How does the 2011 Prius TPMS work?

It's behind the valve stem.

I believe so.

A long life battery. Likely not that long, though...

New tires with new sensors likely will require a trip to the dealership, and they usually charge. And then, if this is a seasonal change, say snow tires, it will be a twice yearly chore.

OTOH, you don't have to do anything. For example, you could put on snows without sensors. Or replace tires on the OEM rims, and just leave the sensors off. This will cause a small light to come on on the dash, but that's all.

 

As an alternative, Schrader now makes a programmable TPMS sensor that can clone your existing ID numbers. This way no reprogramming is needed when you switch from summer to winter and back. It's pretty new, so some tire dealers may not have heard about it. Point them to this site:

http://www.ez-sensor.com/

Tom

 

Just to clarify--if you replace the tires (and not the wheels), you just need to reset the TPMS with the button under the dash (instructions in owner's manual), like you should every time you add air to your tires. Trip to dealer only required if you want a different set of sensors "paired" with the car.

 

This is how it works:

http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~nash/TCH/TPMS.pdf

 

Some vehicle manufacturers allow the owner to initiate a "re-learn" procedure if new TPMS sensors are installed. This includes many US manufacturers and most European, but unfortunately not Prius. See Ford instructions (attached) as an example.

Snap-On says this about their TPMS rest tools:

The TPMS1 also allows users to relearn (a.k.a. retrain, reprogram, reset) the TPM system on most American and European vehicles. It will not, nor will any other RF based TPMS tool, relearn most Asian branded vehicles. On most models, the Asian OE manufacturers designed their relearn procedures to require an OBDII compliant scan tool that will communicate directly with the TPMS ECU/ECM. This is because, as part of their relearn procedure, Asian OEMs require the TPMS sensor ID numbers be manually registered to the ECU/ECM.

 

I still think it's a shame Toyota didn't figure out a way to incorporate an owner-initiated re-learn procedure.

 

The receiver is in the hatch area on the drivers side just above the fuel filler (just higher than the top of the tail-lamp).

Note that when you replace the tyres you don't have to actually do anything if you run the new tyres at the same pressure as the old ones.

The sensors are part of the valve stem, inside the wheel. When you get new tyres warn the techs. that the car has sensors. Once they know they won't damage them. Each sensor has its' own number which has to be entered into the tyre pressure monitor ECU if they are changed. This requires proper equipment. Some tyre stores have it but all dealers do. Each sensor is built with a lithium battery inside. It's not replaceable.