Sensors in Seattle

That's what it said on Reddit plus $15 labor per tire. Those will be generic sensors and it would be interesting to see how long they will last. People are reporting 8-10 years from an OEM Toyota sensor and as short as 2 years on a no-name brand.

Good Luck.....

 

$45 Dollars is really cheap if they include new sensors with a warranty. The OEM sensor from the dealership is more than that, just for the part.

 

If they warranty it for a year and it goes out in two, would it be worth it. Would it work out better if you bought KNOWN real OEM sensors and have them install those instead?
I truly don't know because I'm only 5 years into mine....

 

What I have been doing is using the failed OEM ones and buying original Panasonic batteries (same as the ones in the OEM sensors) and replacing them. They cost about $5 each if you do it that way, BUT you would need to know how to change this out. It takes a while to do this so it's VERY IMPORTANT not to use cheap chinese batteries and use only the original or you'll repeat the process in less than 8 to 10 years.

I have a friend that does this, changes the battery, reseal the original TPMS with liquid silicone to make it look original again. So I get OEM quality without buying brand new ones.

 

If you have a good size air compressor to reset the tire bead; you can do this with a floor jack and 2x6 board.
Remove the tire and valve, mark the tire position to valve stem
place the tire and align the 2x6 under the car and use the car's weight to break the bead.
Remove and replace the sensor battery.
Put it all back together and your done.
Just double check the manufacturing date of those replacement batteries, they could've been sitting on a shelf someplace for years...

 

The battery replacement is not that easy and takes a bit of soldering skill. So it's best to have a spare set (tire shops will have plenty of OEM bad sensors they throw out). So you can remove the old sensor and put in a new one at the same time. You will have to write down the TPMS code (or have a scanner) to program back into your car so it can read the new sensors.

Good advice on how to break the bead using a 2x6. There are many videos on youtube where people with a truck and a tow hitch, can do something similar to what you're describing.

 

Yea, the whole point in doing this is to get around the reprogramming. Maybe take two weekends to do or program a second set of sensors, so you can just program once and just keep rotating them.
You'd want to do that, if you have a set of snow tires or just mirror your current set.

 

I found guys on eBay selling the Toyota sensors had orig part nos on them 40 bux for four. I bought several sets .

 

programming takes only a few minutes with techstream, you just have to write down the TPMS codes. If you have a set of snow tires, you would just program those codes in every time you switch the set. A friendly tire shop can probably do it for a few bucks, they have scanners that can do it in a couple minutes. No manual inputs like using techstream

 

Can you post of picture of them? You can get cheap ones from Amazon for about $25 a set, but they aren't original. Ebay is full of counterfeit stuff so buyer beware

 

Ya, I just want to avoid buying another tool that isn't going to get used as much as it should. Just starting to get used to paying someone, but the workmanship is sloppy at best. Unfortunately, most new tools are software based - so you have to keep updating which increases cost and leaves you questioning the utility of keeping it.
I'd like to just walk into an auto parts store and rent it for a day.