I know what it is and what it does. As I get more vehicles and more sets of wheels to go on them I was just curious if all sensors are interchangeable and will work on any car or does each manufacturer have there own system. I already spend half the year with the little yellow light glowing as I swap out summer/winter tires with one set having the sensors and the other one not. I know, I know I should just ignore it or put a piece of tape over it but I have access to some used sensors for cheap and I wonder if they will work on any car. I guess that's another question, do they go bad or lose their accuracy after being used for several years. Anybody know?
They are vehicle manufacturer specific. You can go purchase 4 more to put in your second set of tires/wheels, I think there is a way that the TPS "learns" them.
Yes they go bad and the batteries also die. Some manufacturers have a recommended replacement interval.
I can usually pull up a predicted battery life with a factory scantool.
You could make up a little PVC pipe with the 4 sensors in it, pump it up to 35 psi, and keep it under your seat 12 months of the year 
Zomby Woof wrote:
You could make up a little PVC pipe with the 4 sensors in it, pump it up to 35 psi, and keep it under your seat 12 months of the year
I like the cut of your jib sir!!
Thanks to all who have answered. Ebay has new ones listed.........$40 for a set of four. Guess I will be going with new then.
Zomby Woof wrote:
You could make up a little PVC pipe with the 4 sensors in it, pump it up to 35 psi, and keep it under your seat 12 months of the year
ROFLMAO Sheer genius. Best TPMS fix ever.
David
a 1cm x 1cm piece of flat black trim tape on the gauge cluster takes care of any and all TPMS problems.
DWNSHFT wrote:
Zomby Woof wrote:
You could make up a little PVC pipe with the 4 sensors in it, pump it up to 35 psi, and keep it under your seat 12 months of the year
ROFLMAO Sheer genius. Best TPMS fix ever.
David
Jeep guys have talked about this since TPMS came out. Unfortunately, a lot of the sensors now only activate inertially when the tires rotate (and are "off" when the tires aren't spinning), so that trick only works on sensors that are "perma-on" (and yes, it does work).
I've been told that some are just breaking down the spare tire on their Toyotas and dropping the 4 sensors in there and then pumping it up.
These are the things you learn at the Toyota training facility.
You should just get another set. I picked up a used set for my GF's RX8. They were $15 on ebay and work great.
T.J.
UberDork
3/30/12 10:32 a.m.
I took my snow tires off the WRX yesterday. Looking forward to not having the light on all the time. I've put like 5,500 miles on the car since I bought it and all but maybe 350 I've had the silly light on.
DWNSHFT wrote:
Zomby Woof wrote:
You could make up a little PVC pipe with the 4 sensors in it, pump it up to 35 psi, and keep it under your seat 12 months of the year
ROFLMAO Sheer genius. Best TPMS fix ever.
David
No the best fix ever is not buying one of these POFS. 
Fit_Is_Slo wrote:
Ranger50 wrote:
DWNSHFT wrote:
Zomby Woof wrote:
You could make up a little PVC pipe with the 4 sensors in it, pump it up to 35 psi, and keep it under your seat 12 months of the year
ROFLMAO Sheer genius. Best TPMS fix ever.
David
No the best fix ever is not buying one of these POFS.
Government mandated dude
Yep. I think all cars sold new in the US since 07 or 08 have them. Sooner or later most of us will have to deal with them.
Zomby Woof wrote:
You could make up a little PVC pipe with the 4 sensors in it, pump it up to 35 psi, and keep it under your seat 12 months of the year
From what i've read this will not work. they need to spin 2-5mph to close a light weight fly switch this is why light blinks when you 1st start the car. It's the way to save the battery inside the sensor.
In reply to 44Dwarf:
Duct tape them to the CV shaft? 
TPMS was mandated on all passenger cars in the United States beginning in 2010.
David
Considering how many folks have been injured/died because their tires were low enough to be dangerous, but not low enough to get noticed, it's probably the most sensible, cost effective thing NHTSA has ever mandated.
example:
5 MPH bumbers vs TPMS.
And for those that wish to do so, $.01 worth of black tape to disable.
