TPMS Ripoff

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Misadventures with tire-pressure monitoring systems Mar 12, 2013 4:00 PM

Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) have been standard

equipment by federal law in all new cars for about six years

now. Despite their very real safety benefits, the tire-pressure

systems can be a royal pain in the neck, and a costly one, for

consumers and tire shops alike.

My brother found this out a few weeks back when he put winter

tires on his new 2013 Toyota Avalon. He bought the tires

online and then took them to a local shop to get them mounted.

He could have ordered the tires pre-mounted on new wheels,

but he didn't want to pay for new pressure sensors at the same

time because that would have added another $67 for each of

the four. Better, he figured, to get just the tires and have them mounted on the existing rims. (For another

adventure, read: "Having winter tires installed just got more complicated.")

Visit our tire buying guide for quick access to the latest advice and Ratings.

Now, when shop technicians are de-mounting tires equipped

with pressure sensors, they have to be careful not to damage

them. These sensors are miniature radio transmitters about the

size of a couple of AA batteries, usually molded to the inside

portion of the inflation valve in the wheel. In this case, the shop

guys managed to break all four of the original sensors while de-

mounting the stock tires. Oops. But not to worry. They replaced

them with aftermarket sensors, at no charge, assuring my

brother that they were just as good as Toyota's. (Read "A tire

pressure monitoring system helps keep tires properly inflated.")

Indeed, everything was just as good until, 40 miles later, the

tire-pressure warning light came on. Since our protagonist was

then near a Toyota dealership, he cruised in to ask them if they could reprogram the sensors. Despite initial

optimism, it turned out they couldn't.

For this model, the reprogramming process uses a handheld device that records each sensor's output and then

feeds those into the car's computer. The sequence usually takes about five minutes or so. But at this dealership,

the technicians fiddled around for more than two hours and finally threw in the towel. They said the problem was

that the aftermarket sensors were no good. Their official programming tool didn't recognize the signals the

sensors were transmitting.

What was needed, they said, was original-equipment Toyota TPM sensors. They'd be happy to remove all four

"faulty" sensors, install new ones, and program them to the car. All this for a mere $640.

Six hundred and forty dollars? Yes. It turns out that the Toyota sensors retail for over $100 each, the dealership

charges $100 for the programming service, and the rest was for mounting and balancing the tires. Shelling out

$600-plus was out of the question, so it was back to original shop. At that point a couple of days had elapsed and

in that time the store had acquired the latest programming tool. Whatever they did, they did it for no charge and

my bro was soon on his way.

Why are these little sensors so expensive and hard to deal with? Part of the reason is that the requirements for

TPM system is very specific, yet the law is silent on what technology automakers can use to achieve acceptable

results. Consequently, there's no standardization and every automaker is free to develop its own proprietary

system, which they've done. Automakers can also charge whatever they can get away with for them. A thriving

aftermarket goes only part way toward leveling the battlefield, as my brother's experience shows.

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of 4Misadventures with tire-pressure monitoring systems

6/30/2013http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2013/03/misadventures-with-tire-pressure-monitorin...

All this puts a pretty big burden on consumers who need to replace TPM sensors, but an even greater onus on

tire retailers, who must learn what the right techniques may be for dealing with all the varieties and which

substitutions are allowable. The consumer also has one advantage, if you can call it that. Tire retailers, by law,

have to make sure the TPMS is working properly before the car leaves their shop. If the system was working

when the customer showed up it has to be working when he leaves. If the tire shop breaks it, many will replace it

free, but they better have it operable regardless.

Don't assume this little pest won't be knocking on your door, too. TPM sensors run on teeny built-in batteries that

are not replaceable. That means that the life of the sensor is the life of the battery, which is five to seven years. If

you're driving a 2008 or later model, the time for replacement may be coming soon.

—Gordon Hard

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electronic gear, and much more, subscribe today and have access to all of

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More About: Tire pressure gauges | Tires | Car Maintenance | Cars | Tires | Toyota | All Cars News

Post a comment

Tai in Austin March 16, 2013 9:03 PM

I have a 2010 VW GTI and it must be using the "direct" type of TPMS because one morning, when I

started up the car, the warning light was on, though the light was off when I parked the car. Turned out I

had run over a nail. The normal pressure is 35 PSI but one tire was at 25 or so. I had to use a gauge to

determine which tire was low as it was not obvious. Thank goodness for TPMS because I might not have

noticed till I was on the road. Mark me down as a believer.

MisterMagoo March 13, 2013 10:06 PM

I solved the whole problem by buying a VW. The TPMS system in my 2013 Jetta has no radio sensors

inside the tires. The system operates by using the ABS sensors to detect differing rotational speeds

amongst all 4 wheels thereby eliminating any issues with changing tires or wheels. Seems like a simple,

elegant and cheap solution. I don't understand why all the manufacturers don't take this approach.

As for my Subaru, the orange TPMS light glows on the dashboard all winter until I change back over to

the original wheels.

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Comments: 9 Collapse All



1 Reply

1 Reply

ctmeche

March 14, 2013 3:25 PM

You're referring to Direct vs Indirect TPMS. And it's far from new, many cars had indirect TPMS

prior to 2008 (many dating back to 2000), including a long list of GM vehicles as well as

Toyotas. It was simple and cost effective, though not as accurate as Direct TPMS. Most indirect

systems could only detect rotational differential between wheels, so if multiple tires lost air, the

system would not detect it. And any time a change was made (inflation or tire change) the

driver has to hit a button to recalibrate the system, something that, apparently, many studies

claim people don't want to do. (Odd, as I'd rather not spend hundreds of $$$)

The TPMS legislation enacted in 2008 had accuracy requirements that no indirect TPMS

system at the time was able to meet.

Only recently have indirect TPMS systems been able to achieve those requirements, and I

believe it's done with better sensors and rather complicated algorithms that are difficult to prove

will meet legal requirements in all consumer circumstances.

ctmeche March 13, 2013 10:12 AM

That's increasingly difficult to do now - as I mentioned, tire shops/retailers are not legally allowed to

knowingly defeat or render ineffective the TPMS system of a car.

A consumer looking to save money would have to be careful not to tell the tire shop that the sensorless

wheelset is being purchased for or being installed on on a car with TPMS.

If you try to order a tire & wheelset on Tire Rack for a car with TPMS, you get this :

(Picture is from my public dropbox account)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q1taxsnea0l3m7w/tpms.JPG

Sure you can lie and say they're for an older model car with the same size and bolt pattern... but point is,

it's not so easy for the average consumer anymore.

ctmeche

March 13, 2013 10:28 AM

This was supposed to be in reply to Dan R's suggestion of ordering a whole set. (which I agree

with, but isn't as easy as it used to be)

opus360 March 13, 2013 9:35 AM

TPMS = One more reason to keep my pre-2008 cars longer.

I think I will become one of these people who keeps their cars forever, well practically forever. About half

of the cars on the road are 11 years or older. Won't it be time to update the CR cost of car ownership up

to 12 years old from the current 8 years? (My cars are all over 12 years old.)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324678604578342623881064316.html?

mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories

Cale March 12, 2013 7:40 PM

Since when do aftermarket sensors equate to a fair substitute for the OEM sensors? IMHO, your

"bro" (Are you bros and bothers or just brothers? I'm getting confused. :-)) should have used the

dealership to mount the tires. I'm thinking about the fine print that was undoubtedly on the mounting

contract he signed before having his local shop do the mounting. I'll bet it stated that they had a limited

liability for damage to the sensors. Toyota dealers would have the same clause, no doubt, but unless he

also ordered the Avalon online from a distant dealership, the dealer where he purchased the Avalon

would have had a much harder time wiggling out of "doing the right thing".



Dan R March 12, 2013 5:32 PM

Total bummer. But for this customer, he was penny wise and pound foolish. Much better off getting snow

tires mounted on steel rims or cheap alloys and switching them as a unit instead of risking damage to

the alloy rims and sensors twice a year. Of course the bigger problem is that TPMS is a waste to begin

with and even by NHTSA's own estimation basically does nothing to save lives. Thank you Congress,

who mandated it.

ctmeche March 12, 2013 4:52 PM

Great article, Gordon!

I've complained many times (here and elsewhere) about the implementation of TPMS ever since I

bought my used '08 Outback. I wanted a second set of winter wheels/tires for the car, and purchased a

set of used 17" OEM wheels on eBay to go with the snow tires. The wheels even came with their own

set of factory TPMS sensors in them - but as it turns out, the car is only capable of being programmed to

recognize 4 transponder codes at a time. So despite having functional Subaru sensors in my winter set, I

would have to pay the ~$100 for the dealer to re-program the car. Twice a year, every year. I choose not

to partake in the hassle or expense just to get the light to shut off.

Instead, all winter long, we (mainly my wife) drive around with the TPMS light lit, and I just check the

tires myself manually like I do on my other non-TPMS vehicles. The other 3 seasons, it works just fine

when I put the other wheels on. She's fully aware of the situation and when I do the swap.

For those looking to order a winter wheel/tire set online, sellers like Tire Rack will no longer sell you a

tire & wheel combination for a vehicle that originally came with TPMS without also selling you a set of

aftermarket TPMS sensors. Despite being ready to bolt on, the sensors still need to be programmed to

the car.

I think TPMS is a good idea, but as with many things, the legislation and implementation leaves a lot to

be desired. These were easily forseeable issues that were just ignored and downplayed with the promise

of many lives being saved. As many are finding out, it's a whole lot of hassle and expense for what

amounts to little more than an idiot light that will continue to be ignored by the very people it is meant to

alert. I can only hope that those who were content with the language in this legislation will one day

experience such annoyance and expense.

And for all it's worth, it still doesn't put air in the tires.

-Mike



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