TPMS problem with Big O Tire

[fdbyrne]

I need some help understanding what could have happened so I can deal with the local Big O tire that I think got my TPMS system out of whack.

Here's the deal:

One of my tires has a VERY slow leak. It took 2 months or more to drop from 30psi to 10psi when I noticed it was low. It's my wife's truck so I don't drive it often. She spent 4 hours at Big O this morning after I sent her there to have them find the slow leak.

The leak was so slow that they couldn't find it but theorized that it was probably leaking around the sensor. Admittedly, I know next to nothing about them and have never seen one. I took them at their word and they were going to pull and reseat the sensor with new seals for $25. A few hours later they tell my wife that they can't get the nut off of the sensor and will have to replace it for about $85. I agreed.

A few hours after that they come out and tell her that the sensors in the two rear tires, which weren't the ones they were messing with, had identical ID's and that was keeping the system from being programmed. They wanted to sell me yet another sensor and I told them to go to hell.

The shop manager says that he did the work himself and this wasn't something he caused. I think it had to have been something they did with the programming because I've had the truck for 3 years and the sensors have always worked fine. If they had duplicate ID's this whole time, the system wouldn't have been functioning correctly.

So, with that novel written, what do you think happened? How can it be fixed? I'd like to go back to Big O with enough knowledge to get it fixed.

 

[Bumbo]

I thought these sensors had unique RFID that needed to be registered into the car using some type of tool...

This is what a typical TPMS sensor looks like...

Here is a thread that might give you some more insight into programming.
DIY TPMS Programming - Tool to Program your Own TPMS Sensors - Toyota Scion Honda - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

You might be dealing with someone that has no idea what they are doing, or they might be trying to take advantage of you.

Honestly not really sure.

 

[fdbyrne]

Thank you. That makes sense.

 

[Drunner97]

I thought these sensors had unique RFID that needed to be registered into the car using some type of tool...

This is what a typical TPMS sensor looks like...

Here is a thread that might give you some more insight into programming.
DIY TPMS Programming - Tool to Program your Own TPMS Sensors - Toyota Scion Honda - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

You might be dealing with someone that has no idea what they are doing, or they might be trying to take advantage of you.

Honestly not really sure.

Bingo. Each sensor has to be registered with the car using an OBDII tool. They scan the sensors, plug it into the OBDII, then register them with the computer. I knew that I had 1 bad sensor out of 5 because my light was flashing, but it would go solid when I aired down all 4 tires. I took it to Discount Tire and 1 tech told me only 1 sensor was bad, so I told them to fix it, when I came back the idiots had only done the battery/seal replacement and the light was still flashing, so I said wtf.... The manager came out, scanned all 5 tires and tried to tell me all 5 were bad. Told him to piss off. Went back a couple months later, told the tech specifically which TPMS I wanted changed since I knew which tire it was. Oh gee, guess what, I only had 1 bad sensor. They had to register the new one with the computer.

 

[fdbyrne]

In my case they went around the truck scanning the sensors to program them into the computer and they swear that the two in the rear wheels are giving off the same ID code which is preventing them from updating the computer with 5 unique codes. I can't figure out how it would be possible for that to happen at all and am almost certain that it's operator error.

 

[Drunner97]

Probably scanned the same one twice? Not sure but I doubt it. Might be able to get the dealer to scan it for free just to see what the story is.

 

[Bumbo]

Still... I don't think you get the choose the RFID tags/codes.

The fact there was a duplicate seems highly improbable if the above is true.

If it is true, I would push for a refund.

I might even buy that ATEQ TMPS software because I have to get a 2nd set of sensors for my off-road wheels, and based on what I hear in this thread, I don't want to deal with the tire shops on this. Plus that gives me the ability to swap sets and re-program, along with see what the what the RFID tags/codes are and which wheels they are assigned to… the screen with data is kinda nice.

 

[Drunner97]

Still... I don't think you get the choose the RFID tags/codes.

The fact there was a duplicate seems highly improbable if the above is true.

If it is true, I would push for a refund.

I might even buy that ATEQ TMPS software because I have to get a 2nd set of sensors for my off-road wheels, and based on what I hear in this thread, I don't want to deal with the tire shops on this. Plus that gives me the ability to swap sets and re-program, along with see what the what the RFID tags/codes are and which wheels they are assigned to… the screen with data is kinda nice.

I'm not even running sensors anymore. heh. Really need to get around to disabling that light.

 

[Bumbo]

I'm not even running sensors anymore. heh. Really need to get around to disabling that light.

Either am I with my mud terrains... and the light stays on all the time.

The light doesn't bother me at all to be honest, but I got used to having it... after a trail and a quick air up, its nice to see the light turn off, and if it ever turns on, I know I have a leak/damage/puncture.

I just like the insight, but I can do without. I just end up doing manual pressure checks more often, which I should be doing anyways...

I am at the point now where I am going to sell my 2nd set of rims/tires... I don't do enough driving to justify having a road set, let alone the time/effort to keep swapping stuff around. I just need to move the TPMS from my road tires to my off-road set. I just don't want to deal with the cost to do it.

 

[fdbyrne]

The saga played itself out today.

As I was pulling out the driveway to go to work I noticed that the wheel they were working on yesterday was completely flat. I took the day off to deal with it.

I went back to Big O and they replaced the valve stem that was only installed yesterday because it was leaking. They also removed all of the wheels from the truck and rolled them around back one-by-one so they could read the RFIDs for each sensor without interference. It worked like a charm and everything is good now.

 

[AuSeeker]

The saga played itself out today.

As I was pulling out the driveway to go to work I noticed that the wheel they were working on yesterday was completely flat. I took the day off to deal with it.

I went back to Big O and they replaced the valve stem that was only installed yesterday because it was leaking. They also removed all of the wheels from the truck and rolled them around back one-by-one so they could read the RFIDs for each sensor without interference. It worked like a charm and everything is good now.

I'm glad the issue seemed to be resolved, BUT I don't think I would go back there in the future, they haven't shown that they are the tire experts that they should be!!

 

[fdbyrne]

I'm glad the issue seemed to be resolved, BUT I don't think I would go back there in the future, they haven't shown that they are the tire experts that they should be!!

I absolutely agree.

 

[Bumbo]

I'm glad the issue seemed to be resolved, BUT I don't think I would go back there in the future, they haven't shown that they are the tire experts that they should be!!

Im sure the skill and expertise can vary from shop to shop, but my local discount tire / Americas tire is on point with both expert level service and customer care.

I very much feel the same way about alignment shop too... i've been burned by those selling "3 year" or "lifetime alignments". The work is so bad, that I often times look elsewhere anyways. Evans tire didn't even tighten back a tire rod end after service...

Now I do to a place that does it all by hand, no machine, and the quality of work and expertise is amazing.