TPMS tools

[E.J.W.]

With the increasing number of vehicles equipped with TPMS at our house, I'm looking to buy TPMS tools.
Our Nissan Altima has the TPMS light on with the summer rims/tires and my daughter's GM says one sensor is dead.
The only vehicle not having issues is my 4Runner!
I'd like a "do-all" tool that can activate/read sensors, reset the TPMS light and program sensor positions to the ECU on all three make vehicles.
I've read and researched the web, contacted both tool manufacturers and re-sellers. I think my decision is between the Autel TS501 and the combo of Ateq's Quickset paired with their VT31.
Has anyone used or owned either of these?
Pro's or cons?
Do you have another suggestion?
Thanks in advance for all replies.
E.

 

[jonb2]

I purchased the Autel MaxiTPMS TS501 a few months ago to reset and update the TMPS sensors on my son's Altima actually. Also used to confirm that the sensors on my 4runner were working ok.

Initially purchased because he put 4 used wheels/tires off another vehicle onto his car and after about a week his TPMS light went on. After looking at my options, I decided to just purchase the tool even though it was a bit more expensive than taking it to the Nissan dealer.

Great tool so far. Was able to read all sensors and detected one bad one as well. Replaced sensor and was able to program the ECU with new sensor id numbers and the TPMS light went out.

Most shops seem to be able to turn off the TPMS light on the dash but will eventually come back on until the computer in the car is programmed with correct id numbers. The model I purchased reads and reprogams the computer.

 

[E.J.W.]

jonb2,
Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the info.
Did you happen to try it on a Toyota yet?
Could you advise if it lists the Toyota year & models it will work with?
E.

 

[jonb2]

Yep I used it on my 2007 4runner as a test. Read all the sensor id numbers in all tires + spare and was able to reprogram ECU. Not exactly sure what models it covers but I tried it out on my wife's '17 Mustang and it read the sensors on that too.

I believe it will cover most newer models but the Autel website should have more info. I also emailed customer support on a question and they were very responsive.

 

[E.J.W.]

Thanks much, I really appreciate the info.
I did contact Autel customer service to see if they could advise on vehicle coverage, I was told to contact a re-seller of their product for that info.
I was not impressed with that reply, but did try two re-sellers from Amazon, with no reply from either. I think I'll still go with the Autel TS501 as I like the single tool vs multiple tools, but will try to find a local vendor that I can deal with in person.
Have a good weekend.
E.

 

[jonb2]

Too bad you didn't have much luck with Autel. They also have phone and chat support. I think I contacted tech support directly with some question I had. They issue firmware updates for newer vehicles I believe. If there are specific vehicle(s) you want to check out, let me know and I can check for coverage on my tool. Went with the TS501 exactly because I wanted one tool instead of two.

 

[L8Shift]

I just updated my TS-501, it now includes 2018 Toyota Models.

It performs flawlessly.

Their Tech support was reachable for me.

 

[CookieRoe]

Silly question (I don't have any experience with this tool). I'm seeing on fleabay it is cheap (sort of), but the price inflate when you add the sensors, do most of you guys get without the sensors?

Anyway, most of my family's cars have the confounded TPMS on their Toyota/Lexus. This looks like it could be worth it!

Currently my TPMS (05 4Runner) is flashing. I know one of the sensors is bad, but I also know that they are most likely on their original battery. May as well get all 5 replaced. A tire shop quoted me $450 for all 5 which I thought was a little insane. HOWEVER, Toyota wants, well, let's just say my Toyota dealer wanted $230-280 for EACH one, plus $150 (or 180) to program it.

 

[E.J.W.]

Update....

Don't mean to bring back my old topic, but I thought you may like an update on what tool I ended up with and it's track record so far.
I picked Autel as I liked the single tool for the job versus a reader and a programmer set up. I checked with the shop that does my state inspections and they use an Autel. So did the local tire store as I stopped there with the Nissan to have them check things. I ended up getting the Autel TS508 as it does its updates via a USB cord to my laptop versus the earlier version TS501 using an SD card to install updates.
So far the TS508 has fixed both our Nissan and Chevy. Each vehicle had one dead sensor so I bought replacement 315 mhz Autel MX sensor(s), removed the dead O.E. sensor(s), manually input the hex ID from the dead sensor into the TS508, program/cloned it to the Autel sensor and installed the new sensor. I then did a position re-learn on both vehicles via the OBD port and the TPMS light(s) went out.
On the Chevy the I noticed that TPMS CPU had been factory set for 35 psi tires. The car has 44 psi tires on it and the TS508 was able to re-write the CPU to the correct psi to match the tires. I am pleased with the tool thus far.
Some might say that Autel tools only being able to program Autel sensors is a negative point. Keep in mind Autel MX sensors come out of the box "blank" with no pre-loaded ID. They need to be cloned to work. If you spend a bit more and buy a "pre-loaded" OE sensor, the TS508 will not have any problem programming the CPU to read this new sensor. :clap2:

 

[hwnrunner]

Don't mean to bring back my old topic, but I thought you may like an update on what tool I ended up with and it's track record so far.
I picked Autel as I liked the single tool for the job versus a reader and a programmer set up. I checked with the shop that does my state inspections and they use an Autel. So did the local tire store as I stopped there with the Nissan to have them check things. I ended up getting the Autel TS508 as it does its updates via a USB cord to my laptop versus the earlier version TS501 using an SD card to install updates.
So far the TS508 has fixed both our Nissan and Chevy. Each vehicle had one dead sensor so I bought replacement 315 mhz Autel MX sensor(s), removed the dead O.E. sensor(s), manually input the hex ID from the dead sensor into the TS508, program/cloned it to the Autel sensor and installed the new sensor. I then did a position re-learn on both vehicles via the OBD port and the TPMS light(s) went out.
On the Chevy the I noticed that TPMS CPU had been factory set for 35 psi tires. The car has 44 psi tires on it and the TS508 was able to re-write the CPU to the correct psi to match the tires. I am pleased with the tool thus far.
Some might say that Autel tools only being able to program Autel sensors is a negative point. Keep in mind Autel MX sensors come out of the box "blank" with no pre-loaded ID. They need to be cloned to work. If you spend a bit more and buy a "pre-loaded" OE sensor, the TS508 will not have any problem programming the CPU to read this new sensor. :clap2:

do the 2019 TR4's come with Autel tpms branded sensors from the factory?

 

[xyzzy]

I'll bump this old thread with some new information.

I bought an Autel TS508 this week because I swapped out the OEM tires and wheels with a set of mounted Blizzak DM-V2 tires from TireRack with new TPMS sensors.

Out of the box, the TS508 would not activate or read the OEM TPMS sensors. After I updated the firmware on the TS508, the TS508 had no problem activating and reading all of the sensors and reprogramming via the OBD-II port.

In addition, I found out that my 2019 TRD ORP spare tire DOES have its own TPMS sensor.

TS508 and tire pressures

 

[sempkim]

I'll bump this old thread with some new information.

I bought an Autel TS508 this week because I swapped out the OEM tires and wheels with a set of mounted Blizzak DM-V2 tires from TireRack with new TPMS sensors.

Out of the box, the TS508 would not activate or read the OEM TPMS sensors. After I updated the firmware on the TS508, the TS508 had no problem activating and reading all of the sensors and reprogramming via the OBD-II port.

In addition, I found out that my 2019 TRD ORP spare tire DOES have its own TPMS sensor.

TS508 and tire pressures

Was it hard to update firmware?

 

[Sky]

In addition, I found out that my 2019 TRD ORP spare tire DOES have its own TPMS sensor.

Interesting > my 2019 TRD ORP spare does NOT have a sensor- unless it is one of the rubber types rather than the metal ones typically seen.

I just bought 6 Autel MX TPMS units on a Woot deal- have a 2011 FJCruiser that all the originals have died on- need 5 for it and the other is for my 19 TRD ORP spare.
Looking at which tools to buy now.

 

[xyzzy]

Was it hard to update firmware?

Was easy peasy, just followed the instructions that Autel provided, sorry don't have that in front of me now. It did take plugging the Autel into a USB cable on a computer that downloaded the firmware to install it though.

 

[Sky]

I received my Autel 508 today, got it all setup and confirmed my OEM steel spare does not have a TPMS sensor.

I am switching the tire on the steel spare rim to an extra alloy ORP rim I have.

I also looked at my FJC and all 5 sensors read but LF and SP show low battery- I suppose that also sets the TPMS warning light.