpms sensors out of tires and leave in trunk just for shits and giggles and share results

When I exchanged the tpms sensors into my new wheels(in trunk) and drove home with the stock ones(without sensors), I didn't see any lights come on...Not sure if you have to wait a couple days with them off for the light to come on? Anyway new wheels went on same day so I didn't drive around much without the sensors.

When I bought my new tire/wheel combo I researched the TPMS thing extensively. To my knowledge there is no fix other than swapping the sensors to the wheels, or buying another set and then reprogramming each time you swap summer to winter for example.

I distinctively remember reading of someone who tried the pressurized canister with the sensors in the trunk thing. It didn't work. Answer being they also have a motion sensor of some sort in them.

My tape job worked for me. I only ever think about in now when I turn on my high beams. I accidentally covered a small portion of the high beam icon with the tape. :)

They would have/will trip after traveling about 50 miles.