Charge at the dealership to reset tpms?

[tama48]

I would appreciate any feedback on this issue.

If the vehicle is still under warranty why would the dealership charge to reset the tpms in case of a malfunction? Shouldn't that be covered at least until warranty is expired? Under what circumstance would they not charge you to reset the idiot TPMS light? The whole thing is such a pain it is unbelievable to me.

Everytime it starts flashing look out for the $50.00 reset fee.

[BBISHOPPCM]

What is the month/year of manufacture on your Versa? Nissan made some revisions after November of 2007 to eliminate some issues with the TPMS system. I would fight the charges, as this is clearly a malfunction (if the light is flashing), and should be covered under the one-year warranty (assuming this car was built within the past year).

[tama48]

Hi,

Thanks for the response.

I bought the car in July 2006. It is a 2007 model. It was one of the first ones the dealership recieved. I am talking about the flashing tmps light. You mentioned revisions to the system? Well I must still have one without the revision. Does the dealer bring the system up to date or just not charge me everytime the tmps starts flashing?Should I just contact Nissan direct?

Thanks

[rwanttaja]

Hi,

Thanks for the response.

I bought the car in July 2006. It is a 2007 model. It was one of the first ones the dealership recieved. I am talking about the flashing tmps light. You mentioned revisions to the system? Well I must still have one without the revision. Does the dealer bring the system up to date or just not charge me everytime the tmps starts flashing?Should I just contact Nissan direct?

Thanks

There is a Nissan Service Bulletin out for TPMS problems in early-production Versas, which your Versa qualifies as. Go to the dealership and ask them to check if the car meets the requirements of Service Bulletin NTB06-078a, "2007 Versa: TPMS Light On with Checksum-ERR FL/FR/RL Code Stored."

If the car was built before July 17, 2006, if the TPMS light is flashing, and certain codes are stored in the onboard computer, the Service Bulletin calls for replacement of the Body Control Module.

You might have to push them a bit. I took mine back to the dealership three times before they finally ran the Service Bulletin. Got finally got a new BCM.

Ron Wanttaja

[sooner4x4]

What is the month/year of manufacture on your Versa? Nissan made some revisions after November of 2007 to eliminate some issues with the TPMS system. I would fight the charges, as this is clearly a malfunction (if the light is flashing), and should be covered under the one-year warranty (assuming this car was built within the past year).

Why would the TPMS system only have a one year warranty, when the rest of the car has a three year, 36,000 mile warranty? I better get out my owners manual.

Either way, it is wrong that the dealer has to perform a reset of the system for a $50 charge, outside of the warranty period. I have two other vehicles with TPMS (Toyotas). One has a reset button for you to reset the system yourself. If the Nissan system is prone to throwing a TPMS light that costs $50 to turn off, I predict a lot of Versas driving around with a TPMS light on in the future. Defeating the purpose of a potentially pretty decent safety feature

Sounds like the OP has a warranty issue for the dealership to take care of.

[tama48]

That was the whole premise of my question. I haven't paid the $50.00 BUT the dealership has threatened me to charge the fee. I won't pay it. They keep saying it is my fault for not checking inflation in the tires. But inflation in the tires has nothing to do with system malfunction. Which is what causes the light to flash for about one minute and then glow steady. It has done this several times since I bought the car in July 2006.

The last time they reset it they said they didn't know why it came on perhaps interference between transmitter in tire and receiver in the car??? Don't they have a code on it?

When they start demanding me to actually pay them to reset it that's when I start my way to the top of the Nissan chain or legal action. There is something wrong that the car has had the light reset about five times since I have bought it.

The vehicle is still well under 3 year 36,000 mile warranty.

I AM NOT talking about the light coming on steady and you fill the tires and it goes out.

[rwanttaja]

That was the whole premise of my question. I haven't paid the $50.00 BUT the dealership has threatened me to charge the fee. I won't pay it. They keep saying it is my fault for not checking inflation in the tires. But inflation in the tires has nothing to do with system malfunction. Which is what causes the light to flash for about one minute and then glow steady. It has done this several times since I bought the car in July 2006.

The last time they reset it they said they didn't know why it came on perhaps interference between transmitter in tire and receiver in the car??? Don't they have a code on it?

When they start demanding me to actually pay them to reset it that's when I start my way to the top of the Nissan chain or legal action. There is something wrong that the car has had the light reset about five times since I have bought it.

The vehicle is still well under 3 year 36,000 mile warranty.

I AM NOT talking about the light coming on steady and you fill the tires and it goes out.

Do what I did: Print out a copy of the Nissan Service Bulletin and hand it to them. Hard for them to argue when you have a copy of the official document.

You can access it via:

http://72.3.186.203/

You have to subscribe, but there's a free subscription that just limits you to two Service Bulletins a day. Get NTB06-078a, and you're done.

Ron

[Concord]

Save yourself the headache and trouble of heading to the dealership. The TPMS system is flawed. I have had 2 sensors replaced and a body control module to date.

As I'm sure you may know:If your light is on STEADY, you do not need to go to the dealership.

Turn your ignition switch to "ON"Start overinflating your tires one by one (I usually go to 50 psi) and check the light after each tire is filled.After you fill the tire with the intermittent sensor the light will extinguish.Lower the pressure on tires back to normal operating pressure.

I have to do this about every 6 weeks on my Versa. It's a pain but saves me a trip to the dealership and have them tell me I don't know how to service my tires properly

If your light is FLASHING, there is a communication error between the sensor and the computer and you definitely have a hard fault. If they can't find it, change Dealerships

JMHO

Modified by Concord at 12:10 PM 11/18/2008
Modified by Concord at 12:35 PM 11/18/2008

[sooner4x4]

When dealerships don't seem to give a darn about the proper diagonosis and repair of your new car, it can be very frustrating. I had a different issue than your TPMS, mine was a clunking steering column that after four trips hadn't been fixed.

I looked carefully through my owners manual and read up on the section about how to handle problems with unresolved repair problems. I can't remember exactly where it was in the books. I followed the procedure to the letter, calling the Dealership Manager where I bought the car, and using all of the proper terminology from the book, calmly explained my problem and what I expected, per the book. Within five minutes the service manager called me and scheduled an appointment with a loaner. They finally got serious about the problem, found it and fixed it.

This only works when you are dealing with decent folks that give a darn at the dealership, which may or may not be the situation in your case. You should have a little more clout with the dealership that sold you the car.

Good luck and be pleasantly persistant with the dealership. The TPMS is a safety feature, it should be expected to work correctly. Keep us informed. Apparently the problem isn't uncommon.

[tama48]

Thanks to all for the feedback and support!