TPMS problems..

[ahnx0027]

Hello... I'm having trouble with TPMS where everyting was working perfectly but recently, I getting ** reading for my right rear tire pressure reading. Other wheels are fine but not sure why RR tire is not registering any reading. I tried to go to dealer, but they want to charge $105 just to run dianostics on it to see what is wrong. Any advise???

ThX~!
Modified by ahnx0027 at 11:30 AM 10/12/2009

[seldomseen]

Most likely a bad device in the RR wheel, if the system fails to produce a reading even after the tires have had ample time to warm up.

[novara]

i had the same problem after i had my tires rotated but all four of my tires were reading ***. you have to drive for ten or fifteen minutes above 45 mph to reset the readings.

[ahnx0027]

Is it usually receiver in wheel well goes bad or valve stem? Has anyone had experience where valve stem just went bad???

[John2]

Could you maybe swap the front and rear wheels on the side in question? Then run the car long enough to get a tire pressure reading. If the problem moved, it's the TPMS sending unit in the tire. If the problem didn't move, then it's the sensor in the wheel well.

Or maybe the system is more sophisticated than I think.

[BigEfromMandeville]

Hi guys n gals. I am new to this forum and have a problem I am hoping for a little help with. I bought a used '06 M45 Sport, I think. It has TPMS sensors on all 4 tires. MY problem...

2 of the tires continually lose pressure, all the way to flat sometimes at irregular intervals. One day, a week, but always the same two tires. This is what I have tried so far at a local Firestone shop I trust:1. Checked for flats.2. Had all tires remounted to each wheel with all sensors re-inserted.3. Rotated the tires4. Had the tires removed and reinstalled on the corresponding same side wheel (rotated the rims basically).

The same tires with the same sensors are still losing air.

Has anyone else had a problem with their sensors? I don;t want to pay $300 to Infiniti to replace two sensors and have this problem be the tires. Conversely the tires are still good. Replacing them now at $175-ish per doesn't make sense either.

Any ideas? I truly appreciate any help or ideas

[ahnx0027]

Does anyone know if TPMS sensor have to be identical to program all four or can I just buy one and re-program it along with existing 3 other sensors.

[OmegaRoach]

Any ideas? I truly appreciate any help or ideas

Go to discount tire and try doing a TPMS rebuild kit. Ask them about it first, but I do beleive it replaces the valve portion of the TPMS. I think they charge $10 each.

Does anyone know if TPMS sensor have to be identical to program all four or can I just buy one and re-program it along with existing 3 other sensors.

No, they don't have to be identical. Take it to discount tire, you can purchase a TPMS from them (they usually have to order it so it may take a day or two). Then have them install it. They DO have the scanner to reset the system.

[BigEfromMandeville]

Thanks - I will try this today.

[rdwtew]

I have a '06 M35 Sport with TPMS and I was at discount tire getting tires on my other car, when I saw this customer come in with a '06 M35 and he had his tires put on at another shop and was not getting readings on his TPMS for two of the tires. Like Omega said, discount tire is very good at using there sensor tool to get the sensors to regsiter, but in this guys case(yes, I was being nosey and went and asked the guy what was wrong)the other discount tire shop changed his tires, but did not put the TPMS sensors back on the "exact" same rim and this was causing him issues. In reference to this guy issue, the TPMS sensors were put in different rims and this causes issues. Discount tire found a tech article that confirmed that TPMS sensors must go back on the same rim, if using the same sensors and not having new ones put on. Once they moved the sensors back to the original rim, his tire pressure was seen on all four tires on his info screen on the car. I will be sure to have them keep the old sensors on the same rim when I get new tires, if I don't buy a new kit for each tire.

Hope this helps.

[Kdr406]

i had the same problem after i had my tires rotated but all four of my tires were reading ***. you have to drive for ten or fifteen minutes above 45 mph to reset the readings.

That was not the case with mine.
Still had to take to dealer to reset.

[antzrus]

I broke the valve stem attempting to unscrew the metal valve stem cap which literally got corroded/like welded tight to the stem from the vegetable anti icer they use in our town. They told me this happens very often w/metal valve stem caps. Fix: use plastic/rubber like caps instead.

Anyway, I had to replace the whole TPMS sender in that tire. It cost me $50 total including labor at a neighborhood mom & pop tire shop. They said it was nothing fancy-they just needed the right frequency (apparently there are two). Calibrating? They knew nothing about.

As many complain on this list,the sender did not reset itself from a week of driving about town at 30 mph max. But I went on a highway road trip thereafter and after less than 10 miles at 70 mph it reset. There must be a gravity type switch in the TPMS sender that needs the higher centrifugal force/pressure from 70 mph vs the slower 30 mph to get the thing started working again.

Moral of the story: don't get frustrated-get the right frequency TPMS sender and take it out on the freeway for a good high speed run. High priced calibration? Apparently don't need no damn "calibration."

[Larz]

Great advise RDW - I had no idea that the sensors must remain on the same wheel. I'll be sure to tell that to my guy when I buy new tires.
I imagine every shop aside from the Infinit shops probably don't know that either. I can't work out why, after years of these being used in cars, they can't make a sensor (or fix the receiver in the car's comp) that would allow us to get readings right away after servicing.
My sensors were reporting right after they finished the alignment - confirmed by the tire reader on each tire while still at the shop, but my car didn't start reporting the pressures until a few hundred miles into a long hwy trip a full week after.
Build a space station? An artificial respirator? A cardiac defibrilator/pacemaker combo in your chest? ... no sweat, but tire pressure sensors? Wow, how the heck do we do that?

[quinner49er]

Is it usually receiver in wheel well goes bad or valve stem? Has anyone had experience where valve stem just went bad???

I had a valve stem go bad and they had to replace the TPMS.

About a year ago I had a nail puncture in one of my tires and had it repaired by the dealer. Then in January I noticed that my tire pressure reading in the same tire kept slowly dropping (about 1 or 2 PSI per week). By February, when it was continuing to reoccur, I assumed the tire repair was leaking and had the dealer look at it when I took it in for regular service. They said the repair was fine, but the valve stem had a small crack in it, probably not helped by removing and remounting the tire during the repair.

I have had no problem since and I got readings for that tire on my display before I got home, which is within 5 kms of the dealership.

[antzrus]

Weird? The common complaint is that it takes forever for a new one or even an old one to click on after some kind of wheel maintenance. Possibly if it is a gravity switch, you got going fast enuf to click it on? What was your max speed during those 5 kms?

[atlM35]

It's about time for the batteries in the 2006 models to start going out.
I've replaced one on the 35 and there's one on my 45 that is going in and out.

[quinner49er]

Weird? The common complaint is that it takes forever for a new one or even an old one to click on after some kind of wheel maintenance. Possibly if it is a gravity switch, you got going fast enuf to click it on? What was your max speed during those 5 kms?

I have not experienced the problem of a significant delay in having my TPMS show up after wheel maintenance. As mentioned above, after a replacement sensor was installed, it was operating by the time I got home (within 5 kms.) The drive is solely on city streets, so my speed ranged between about 50 and 70 km/h (about 30 to 45 mph).

I also had all four tires replaced at 43,000 kms. by my Infiniti dealer when one of the original Goodyear RSAs failed. The original TPMS sensors were used with the new tires, and again, I had no problems with getting readings by the time I got home. The manual says that you may need to drive above 40 km/h (25 mph) for about 10 minutes to reset the display after tire rotation, so my trip home just barely makes the time and speed suggestion.

I don't know if I am just lucky for a change, or if my dealer is doing something that some others are not, or if it is just a peculiarity or weakness of some of the TPMS sensors, but mine have been fine so far. Of course, the other possibility is that the dealer may be taking the car out for a run after the service to ensure everything is operating fine. That might explain why I am not experiencing the same issues, but the work order only shows about 2 kms. difference in the odometer from when I dropped the car off to when I picked it up, so I don't think that would be long enough to reset the sensors.