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Prius 2010 cannot reset tire pressure warning

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by whataboutbob, Oct 2, 2022.

  1. whataboutbob

    whataboutbob Junior Member

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    Woke up this morning to a tire pressure warning status, used Costco precise tire inflation station to exact PSI for all tries, and still getting the warning. Per the instructions in the car manual, I tried to reset the tire pressure warning but it didn't reset, it never flashed 3 times slowly as per the manual, so I am not sure what is going on. Is this faulty electronic or something else?
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Possibly dead TPMS sensor battery 2032 buried in gel behind you're Schrader follow valve under tire. the black rubber. You can buy 4 pacific branded TPMS sensors 38 bux . Pacific made yours on car
     
  3. whataboutbob

    whataboutbob Junior Member

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    Yeah I came to the same conclusion after doing some research. Anyway, one person recommended only getting (more expensive) OEM parts as non-OEM parts can be flakier but cheaper, any thoughts? BTW I think autocorrect whacked your reply though, ha.
     
  4. mikey_t

    mikey_t Active Member

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    Mine's done the same thing and I've seen this issue pop up on reddit for 2010s too. It must be the time for the sensors to go.
     
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  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    When turning the car on, does the warning light just come on steady and stay, or does it blink for a while first, and then go steady?

    With a jumper wire between Tc and CG at the diagnostic port, you can turn the car on, count the blinks of that light, and look them up in the repair manual to see what it's telling you (or post the numbers here and somebody can look them up for you). Then we won't be guessing.
     
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  6. whataboutbob

    whataboutbob Junior Member

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    It flashed a bunch of times before staying solid, can I just count the number of flashes or do I have to use a jumper wire as you described?
     
  7. Paul E. Highway

    Paul E. Highway Active Member

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    Had to replace failed TPMS sensor on my 2010 at 9 years old so I could pass inspection. Did all 4 at same time.
     
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  8. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Like I said original made by Pacific look up on e bay same logo parts by orig mfgr 36 bux find the Pacific logo on TPMS part and on back of you're wheel center caps . Expensive eh. Otay about the cost of oil change Doh
     
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  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The jumper wire is needed to get the actual trouble code.

    The difference between "comes on steady" and "flashes a while, then steady" gives a rough idea what kind of trouble it is.

    "Comes on steady" means it is telling you something about your tire pressure.

    "Flashes a while, then steady" means it is telling you something about the monitoring system itself.

    You can use the jumper wire and count flashes to find out the exact trouble code about the monitoring system. A pooped-out battery in one of the transmitters would be a likely guess.
     
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  11. whataboutbob

    whataboutbob Junior Member

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  12. whataboutbob

    whataboutbob Junior Member

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  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Google this:

    are functional tpms sensors mandatory in california

    I "think" so, but results are mixed. Maybe contact the motor vehicle branch of your gov directly. Might be a voicemail rabbit hole, but who knows.

    TPMS is also a quandry for those with snow tires mounted on rims. FYI, with Mazda vehicles, perhaps after one initializing session at dealership, will automatically recognize multiple sets of sensors, with just a little driving around.

    Canada BTW, doesn't care if your sensors are kaput. At least so far. I swap between our regular wheels (with sensors still functional) and snow tires (with simple tire valves, no sensors) every fall and spring: see a little light on the dash for the 4~5 months the snows are on. Then swap back in spring, light goes out, life goes on.
     
    #13 Mendel Leisk, Oct 3, 2022
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2022
  14. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    I would guess in California if there's any Amber showing on the dashboard of your car or permanent red you're probably not getting what you want. That would be my guess in that state he already don't get anything for your money they're . I'm betting amber or permanent red is down for count.
     
  15. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    If your tpms sensors are original its almost sure one of them lost its battery. All should be replaced. To do so requires a tpms reader.

    The discussion concerning "are they required" is ridiculous. They are a safety feature. One accident avoided makes the cost negligible.
     
  16. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Honda does not use any TPMS sensors in their low tire warning system. They monitor the abs wheel sensors for rotational speed and compare that to the others. Works but dedicated TPMS sensors are my choice even though they add complexity.
     
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  17. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Mazda does, individual sensors in each wheel. Our son's CX-5 has a set of snow tires with the sensors, and all we need to do is swap tires, and the car finds/recognizes them with a bit of driving. There's info in the owner's manual, but basically just a few minutes driving and it sorts things out.

    There's a lot of things where the solution can eclipse the issue. It would be a good move for Toyota to collaborate with Mazda, see how they manage to achieve simple owner swapable sensor sets. Mazda's sensors are around $30 CDN apiece too, last time I checked.
     
    #17 Mendel Leisk, Oct 3, 2022
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2022
  18. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    My car's about a dozen years old and I've replaced one so far, back in the spring. My local tire place did the tire dismounting and remounting to replace the transmitter, and didn't charge for the work, so I didn't bother doing the ones that hadn't failed yet. When the next one fails, I'll pay the same place another $0 to replace it.

    Most tire places have a TPMS-reading wand they can wave over the tires and it collects the transmitter ID numbers, and then they can plug it in to the car's diagnostic port and it registers those ID numbers with the TPMS. Makes things very easy for those techs.

    The old-school method, if a wand like that isn't available, is just to write down the ID number printed on each new transmitter, before it's put in the tire and you can't see it anymore, and just use a scan tool like Techstream to register those IDs in the TPMS by hand. It's a little more fuss but also works.
     
  19. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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  20. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    So when you paid the $0 for them to mountain dismount the tire the sensor whatever you had bought the sensor already had it in place or put a new battery in one or something or when you go back to this tire store the guy will dismount your tire give you the sensor and install it for you and put your tire back on That's a pretty smoking deal but as a mechanic I mean I got friends that do this kind of stuff all the time at various places I go to but usually it doesn't happen like that it happens in my driveway and I don't want to have to go anywhere so I just do it here